Moments after two new special-edition Ford Mustangs appeared to be level Thursday night before the opening of the Detroit Auto Show, the automaker’s CEO revealed that President-elect Donald Trump had called the company president, Bill Ford.
The subject of the call was partnership rather than adversarial.
“The message is simple. Ford is the number one automobile manufacturer. We produce more cars in the United States than elsewhere. We export more cars than Array. We have more UAW personnel than Array. “We are America’s automaker,” Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Company, told reporters. “Let’s work together to strengthen our industry. We have many policy decisions to make today, from price lists to CO2 policies, and we can work together to strengthen our industry.
But some worry that Trump’s threats to include price lists for foreign imports, especially from China, could have a negative effect on automakers like Ford, which source parts from other countries.
“Even though Ford’s the number-one assembler of vehicles in the United States by a long shot, a lot of our supply chain depends on countries around the world, and so tariffs are really challenging for any company,” Farley said. “We’ll work with the administration through these very difficult times of a global economy that’s starting to change, and I’m very optimistic, based on our conversations and that we’ll be able to make a lot of progress.”
The Ford executive also needs the automaker to respect its quality, while reducing the number of costly recalls.
In fact, he described the company’s “quality journey” as “rewarding but challenging,” noting that recalls have dropped by 20% in recent years. However, the quality goes beyond the recalls, as the company is interested in the quality of the powertrain in the long term.
“We are investing a lot now in physically more powerful transmissions and engines, as well as other types of hybrid systems,” he said.
As proof that Ford will appeal to a broader market, the automaker has unveiled a full series of SUVs, pickup trucks, and two special-edition Mustangs.
Special edition trucks and SUVs included the Maverick Lobo hybrid, a small pickup truck, the Bronco Sport Sasquatch, the Bronco Stroppe, a tribute to automaker Phil Stroppe, the Expedition Tremor and the Ranger Raptor.
The special-edition Ford Ranger Raptor pickup takes the stage at a media event on Jan. 9 ahead of the opening of the 2025 Detroit Auto Show.
But the two stars of the show were the black-and-white-striped Mustang RTR, designed for racing, and the 815-horsepower Spirit of America Mustang GTD, with a top speed of 202 miles per hour.
The special edition Ford Mustang RTR was unveiled at a media event ahead of the opening of the 2025 Detroit Auto Show on January 9.
The full tier of special edition cars is indicative of the direction Ford is taking in terms of variety of styles, powertrains, generation and functions, Farley announced at the official unveiling.
“We’re going to give customers the most choice when it comes to powertrain and lifestyles, and there is so much more to come. Why? Because we are working on the next generation of breakthrough electric and software-defined vehicles at the company as we speak, and they’ll be launching in the coming years,” said Farley.
Special editions are fun concepts and of great interest to the rest of the models, and one expert says that Mustangs are especially useful for the mythical pony car that is attracting the most interest in recent years in its electric version. battery.
Mike Hanley, Senior Reviewer, Cars. com
“It seems like a natural fit there to kind of boost interest in Mustang, which has been lagging a little bit from the gas only Mustang,” said Mike Hanley, senior road test editor at vehicle shopping and research site Cars.com, in an interview.
Perhaps one of the most surprising omissions from program was the absence of a battery-electric special edition.
But Hanley says it makes sense.
“Ford has already slowed down the production of its electric cars to adapt to the market. Because, as we are seeing, the stock in our plant is increasing compared to where it was and the shortage of electric cars. Now there are smart reserves. ” Hanley said. “I think they’re looking to find that balance in terms of customer appetite. “
Ford is building a new ultra-modern advance product development center not far from its Dearborn, Michigan headquarters.
This is all in line with what Farley said is the company’s overall mantra as it tries to believe in the cars it believes consumers will need in the future.
“The number one rule at Ford is not to use boring products, and you saw them here tonight. That’s our rule.
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