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Ford to recall 29,501 2024-2025 F-150 Lightning BEV vehicles

Ford to recall 29,501 2024-2025 F-150 Lightning BEV vehicles

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Ford (F) Motor Company is recalling certain 2024-2025 F-150 Lightning BEV vehicles. The front upper control arm ball joint nut may not have been tightened properly, allowing the front upper control arm to detach from the knuckle assembly. The potential number of units affected is 29,501.
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How to Turn Tariff Turmoil Into Boosted Sales — and Build Trust in the Process
How to Turn Tariff Turmoil Into Boosted Sales — and Build Trust in the Process

Entrepreneur

timean hour ago

  • Entrepreneur

How to Turn Tariff Turmoil Into Boosted Sales — and Build Trust in the Process

When unexpected policy changes like tariffs hit, smart marketers don't panic — they pivot. Here's how we turned headlines into high-converting, urgency-driven campaigns that boosted sales and built trust. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. As chief marketing officer of the Tim Moran Auto Group, which runs Ford, Chevrolet and Hyundai dealerships, I've discovered the hard way that the best marketing campaigns don't always originate in the boardroom, but in the news cycle. Recently, news of fresh 25% tariffs against imported vehicles and automotive parts lit up the headlines and sent shock and confusion throughout the business community. Decisions like these can ripple through global supply chains, dealer inventories and customer bank accounts. But for companies that move quickly, changes in policy can also turn into moments of connection, urgency and growth. In our situation, consumer behavior was directly affected by the announcement. The day after the news became public, we saw traffic to our dealerships surge. Phones rang nonstop. Customers were suddenly jolted into an action that they had deferred for weeks." The message was obvious: urgency had washed into the market, and we had to act. Related: How Trump's Tariffs Are Reshaping Startups and Venture Capital What tariffs on cars would mean for the auto industry Tariffs, in essence, increase the cost of importing vehicles and parts. Domestic production has cushioned some of the blow, though a lot of vehicles continue to depend on parts or manufacturing procedures that come from abroad. For dealers, that could mean higher wholesale prices, tightened inventory and some models cutting into consumers' budgets, making cars less affordable. But here's the catch: Those increases won't occur overnight. There's a window — some days, some weeks — where it's unaffected, whatever the current inventory happens to be. And there is a huge marketing opportunity in that window. 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Once that inventory is gone, replacements could cost thousands more — and no one can say for certain how steep those increases might be. Ford has leaned in with one of the strongest consumer incentives we've seen in years: employee pricing for everyone through July. That alone creates a major opportunity for savings before any tariff-related effects are felt. We've emphasized that this is a rare moment — with deep discounts available now, and a finite window before future inventory may carry higher costs due to global sourcing. Chevrolet and Hyundai, meanwhile, are both offering aggressive financing programs across popular models. These offers give customers a way to lock in low rates on current inventory before any upstream cost increases work their way into pricing. Our messaging has focused on clarity: All three brands will likely feel some level of tariff impact, especially when it comes to parts and production costs. 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Incentive layering : Adding the tariff message to existing rebates or financing programs made the deals seem even more attractive. : Adding the tariff message to existing rebates or financing programs made the deals seem even more attractive. Concise deadlines: Whether it was a deadline for a tariff or the close of a promotion, we were always crystal clear when customers would no longer be able to take advantage and why they must act now. And, perhaps most important, we taught our sales teams to have conversations, not just close sales. We armed them with talking points about how tariffs might affect pricing down the line and how current offers could help customers get ahead of those price increases. This helped build trust and establish our team as trusted advisors, not mere salespeople. 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Here are the only two things that motivate people: scarcity and deadlines — but only when they're real. Don't invent panic. Rather, describe to your customers how an event (such as a tariff or new regulation) will impact your prices, availability or service offerings — and be upfront while you do so. . Here are the only two things that motivate people: scarcity and deadlines — but only when they're real. Don't invent panic. Rather, describe to your customers how an event (such as a tariff or new regulation) will impact your prices, availability or service offerings — and be upfront while you do so. Frame the case in terms of what's good for the customer . Instead of "We need to move inventory," it's "You can save money by buying before X happens." Articulate the benefit and put your customer first. . Instead of "We need to move inventory," it's "You can save money by buying before X happens." Articulate the benefit and put your customer first. 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2025 Ford Maverick Lobo First Test: A Howlin' Good Time?
2025 Ford Maverick Lobo First Test: A Howlin' Good Time?

