Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) slammed Ford on Friday for partnering with Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) to build batteries for its electric vehicles, saying that he was &#8220;totally opposed&#8221; to U.S. taxpayer money going to the company through the electric vehicle subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Manchin, who is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and has advocated for boosting domestic production of the batteries used in electric vehicles, adamantly said he did not want taxpayer money going to a Chinese company.
&#8220;I&#8217;ll be damned if I&#8217;m going to give them $900 out of $7,500, to let it go to China for basically a product we started,&#8221; said Manchin. &#8220;You&#8217;re telling me we don&#8217;t have the smart people and the technology, and we can&#8217;t get up to speed quick enough? That doesn&#8217;t make sense.&#8221;
According to Reuters, a Ford spokesperson responded by saying, &#8220;Making these batteries here at home is much better than continuing to rely exclusively on foreign imports, like other auto companies do.&#8221;
The <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-sen-joe-manchin-opposes-ford-partnership-with-chinese-battery-maker-2023-03-10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> noted that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced legislation late this week that will block tax credits going to companies that partner with Chinese entities.
The news comes as the struggling auto brand lost billions of dollars last year under the leadership of CEO Jim Farley in part because of bad investments and poor vehicle quality which has led to expensive recalls, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/business/ford-earnings-fourth-quarter-2022.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a report from The New York Times.
Ford’s deal with the Chinese company CATL comes after Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3839981-youngkin-cites-china-concerns-on-ev-plant-while-critics-see-presidential-ambitions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">removed</a> his state from a plan to attract the automaker specifically because of its connection to the Chinese company.
“I look forward to bringing a great company there,” Youngkin, a highly successful businessman, said in an interview last month. “It won’t be one that uses kind of a Trojan-horse relationship with the Chinese Communist Party in order to gain.”
Ford’s plan is to collaborate with CATL on the $3.5 billion battery plant that is expected to open in 2026 and employ a few thousand people. The company will try to save money by making batteries out of less expensive materials.
The news generated criticism and threats of congressional investigations into the company over its relationship to communist China.
“Woke companies that lecture Americans about the equity agenda are always, without fail, in bed with the Chinese communists,” tweeted political strategist Arthur Schwartz. “@Ford to move forward with $3.5 billion EV battery plant with Chinese partner.”
A source close to House Republican leadership told The Daily Wire: “The closer Ford gets to the Chinese communists the closer we’re going to look at their business.”
“We’re quickly approaching the point where Ford’s business practices are becoming a national security threat,” the source added.
A Michigan Republican strategist signaled that GOP lawmakers in the state need to be prepared to deny Ford tax incentives because of the negative impact that doing business with communist China will bring to the state.
“Ford is seeking close to a billion dollars in tax incentives from the State of Michigan,” the strategist said. “That’s a billion dollars that will directly benefit the Chinese Communist Party. Republican lawmakers in Michigan should understand that this is an issue that will get national attention.”

Manchin at Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Joe Manchin Slams Ford For Partnering With Chinese Company To Build Batteries: I’m ‘Totally Opposed’

China

Energy

Ford Motor Co.

Politics

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/ford" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ford</a> submitted a patent application for a self-driving <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vehicle</a> that would repossess itself if the owner misses car payments.
The application, initially filed two years ago but <a href="https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/20230055958" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> last week by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, involves a series of computer interactions that would initiate a “multi-step repossession procedure” in the case of delinquency. Banks could send drivers or leaseholders multiple warnings about missed payments before the vehicle is eventually locked or made to cooperate with repossession processes initiated by the financial institutions.
“When an acknowledgment is not received within a reasonable period of time, the first computer may disable a functionality of a component of the vehicle or may place the vehicle in a lockout condition,” the patent application said, referencing the computer controlled by the lending agency. “The lockout condition may be lifted momentarily in case of an emergency to allow the vehicle to travel to a medical facility.”
The technology could theoretically be implemented in several vehicle classes, including both electric and internal combustion vehicles. In the event of missed payments, the technology could also begin to deactivate vehicle features such as the air conditioning system, remote key fobs, and automated locks to “cause an additional level of discomfort to a driver and occupants of the vehicle” and encourage payment submissions. The technology could alternatively activate chimes, beepers, or radios to “emit an incessant and unpleasant sound every time the owner is present in the vehicle.”
With more unheeded car payment warnings, the driver could also be subjected to a “geofence” outside of which systems needed to drive the car would be deactivated. The system could also lock the vehicle outside of work hours to avoid “adversely affecting a livelihood of the owner of the vehicle,” thereby “hampering the owner’s ability to make payments.”
Lack of action from the driver could result in the vehicle calling for a tow truck company; semi-autonomous vehicles could move themselves to a location “more convenient” for the tow truck operators, while fully autonomous vehicles could be moved “from the premises of the owner” to the premises of a repossession agency or lending institution without a tow truck.
Vehicles with high mileage could be directed to automatically drive themselves to a junkyard if repossession costs are substantially high. In another situation, a vehicle could call the police if the driver attempts to “foil a repossession procedure” and block the vehicle’s path.
The patent application comes as more consumers default on their automotive loans due to economic turmoil and inflationary pressures. The number of debtors delinquent by more than 60 days increased 26.7% year-over-year as of December 2022, according to a <a href="https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/auto-market-weekly-summary-january-13/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Cox Automotive. Some 1.84% of loans were severely delinquent, marking the highest rate since the aftermath of the financial crisis.
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Over the past two years, inflation has prompted consumers to use more debt while financing their transactions. Higher economy-wide interest rates induced by the Federal Reserve are meanwhile translating to record car payments: average annual percentage rates on new financed vehicles increased from 5.7% in the third quarter of 2022 to 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to <a href="https://www.edmunds.com/industry/press/rising-auto-loan-interest-rates-drive-share-of-1000-monthly-payments-to-record-levels-in-q4-according-to-edmunds.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the car review website Edmunds, while the rate for used financed vehicles increased from 9% to 10%.
Despite the higher amounts of indebtedness and resultant delinquency levels, financial institutions have previously carried out abuses by repossessing vehicles. Wells Fargo agreed to a $3.7 billion <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bank-will-fork-over-3-7-billion-after-thousands-wrongly-lose-homes-and-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">settlement</a> with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last year after the bank illegally assessed fees on various loans and wrongly repossessed cars.

