2013 Ford F150 Lariat on 2040-cars

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2014 Ford Fiesta ST

Concentrated ST Formula Proves Just As Potent
I'm not the jealous type... usually. But I will fully admit to being somewhat of a Pouty Polly when I read executive editor Chris Paukert's report after driving the then-new 2013 Ford Focus ST through the impossibly pretty southern French Alps region last June. I feel like a broken record saying this yet again, but hot hatchbacks hold a special place in my heart. And while I'm always giddy to drive any sort of small, turbocharged three- or five-door at home in Detroit, my jealousy was indeed piqued after hearing Paukert tell about the challenging yet breathtaking roads he encountered while driving the flamin' yellow Focus. You know, the sort of roads that, from above, look like carelessly drizzled lines of icing on the frosted Alpen caps.
Several months later, I found myself piloting a Focus ST just west of metro Detroit, pitting it head-to-head against one of Autoblog's perennial favorite cars, the Volkswagen GTI. It was fantastic - enough so that I fully stand behind my statement that in terms of balls-out performance, the Focus ST cannot be beat as far as today's front-wheel-drive hatches are concerned.

Bill Ford op-ed argues we can't just build and sell more of the same cars

It's hardly a secret that the auto industry is undergoing an enormous, tectonic shift in the way it thinks, builds cars and does business. Between alternative forms of energy, a renewed focus on low curb weights and aerodynamic bodies, the advent of driverless and autonomous cars and the need to reduce the our impact on the environment, it's very likely that the car that's built 10 years down the line will be scarcely recognizable when parked next to the car from 10 years ago.
Few people are as able to explain the industry's many upcoming changes and challenges as clearly as William Clay Ford, Jr., better known as Bill Ford. The 57-year-old currently sits as the executive chairman of the company his great-grandfather, Henry Ford, founded over 110 years ago.
In an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Ford explains that the role of automakers is, necessarily, going to change to suit the needs of the future world. That means changing the view of not just the automobile, but the automaker. As Ford explains it, automakers will "move from being just car and truck manufacturers to become personal-mobility companies."

UAW strike decision day comes as bargaining heats up

DETROIT — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is scheduled to say later on Friday whether recent intensified bargaining with the Detroit Three automakers has produced enough progress to forestall more walkouts. A video address by Fain is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT and will cover substantive bargaining updates, people familiar with the UAW's plans said. That timing is a departure from the previous two Fridays in which Fain addressed union members at about 10 a.m. Detroit time, and ordered walkouts at additional Detroit Three factories to start at noon. Fain kept automakers guessing with a social media post on Thursday afternoon that showed an image of three men in suits, their faces obscured by the logos of the Detroit automakers, standing in front of a table with roses on it. "Tune into @UAW's Facebook page at 2pm on Friday, October 6th to see who gets the rose!" Fain tweeted, a reference to the television reality show "The Bachelorette," in which the week's winners get a rose. In the UAW version, the winner offers richer contract terms, and gets a week without a new strike. People familiar with the bargaining among the UAW and Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis said talks have heated up this week after days of little movement. Ford, GM and Stellantis have made new proposals in an effort to end the escalating cycle of walkouts that threaten to undercut profits and cripple smaller suppliers already strained from months of production cuts forced by semiconductor shortages. The pressure is rising on the three automakers as EV market leader Tesla cut U.S. prices of its Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV, ratcheting up its price war and further pressuring profits on all EV models that are forced to match CEO Elon Musk's aggressiveness. Ford said its latest wage offer would provide raises in excess of 20% over the life of a contract. Combined with proposed cost-of-living-adjustments, workers could see close to 30% increases in pay, people familiar with the proposal said. Fain's Friday video addresses have become must-see events since he launched coordinated strikes at GM, Ford and Stellantis plants shortly after midnight on Sept. 15. Each Friday since, Fain has kept the automakers in suspense as to whether he would order additional plants shut down, or give an automaker a pass because they had offered new concessions.