EDITORIAL: The Ford we didn't know

Ford CEO Jim Farley exposed significant product-development lapses during his company's fourth-quarter-2022 earnings call on February 2. Ford's 4Q profit performance was no-excuses dismal. Its causes, he stated, run deep. So, in front of investors and media, Farley boldly lifted Ford's PD skirt to reveal alarming management and process issues behind the dysfunction. The fire had to be lit.

“We didn't know that our wiring harness for Mach-E was 1.6 kilometers longer than it needed to be,” Farley stated on the call. “We didn't know it's 70 pounds heavier and that that's [worth] $300 a battery. We didn't know that we underinvested in braking technology to save on the battery size.” Credit to CNN's Chris Isidore for roping these EV-specific details into a Feb. 3 story.