New Ford Mondeo Automobile Production Line At Ford Inc.’s Russia Plant

Ford Submits Patent For Car That Repossesses Itself Or Locks Drivers Out Of Features If Payments Missed

Ford Submits Patent For Car That Repossesses Itself

Business

Cars

electric vehicles

Technology

Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin said during an interview over the weekend that communist China was attempting to use a &#8220;trojan horse&#8221; to gain access to U.S. taxpayer benefits.
Youngkin made the remarks on &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo while discussing his decision to reject a multi-billion dollar electric car factory from Ford coming to his state because of the company&#8217;s connections to China.
Youngkin said the plant would have been operated by China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology and would have been a “trojan horse structure to gain access to taxpayer incentives” legislation that Democrats passed which gives credits to consumers for purchasing electric vehicles.
“This is using taxpayer money to further enrich a Chinese company at the expense of America. It’s just not happening in Virginia,” Youngkin said. “This should be an American supply chain that’s trusted, not one that’s outsourced to the Chinese Communist Party.”
WATCH:
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Youngkin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youngkin-spurns-fords-proposed-3-5b-virginia-plant-over-china-concerns">rejected</a> Ford&#8217;s $3.5 billion push for the factory last month. The plant, which was under consideration for Pittsylvania County in the southwestern part of Old Dominion, would have made lithium iron phosphate batteries for electric vehicles and employed as many as 2,500 workers.
“The consortium of Ford and CATL were hoping to build a plant, as reported and confirmed by Ford, where Ford would build the building, but a company that is majorly influenced by the Chinese Communist Party was going to operate the plant, and the employees were going to work for the Chinese Communist Party controlled company,” Youngkin said last month. “They were going to use that in order to try to tap into taxpayer benefits at state level as well as the federal level that were specifically designated for non-Chinese communist party entities.” Youngkin told reporters he was uncomfortable with a CCP-connected company benefiting from Virginia tax dollars, adding that he felt the deal’s structure was “a bit deceptive.”
Democratic state lawmakers blasted Youngkin for spurning the deal and accused the first-term governor of bashing China to further his White House ambitions. Youngkin has not indicated he is contemplating a 2024 White House bid, but his stunning 2021 victory in the key blue state drew national attention.
“To deny [people in the community] jobs because you’re in last place in Republican presidential primaries [is] gubernatorial malpractice,” state Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “I mean, this is clearly just obvious to me that the governor’s in some kind of out-China-bashing-contest with [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis and Governor Greg Abbott out of Texas.”
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Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said Ford’s partner is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and was not welcome in the state.
“While Ford is an iconic American company, it became clear that this proposal would serve as a front for the Chinese Communist party, which could compromise our economic security and Virginians’ personal privacy,” Porter told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Virginians can be confident that companies with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party won’t receive a leg up from the Commonwealth’s economic incentive packages. When the potentially damaging effects of the deal were realized, the plant proposal never reached a final discussion stage.”
Ford is now believed to be considering building the plant in Michigan.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ford-slammed-for-teaming-up-with-chinese-company-to-build-batteries-becoming-a-national-security-threat">Ford Slammed For Teaming Up With Chinese Company To Build Batteries: ‘Becoming A National Security Threat’</a>

Glenn Youngkin: Communist China Tries Using ‘Trojan Horse’ To Get Access To Reap U.S. Taxpayer Benefits