Motor Trend

timean hour ago

  • Motor Trend

2025 Ford Maverick Lobo First Test: A Howlin' Good Time?

Pros Rides well, looks cool Same hugely practical Maverick interior Improved infotainment system Cons We'd love a meaner exhaust Fun but not mind-blowing Desperately needs grippier tires We love everything about the Ford Maverick. Well, maybe not how prices have shot up. And we definitely don't like the many, many recalls we received for our long-term hybrid model. And the useless cubby next to the infotainment screen was pretty stupid. But, hey, at least the last one was fixed as part of the small pickup truck's 2025 refresh, which also brought a whole new trim level, the sporty, mini-trucktastic Lobo. And we gotta say, the Ford Maverick Lobo is the best small sporty pickup truck you can buy. It's also the only small sporty pickup truck you can buy, but at least it's good. What Is the Maverick Lobo? A recap of the Lobo's bona fides: It's lower by a half inch up front and 1.2 inches in the back. It features its own unique front and rear styling. 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And the exhaust growl doesn't really get any meatier—as testing director Eric Tingwall said, we'd 'happily tolerate something more raucous.' We'd also welcome better tires; the standard all-season mud-and-snows don't do its braking any favors, as the Lobo knocked out a best 60–0 stop of 127 feet, which isn't any great shakes. And not that anyone is getting a Lobo to do work, but note that payload decreases to just over 1,000 pounds and towing is limited to 2,000 pounds. Inside, the Lobo gets special stitching and logos on the seats, and it has the new 13.2-inch infotainment screen common to all 2025 Mavericks. It offers improved graphics and faster responses than the 8.0-inch unit from before, and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are huge additions. The instrument cluster is fully digital now, too. But the layout and functionality are otherwise the same as before, which remains excellent in execution. The Lobo comes in two specs, one low and one high. 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But increasing costs, tariffs and more have pushed prices ever higher in all segments to the point that the average transaction price across the industry for a new vehicle is nearly $49,000. That said, if you want a sporty small pickup truck, to us at least, the Maverick Lobo is worth whatever it costs since it's in a class of one. We'd budget a little extra money for stickier tires, a more wicked exhaust, and maybe an engine tune, but even out of the box, the Lobo is largely satisfying and definitely cool.

Factbox-Auto companies face shortages due to China's rare earth restrictions
Factbox-Auto companies face shortages due to China's rare earth restrictions

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Factbox-Auto companies face shortages due to China's rare earth restrictions

(Reuters) -Automakers and their suppliers are facing shortages due to restrictions on Chinese exports of rare earths, minerals and magnets, an issue that has forced some to shut down production of certain models. Rare earth magnets are used in motors that run electric vehicles and other car parts such as windows and audio speakers. These companies have paused production or warned shortages were affecting their supply chains: PRODUCTION SUSPENDED ** Ford shut down production of its Explorer SUV at its Chicago plant for a week in May because of the rare earths shortage. ** Suzuki Motor suspended production of its flagship Swift subcompact from May 26, citing a shortage of components. It expects a partial restart on June 13, with full resumption after June 16. Two people familiar with the matter said the suspension was due to China's restrictions. Suzuki declined to comment on the reason. ** Several European auto supplier plants and production lines have been shut down because of a rare earth shortage, Europe's auto supplier association CLEPA said on June 4. SUPPLY CHAIN CONCERNS ** Indian automaker Bajaj Auto warned that any further delays in securing the supply of rare earth magnets from China could "seriously impact" EV production by July. ** Auto parts maker Bosch said bottlenecks in the supply of rare earths were affecting its suppliers, who had to furnish a lot of detailed information to get export licences. ** BMW said a part of its supplier network was affected by the shortage, but that its own plants were running as normal. ** Maruti Suzuki India's top-selling carmaker, said there was no immediate impact, and that it was in talks with the government on the matter. ** German auto supplier ZF said it sees the effect of a rare earths shortage on some of its suppliers, although it does not procure the raw materials itself. (Compiled by Anna Chaberska and Amir Orusov in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Jan Harvey) Sign in to access your portfolio

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