Ford

That stands for “extended range electric vehicle,” basically plug-in hybrids with a small internal combustion engine to recharge the EV battery for more range. Ram and VW-backed Scout were the first to announce EREV plans, and now the Blue Oval is working on its own, according to Bloomberg. Ford is getting its clock cleaned by Tesla and GM on EV sales, so the automaker is turning to new powertrains to tide customers over while they wait for its Silicon Valley-based skunkworks team to crack the code on cheap EVs.

Canadians can now take advantage of the recently extended Ford Power Promise promotion, which includes a free home charger plus standard installation, 24/7 live EV support, and access to the BlueOval charging network. You must buy or lease a new Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, or an E-Transit vehicle between February 1st and March 31st to take advantage. In Quebec, the charger plus installation costs $2,450 plus tax.

As reported by TechCrunch, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expanding the investigation into the driver-assistance software, which was announced last April.

Ford UI supervisor Ruth Vann shares news on a Sync 4A update that puts all the camera feeds on one screen, migrates settings like Pro Trailer Hitch Assist and Zone Lighting into easier-to-access apps, and merges audio sources into one Media app.

Jim Farley relayed his experience driving the Xiaomi SU7 EV in the US for the last six months on the Everything Electric podcast recently. Ford flew one out from China so he could live with it every day. “I don’t want to give it up,” Farley said. That said, he said he’s confident that Ford is taking the threat of Chinese EVs seriously, touting the company’s “skunkworks team” in Silicon Valley that’s at work on the next-gen EV platform.

An annual subscription to BlueCruise will now cost $495, down from $800, while a monthly subscription is reduced to $49.99 from $75. Ford’s also offering a new one-time payment for BlueCruise at $2,495, or a one-year purchase of $495 — for those that are ready to fully embrace the hands-free lifestyle.

In another sign that automakers are confused about how their customers want to spend their time while confined in their vehicles, Ford released a new karaoke app for the F-150 Lightning and (eventually) the Mustang Mach-E. The process only works while the vehicle is parked, leading Ford to assume this will be a popular activity while EV charging. Me? I’ll take “wandering aimlessly through a Walmart” over this.

The driver-side door keypad was once standard on America’s best-selling vehicle. No longer, reports The Drive, as it will now become a $455 dealer option. I suppose the silver lining is that Ford isn’t trying to turn it into a subscription.

Ford CEO Jim Farley announced the European Commission’s approval of its hands-free BlueCruise driver-assist tech (despite an ongoing NHTSA investigation), which means Mustang Mach-E buyers in 15 EU countries can now get the feature (and some current owners can get it through a software update).

Ford is taking the opportunity to advertise its Pro Power Onboard generators available in some F-150 models, including gas and Lightning EV versions, after Hurricane Beryl caused major outages in the Houston area. Product communications director Mike Levine posted a map showing where F-150 trucks generated at least one kilowatt of electricity.

The automaker clearly has no qualms about slapping beloved nameplates on new vehicles (see: Mach-E, Mustang), so it shouldn’t come as a complete shock that it would bring the Capri name out of retirement for its second EU-only EV. (The first was the electric Explorer.) Also, what is this guerrilla campaign? Clearly Ford’s European marketing team has a longer leash to experiment than their stateside brethren.

The Verge alum Sean O’Kane crunched the LinkedIn data to conclude that Ford’s secretive EV skunkworks has grown to over 300 employees, with 50 coming from Rivian alone. Ford has also poached workers from Tesla, Lucid, Canoo, F1, and Apple’s recently disbanded car project. The group, led ex-Tesla engineer Alan Clarke, is tasked with designing a lineup of low-cost EVs for the Blue Oval.

Ford CEO Jim Farley touted a recent milestone: 200 million miles traveled for customers using the automaker’s hands-free driver assist system, BlueCruise. That’s enough for a roundtrip from the Earth to the Sun. Meanwhile, Tesla said its customers using Full Self-Driving have gone over 1 billion miles — or enough for a trip to Saturn. Who will be the first to reach Pluto?