Communist China

General

Glenn Youngkin

Virginia

Ford Motor Company faced backlash this week for moving forward with a project to collaborate with a Chinese company to build batteries in Michigan for the automaker&#8217;s electric vehicles.
The news comes as the <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/technology/ford-pulls-out-all-the-stops-to-revive-a-struggling-brand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struggling</a> auto brand lost billions of dollars last year under the leadership of CEO Jim Farley in part because of bad investments and poor vehicle quality which has led to expensive recalls, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/business/ford-earnings-fourth-quarter-2022.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The New York Times.
Ford&#8217;s deal with the Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. comes after Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-20/youngkin-calls-ford-catl-battery-plant-plan-a-trojan-horse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">removed</a> his state from a plan to attract the automaker specifically because of its connection to the Chinese company.
&#8220;I look forward to bringing a great company there,&#8221; Youngkin, a highly successful businessman, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-20/youngkin-calls-ford-catl-battery-plant-plan-a-trojan-horse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in an interview last month. &#8220;It won’t be one that uses kind of a Trojan-horse relationship with the Chinese Communist Party in order to gain.&#8221;
Ford&#8217;s plan is to collaborate with Contemporary Amperex Technology on the $3.5 billion battery plant that is expected to open in 2026 and employ a few thousand people. The company will try to save money by making batteries out of less expensive materials.
The news generated criticism and threats of congressional investigations into the company over its relationship to communist China.
&#8220;Woke companies that lecture Americans about the equity agenda are always, without fail, in bed with the Chinese communists,&#8221; tweeted political strategist Arthur Schwartz. &#8220;@Ford to move forward with $3.5 billion EV battery plant with Chinese partner.&#8221;
A source close to House Republican leadership told The Daily Wire: &#8220;The closer Ford gets to the Chinese communists the closer we’re going to look at their business.&#8221;
&#8220;We’re quickly approaching the point where Ford’s business practices are becoming a national security threat,” the source added.
A Michigan Republican strategist signaled that Republican lawmakers in the state need to be prepared to deny Ford tax incentives because of the negative impact that doing business with communist China will bring to the state.
&#8220;Ford is seeking close to a billion dollars in tax incentives from the State of Michigan,&#8221; the strategist said. &#8220;That’s a billion dollars that will directly benefit the Chinese Communist Party. Republican lawmakers in Michigan should understand that this is an issue that will get national attention.&#8221;
The news comes after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down on February 4 off the coast of South Carolina after sailing across the U.S., including near sensitive U.S. military installations.
The threat that communist China poses to the U.S. is so great that even top Democrat lawmakers, like Sen. Micheal Bennett (D-CO), are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/technology/michael-bennet-tiktok-ban.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushing</a> for companies like TikTok to be banned because of China&#8217;s ability to use it to spy on Americans and to shape public opinion. The U.S. has already taken <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-fcc-bans-equipment-sales-imports-zte-huawei-over-national-security-risk-2022-11-25/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">action</a> against Chinese tech giant Huawei and continues to do so because of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-infiltrates-critical-u-s-infrastructure-can-disrupt-nuclear-response-and-spy-on-u-s-military-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extreme risk</a> the company poses to national security.

China Ford

Ford Slammed For Teaming Up With Chinese Company To Build Batteries: ‘Becoming A National Security Threat’

Foreign Policy

Michigan

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-governor-glenn-youngkin-brushes-off-criticism-after-trump-swipe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin</a> told Ford thanks, but no thanks to a potential $3.5 billion battery plant over the car maker’s partnership with China.
The plant, under consideration for Pittsylvania County in the southwestern part of Old Dominion, would have made lithium iron phosphate batteries for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-misadventure-of-electric-vehicles-wyoming-lawmakers-introduce-resolution-to-ban-new-electric-car-sales/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric vehicles</a> and employed as many as 2,500 workers. The company, which had not made a final decision, was believed to be considering building the plant in partnership with Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology before the Republican governor scuttled the deal last month.
“The consortium of Ford and CATL were hoping to build a plant, as reported and confirmed by Ford, where Ford would build the building, but a company that is majorly influenced by the Chinese Communist Party was going to operate the plant, and the employees were going to work for the Chinese Communist Party controlled company,&#8221; Youngkin said Friday. &#8220;They were going to use that in order to try to tap into taxpayer benefits at state level as well as the federal level that were specifically designated for non-Chinese communist party entities.&#8221; Youngkin told reporters he was uncomfortable with a CCP-connected company benefiting from Virginia tax dollars, adding that he felt the deal&#8217;s structure was &#8220;a bit deceptive.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Youngkin stands against communist China but Whitmer is “vying” for the business.
Whitmer has never understood economic development which has led to massive job losses and an exodus from Michigan. She courts the CCP out of desperation. <a href="https://t.co/yp3eJL0LTb">https://t.co/yp3eJL0LTb</a>
&mdash; Tudor Dixon (@TudorDixon) <a href="https://twitter.com/TudorDixon/status/1615812284940488743?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Democratic state lawmakers blasted Youngkin for spurning the deal and accused the first-term governor of bashing China to further his potential White House ambitions. Youngkin has not indicated he is contemplating a 2024 White House bid, but his stunning 2021 victory in the key blue state drew national attention.
“To deny [people in the community] jobs because you’re in last place in Republican presidential primaries [is] gubernatorial malpractice,” Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) <a href="https://richmond.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/ford-plant-halted-by-youngkin-would-have-created-2-500-jobs-in-southside/article_9edc230a-95dc-11ed-bdd8-2301b6df2e06.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Richmond Times-Dispatch</a>. “I mean, this is clearly just obvious to me that the governor’s in some kind of out-China-bashing-contest with [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis and Governor Greg Abbott out of Texas.”
Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said Ford’s partner is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and was therefore not welcome in the state.
“While Ford is an iconic American company, it became clear that this proposal would serve as a front for the Chinese Communist party, which could compromise our economic security and Virginians’ personal privacy,” Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter <a href="https://richmond.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/ford-plant-halted-by-youngkin-would-have-created-2-500-jobs-in-southside/article_9edc230a-95dc-11ed-bdd8-2301b6df2e06.html">told the Richmond Times-Dispatch</a>. “Virginians can be confident that companies with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party won’t receive a leg up from the Commonwealth’s economic incentive packages. When the potentially damaging effects of the deal were realized, the plant proposal never reached a final discussion stage.”
Ford is now believed to be considering building the plant in Michigan.
Editor&#8217;s note: This story has been updated with fresh comments from Governor Youngkin

Youngkin Spurns Ford’s Proposed $3.5B Virginia Plant Over China Concerns

Youngkin Spurns Ford's Proposed $3.5B Virginia Plant Over China Concerns

Police are searching for suspects who stole at least a dozen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ford-motor-co" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ford</a> Mustangs from a manufacturing plant in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/michigan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michigan</a>.
Police in the city of Woodhaven, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, are searching for thieves who stole between 12 and 15 Ford Mustangs from the Flat Rock Assembly Plant, <a href="https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/at-least-12-new-ford-mustangs-stolen-from-flat-rock-assembly-plant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox 2 Detroit</a> reported. Two of the stolen cars have been recovered already. The cars were stolen from a parking lot across the street from the facility. The brazen theft was followed by another theft at a Jeep manufacturing plant on the same day.
&#8220;12 to 15 new Mustangs were stolen from a lot in Woodhaven across from the Flat Rock assembly plant,&#8221; Fox 2 reporter Charlie Langton <a href="https://twitter.com/charlielangton/status/1569666982576029698?s=20&amp;t=sUZbivefuUlOzMSBVYFoeQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>. &#8220;#Police recovered two of the Mustangs. This is the second time in a week that vehicles were stolen from this lot.&#8221;
Police said the cars were stolen from the lot at around 2 a.m. local time Tuesday morning. Langton reported that the cars were last seen driving northbound on Interstate 75. It was also the second such theft in the span of less than a week. Last Thursday, thieves stole another dozen Mustangs from the same lot, local radio station <a href="https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/over-a-dozen-ford-mustangs-stolen-off-lot-in-woodhaven?utm_campaign=www.audacy.com%252Fwwjnewsradio&amp;utm_content=1663074050&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook,twitter&amp;utm_term=WWJ-AM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WWJ</a> reported. Woodhaven Police detective Adam Ruffner told WWJ that the vehicles are each worth an estimated $60,000.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not an isolated incident,&#8221; Woodhaven Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Brust told Fox 2. &#8220;I&#8217;m sure these teams have been arranged, probably have a decent leadership, they know what they&#8217;re where they&#8217;re going, they know where the easier targets are.”
Two of the stolen vehicles were recovered on Monday, Ruffner told WWJ. One of them was located in Woodhaven, while another, stolen in a previous robbery, was found in Tennessee. The plant does experience a few thefts per year, but Ruffner said that this number is unusual.
The heist at the Ford facility was followed closely by another one on the other side of the Detroit metro area. Several Jeep Wagoneer SUVs were stolen after thieves broke into a Stellantis manufacturing plant on 8 Mile Road in the city of Warren, at around 5:30 a.m. local time.
Video from the scene, taken by <a href="https://twitter.com/charlielangton/status/1569623775087312899?s=20&amp;t=sUZbivefuUlOzMSBVYFoeQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Langton</a>, showed that police had recovered two of the vehicles and were loading them onto tow trucks. The suspects escaped with an unknown number of other vehicles. Much of the police presence was across the road at the plant itself; the suspects reportedly smashed through the gate and took the vehicles from the parking lot.
&#8220;We&#8217;re looking at five or six vehicles at least, and they were the high-priced Wagoneers,&#8221; Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer told Fox 2. &#8220;When the guard came out he started to close the gate, they smashed the gate and luckily he wasn&#8217;t seriously injured.&#8221; Dwyer said the theft was a professional operation. &#8220;[They were] professionals to the extent that they know what to do and how to do it,&#8221; he said.
It is not known whether the incidents are related.
The two thefts on Tuesday morning follow what local news outlets report is a continuing trend. Police arrested two 19-year-olds outside a General Motors plant in Lansing after they attempted to steal a pair of brand new <a href="https://www.mlive.com/news/2022/09/thieves-caught-after-stealing-camaros-from-lansing-gm-plant.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chevrolet Camaros</a> from the Grand River Plant. In August, Detroit Police arrested three young boys, aged <a href="https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/detroit-police-arrest-three-kids-11-12-and-14-trying-to-steal-new-dodge-chargers-and-challengers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11, 12, and 14</a> while they were trying to steal brand new Dodge Hellcat Chargers and Challengers from a factory in the city. WWJ cited at least three more incidents that took place over the summer.

Ford Mustang Logo-2

Thieves Steal At Least A Dozen Ford Mustangs, Several Jeeps From Michigan Factories In The Same Morning

At Least A Dozen Ford Mustangs, Several Jeeps Stolen From Michigan Factories Within Hours Of Each Other

Crime

Detroit

The price of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ford-plans-to-cut-8000-jobs-so-it-can-fund-ev-push-report">Ford</a>’s Mustang Mach-E will see up to an $8,475 increase next week due to what the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ford-motor-co">company</a> says are “significant material cost increases” and “evolving market conditions.”
Buyers will face the higher price tag on the electric vehicle (EV) when order banks for the 2023 model reopen on Tuesday, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/26/ford-mustang-mach-e-price-hiked-by-as-much-as-8475-due-to-battery-costs.html">reported</a>. The increase comes just weeks after President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> signed the Democrats’ <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/inflation-reduction-act">Inflation Reduction Act</a>, a massive climate spending bill that handed out tax credits to Americans willing to purchase certain EVs.
“Ford is adjusting the MSRP on the Mustang Mach-E due to significant material cost increases, continued strain on key supply chains, and rapidly evolving market conditions, and will continue to monitor pricing across the model year,” the Michigan-based motor company <a href="https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2022/08/25/mustang-mach-e-order-banks-re-open-updated-pricing-colors.html">said</a>.
The Mustang Mach-E 2022 models were priced between 44,000 and $62,000, but the 2023 makes of the EV will cost as high as $70,000 with the cheapest option being $47,000. Earlier this month, Ford also increased prices on its electric pickup truck, the F-150 Lightning, for similar reasons, according to CNBC. Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and GM have also <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/21/electric-vehicle-prices-rise-at-tesla-rivian-gm-and-other-carmakers.html">raised prices</a> on EVs this year.
Car manufacturers are increasing EV prices after electric battery costs skyrocketed during the COVID pandemic. Materials such as cobalt, lithium, and nickel have become harder to get, with China <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/01/11/the-us-is-losing-the-lithium-industry-to-china/?sh=16e4dee16a15">dominating</a> cobalt and lithium production. That, coupled with supply chain issues, resulted in the cost of raw materials for EV production <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/22/electric-vehicle-raw-material-costs-doubled-during-pandemic.html">doubling</a> from March 2020 to May 2022.
Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-signs-740-billion-inflation-reduction-act">signed</a> the Inflation Reduction Act on August 16, with full Democratic support in the Senate, as every single Republican opposed. Along with the bill’s nearly $370 billion spent on climate, the legislation also grants tax credits of up to $7,500 for those who buy certain EVs that are assembled in North America.
“American auto companies, along with American labor, are committing their treasure and their talent — billions of dollars in investment — to make electric vehicles and battery and electric charging stations all across America, made in America,” the president <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/08/16/remarks-by-president-biden-at-signing-of-h-r-5376-the-inflation-reduction-act-of-2022/">said</a> at the bill’s signing.
According to the <a href="https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/inflation-reduction-act">Department of Energy</a>, the 2022 Ford Mach-E qualifies for Biden’s tax credit. The 2023 model, however, did not appear on the department’s list of EVs that qualified.

Ford Mustang Mach-E

Ford Electric Mustang Price Going Up After Biden, Dems Handed Out EV Tax Credit

Ford Increases Prices On Electric Mustang After Biden Handed Out EV Tax Credit

Inflation Reduction Act

Joe Biden

Ford Motor Company has been hit with a $1.7 billion verdict over a pickup truck crash that killed two parents.
Two Georgia siblings were suing Ford in Gwinnett County, slightly northeast of Atlanta after their parents, Melvin and Voncile Hill, aged 72 and 64, were killed in April, 2014 when their 2002 Ford F-250 blew a tire and rolled over. The roof of the pickup truck buckled and crunched under the force of the roll, and the couple later died from their injuries.
The jury ruled that the couple, who were grandparents at the time, would have survived the wreck if the roof of the pickup truck had not had a design flaw that made it crunch when the car rolled over.
Gruesome <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11132227/Georgia-jury-awards-1-7-billion-Ford-truck-crash-case.html">photos</a> from the scene of the crash show the pickup truck with its flattened roof. The doors, windows, and side view mirrors also appear to be severely damaged.
The couple&#8217;s adult children, Kim and Adam Hill, who are both in their fifties, sued Ford several years later in 2018 in a wrongful death case. They claimed that the Ford F-250 roof was “dangerously defective” and caused the deaths of their parents.
The siblings also sued Pep Boys, the auto shop that fitted the tires on the truck four years prior to the deadly wreck.
Initially, the younger Hills were awarded $24 million in compensatory damages. Of that, Ford is liable for 70% or $16.8 million, and Pep Boys is liable for 30% or $7.2 million.
Last week, they were awarded the $1.7 billion in punitive damages, but they will only be able to claim $425 million of that cash. The state will receive the other 75% in accordance with Georgia law.
Altogether, the Hill family is slated to receive $450 million from Ford over the tragedy.
One of the family&#8217;s lawyer&#8217;s said the couple might as well have been driving a convertible, the roof was so &#8220;useless.&#8221;
“I used to buy Ford trucks,” the family&#8217;s attorney, James Butler Jr., <a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-ford-motor-co-206ab1be18173b9ccc7b3196d413413e?taid=6302856908355000016ca876&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">said</a> on Sunday. “I thought nobody would sell a truck with a roof this weak. The damn thing is useless in a wreck. You might as well drive a convertible.”
“More deaths and severe injuries are certain because millions of these trucks are on the road,” said another of the family&#8217;s attorneys, Gerald Davidson.
In court filings, the family&#8217;s legal team cited 79 other rollover crashes that they said involved a similar flaw in the roof.
Ford <a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-ford-motor-co-206ab1be18173b9ccc7b3196d413413e?taid=6302856908355000016ca876&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">plans</a> to appeal the expensive verdict.
“While our sympathies go out to the Hill family, we do not believe the verdict is supported by the evidence, and we plan to appeal,” Ford <a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-ford-motor-co-206ab1be18173b9ccc7b3196d413413e?taid=6302856908355000016ca876&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">said</a> in a statement on Sunday.
The legacy American car company&#8217;s stock has sunk about 27% this year, and the company is currently worth about $60 billion.
Meanwhile, Ford is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/22/ford-to-cut-3000-jobs-primarily-in-north-america.html">slashing</a> about 3,000 jobs, most of which are in North America. Like many companies, Ford is attempting to cut costs as inflation stays around a 40-year high.

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Ford Hit With $1.7 Billion Verdict, Must Pay Siblings For Crash That Killed Parents

Ford Must Pay Siblings $1.7 Billion For Crash That Killed Parents

Lawsuit

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/michigan">Michigan</a> auto giant <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ford-motor-co">Ford</a> is planning on laying off up to 8,000 workers to help the company fund its electric vehicle (EV) projects, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-20/ford-plans-up-to-8-000-job-cuts-to-help-fund-investments-in-evs?srnd=premium#xj4y7vzkg">according</a> to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg.
The cuts, though still pending, are expected to be implemented in the coming weeks and will affect salaried workers, as well as the automaker’s new Ford Blue unit that was created in March to oversee internal combustion engine operations, Bloomberg reported.
“To deliver our Ford+ transformation and lead this exciting and disruptive new era of electric and connected vehicles, we remain focused on reshaping our work and modernizing our organization across all automotive business units and across the company,” Ford spokesman T.R. Reid <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-cut-8000-jobs-bloomberg-news-2022-07-20/">said</a>, adding, “As part of this, we have laid out clear targets to lower our cost structure to ensure we are lean and fully competitive with the best in the industry.”
While Ford did not comment on the reported upcoming layoffs, the company has a meeting scheduled for Thursday where it’s expected to update shareholders on the future of its EV production. The company wants to reach 600,000 EVs produced by next year and two million EVs by 2026.
The Bloomberg report flies in the face of a June <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/press-releases/2022/06/02/ford-to-invest-two-billion-to-create-new-manufacturing-jobs-in-michigan#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20are%20thrilled%20that%20Ford,our%20economy%20grow%20even%20stronger.">announcement</a> from Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer that celebrated Ford’s $2 billion investment to create over 3,000 jobs in the state related to its EV production.
“We are thrilled that Ford is advancing its long legacy in Michigan by investing $2 billion to create 3,200 good-paying UAW jobs. Today’s announcement marks another historic economic win for the state in recent months and will help our economy grow even stronger,” the governor said on June 2.
“I am proud that we came together to deliver economic development legislation that has helped us land huge projects, creating thousands of jobs,” Whitmer added. “With this announcement, Michigan has added nearly 25,000 auto jobs since I took office and we continue to lead the future of mobility and electrification.”
According to the governor’s office, Ford’s multi-billion dollar investment “ensures future opportunity for EV manufacturing growth, while securing internal combustion engine portfolio in Michigan.” That promise appears to be at odds with Ford’s reported plan to cut jobs, but it remains unclear how many Michigan jobs will be affected by Ford&#8217;s reported upcoming layoffs.
In March, Ford admitted that its EV project would not be profitable until at least 2025 when its next generation models come out. Ford CEO Jim Farley also said at a conference in February that EV portfolios were “under-earning,” and that the company had &#8220;too many people.&#8221;

Ford EV

Ford Plans To Cut 8,000 Jobs So It Can Fund EV Push: Report

Gretchen Whitmer

Tesla

If you thought the price of gas was expensive, wait till you hear about this one special Ford Mustang sports car that has an &#8220;illegal&#8221; paint job which costs a whopping $26,000 per gallon.
The New Edge SN95 SVT Cobra Mustang has all the horsepower drivers of this supercharged vehicle could want but a few special owners got one that contains a special paint job with Mystichrome color-shifting paint, <a href="https://www.motorbiscuit.com/illegal-cobra-mustang-paint-rare-costs-over-26000/">MotorBiscuit</a> reported in a piece published Tuesday. It turns out the paint is actually &#8220;illegal&#8221; for anyone that doesn&#8217;t have Ford&#8217;s permission to make or use.
The Mystichrome paint only ended up on 1,000 of these special Terminator Cobra&#8217;s, the piece noted. The &#8220;illegal&#8221; paint can be seen on right around 500 convertibles and another 500 coupes or so.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mystichrome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mystichrome</a> in motion.
Rolling shots of JC&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FordGT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FordGT</a> by Josh Nelson (<a href="https://t.co/hL15RnkVTq">https://t.co/hL15RnkVTq</a>) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MystichromeGT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MystichromeGT</a> <a href="https://t.co/8SjiCwxQ0T">pic.twitter.com/8SjiCwxQ0T</a>
&mdash; Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) <a href="https://twitter.com/FordPerformance/status/1169631860022042624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The outlet goes on to explain the trouble drivers of these cars would find themselves in if they would up in a fender-bender and the paint job got wrecked. The legendary V-8 car&#8217;s color has an insanely high price tag that would make it nearly impossible for your neighborhood body shop to afford should you end up dinging one of these cars.
And fixing it would be another bag of trouble altogether. The piece noted that the paint could only be applied if a Ford representative was present. Another thing was that the rep was completely in charge of getting the color-changing paint to the shop, overseeing the work and then making sure the can was re-sealed. They even are the only ones authorized to transport any leftover paint after the work is done.
On top of that, there are only a handful of body shops across the country that are even allowed to spray the paint — even with the rep from Ford on site.  And then if a shop was able to do the work, the price tag alone would be discouraging, with it costing more than $26,600 per gallon of the Mystichrome paint.
An example of one of the pricey Mustangs is a 2004 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra Convertible, finished in special paint that&#8217;s currently up for auction at <a href="https://carsandbids.com/auctions/K1gEVGD2/2004-ford-mustang-svt-cobra-convertible">Carsandbids</a>. The highest bid, at the time of this publication, is $37,500. There are two days left for fans to nab this specialty vehicle, with an odometer reading sitting at 15,500.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/you-wont-believe-what-this-vintage-mercedes-just-sold-for">You Won&#8217;t Believe What This Vintage, Tragedy-Linked Mercedes Just Sold For</a>

You Thought Gas Was Expensive: Special Mustang Paint Costs $26,000 Per Gallon

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Gas Prices

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Canadian protesters demonstrating against COVID-19 regulations have forced two of the world&#8217;s biggest carmakers, Ford and Toyota, to halt production at plants on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.
The plants are shut down because workers there can&#8217;t get parts that are being delayed at two U.S. border points blocked by truckers, including the most trafficked bridge in North America.
The trade disruption is estimated to be costing $300 million a day, according to the BBC.
&#8220;Truckers blocking the most important border crossing, the Ambassador Bridge, waved Canadian flags and banners denouncing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has refused to scrap a rule requiring truckers entering Canada to be fully immunised against coronavirus,&#8221; the BBC said. &#8220;The demonstrators have also voiced opposition to Covid passports and the requirement to wear masks.&#8221;
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The shutdowns came after four Canadian provinces moved to lift their COVID-19 restrictions, a response to the massive protest by truckers that has blockaded Ottawa, paralyzing the capital city.
Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island provinces have all announced plans to eliminate or roll back some or all measures. For instance, Alberta &#8220;dropped its vaccine passport for places such as restaurants immediately and getting rid of masks at the end of the month,&#8221; the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-prince-edward-canada-6f60c879c0c2eff82235e3157ad79bb0">reported</a>.
The moves came this week after a throng of truckers shut down Ottawa, protesting a January 15 rule requiring truckers entering Canada to be fully-immunized against COVID-19. On Wednesday, more than 400 trucks gridlocked the downtown area. And a blockade by fed-up Canadians entered its third day at the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, the busiest trade bridge in North America.
Some of the protesters say they are willing to die for their cause, the AP said, citing Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
“I’ll be brutally honest: You are trying to have a rational conversation and not everyone on the ground is a rational actor,” the mayor said. “Police are doing what is right by taking a moderate approach, trying to sensibly work through this situation where everyone can walk away, nobody gets hurt, and the bridge can open.”
Earlier this week, Trudeau derided the thousands of citizens protesting lockdowns and mask mandates as &#8220;a few people shouting and waving swastikas.&#8221;
As the huge protest, dubbed the &#8220;Freedom Convoy,&#8221; raged, Trudeau took aim at the opponents of nationwide regulations enacted over COVID-19 policies. During an emergency debate in Parliament on Monday, he blasted the trucker-led protests, accusing them of trying to derail Canada&#8217;s democracy.
&#8220;Individuals are trying to blockade our economy, our democracy, and our fellow citizens&#8217; daily lives. It has to stop. The people of Ottawa don&#8217;t deserve to be harassed in their own neighborhoods,&#8221; Trudeau said.
Trudeau also made accusations that there are racist elements among the protesters. &#8220;This is a story of a country that got through this pandemic by being united, and a few people shouting and waving swastikas does not define who Canadians are.&#8221;
&#8220;This pandemic has sucked for all Canadians,&#8221; the prime minister said. &#8220;Everyone&#8217;s tired of COVID, but these protests are not the way to get through it,&#8221; he added.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com.
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Freedom Convoy Truckers Protest In Toronto

Freedom Convoy: Canada Trucker Protests Force Car Plant Shutdowns

Canada

Freedom Convoy

Justin Trudeau

Ford Motor Company and General Motors want to produce their own computer chips.
The development occurs as supply chain bottlenecks impact the availability of semiconductors and other key inputs for American firms.
<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ford-enters-semiconductor-business-amid-chip-shortage-impact-11637242202?mod=hp_lead_pos1">The Wall Street Journal</a> reports:
<blockquote>Ford on Thursday morning said it had entered into a strategic agreement with U.S.-based chip maker GlobalFoundries Inc. to develop chips, a pact that could eventually lead to joint production in the U.S. The two companies didn’t disclose terms or say how much they might invest in future production capacity.
Shortly after, GM President Mark Reuss said GM was also trying to forge deeper ties with chip makers, striking strategic partnerships that could lead it to co-develop semiconductors and potentially produce them jointly. The move is part of a strategy to reduce variation in the microprocessors it uses in vehicles, he said.</blockquote>
The outlet adds that the chip shortage is limiting production and forcing automakers to reconfigure their global supply chains:
<blockquote>The semiconductor shortage has scuttled output of millions of planned vehicles industrywide this year. Some car executives have said they are taking steps to get a better handle on their chips, a critical piece of the supply chain into which they have had little visibility.
Ford is the latest example of companies realigning their business models as they grapple with the pandemic-related disruptions. Multinational companies got an early shock in the Covid-19 crisis when border closings, local restrictions and lockdowns caused chaos. Some have decided on permanent solutions.</blockquote>
Beyond car manufacturers, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/07/chip-shortage-is-starting-to-have-major-real-world-consequences.html">CNBC</a> observes that the global computer chip shortage hurts businesses in multiple sectors: “As technology has advanced, semiconductor chips have spread from computers and cars to toothbrushes and tumble dryers — they now lurk beneath the hood of a surprising number of products.”
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/never-seen-anything-like-it-elon-musk-reacts-to-global-supply-chain-issues">commented</a> earlier this year that he has “never seen anything like” the semiconductor shortage.
“Our biggest challenge is supply chain, especially microcontroller chips,” Musk said on Twitter. He then compared the company’s decision to “overorder” various products to the “toilet paper shortage” that occurred at the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States.
For the past several months, shipping vessels delivering consumer goods from Asian markets have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supply-chain-crisis-worsens-number-of-ships-off-california-coast-hits-new-record">idled</a> in the Pacific Ocean as the United States endures labor shortages, creating bottlenecks in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Retailers across the United States are therefore short on inventory to meet rising consumer demand.
Investors, however, see no immediate end in sight to the crisis. During an interview with CNBC, Paul Meeks — who led Merrill Lynch’s technology fund during the dot-com bubble and currently works as a <a href="https://go.citadel.edu/accounting-finance/faculty-staff/paul-meeks/">professor</a> at The Citadel — said that the bottlenecks may last until 2023.
“Some of these companies actually will not be able to ship units. And if they can’t ship units, they might disappoint on their earnings,” he explained. “Their stocks are so expensive that they could go down. Not go down a bit, they could go down a lot.”
“It’s a bummer and unfortunately, there’s not any relief,” he continued. “It’ll also hit the top and bottom lines of some of these vendors that are selling those hot Christmas products.”

Cars on production line in factory

Ford And GM Want To Make Computer Chips As Foreign Semiconductor Production Stays Bottlenecked

General Motors

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