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Ford Puts Productivity in the Fast Lane: Farley Rallies America’s Essential Economy at Michigan Central

The “Essential Economy” doesn’t grab headlines like AI or semiconductors, but without it, nothing in America moves. It’s the 95 million workers who pour concrete, weld steel, ship freight, wire grids, fix HVACs, and keep factories humming. It’s 3 million businesses across construction, manufacturing, logistics, energy, and services—the backbone of the country.

And according to Jim Farley, Ford’s outspoken CEO, this backbone is straining. Labor shortages, sagging productivity, and snail-paced infrastructure projects are throttling growth. If essential industries had matched the productivity gains of the past two decades, the U.S. economy could be 10 percent larger today. Instead, the gap between digital sectors and physical industries keeps widening: while information-sector productivity has surged 5.3 percent annually since 2015, construction, transportation, and manufacturing have been flat—or worse.

Farley isn’t content to watch from the sidelines. On September 30, he’ll host Ford Pro Accelerate, a high-stakes working session at the newly restored Michigan Central Station in Detroit. The event will bring together business leaders, policymakers, and disruptors to hash out solutions. The Aspen Institute is backing the initiative, framing it as an urgent call to action for the economy’s often-overlooked core.

“We need to summon the best ideas and put innovators to work on problems right under our noses,” Farley says. “This isn’t just a smart investment in America’s future—it’s essential.”

For Ford, the message is personal. While Mustang Mach-Es and F-150 Lightnings light up the press, it’s Ford Pro—the commercial arm that serves work fleets—that carries the lion’s share of America’s Essential Economy. With more than 40 percent of U.S. fleet share across all segments, Ford’s vans, trucks, and upfit solutions are as common on job sites as hard hats. The company’s strategy now goes beyond sheet metal, offering an integrated platform of vehicles, software, and services aimed at helping businesses do more with less.

That “less” is the issue: fewer skilled workers, shrinking margins, and long regulatory delays. In some cases, it takes a decade or more to get a new transmission line permitted. That means more strain on utilities, more bottlenecks in logistics, and more costs passed on to everyone.

Dan Porterfield, CEO of the Aspen Institute, says the partnership with Ford underscores the stakes: “Through these conversations, we share Ford’s commitment to building an economy that embraces innovation and ensures essential industries can thrive.”

For Car and Driver readers, here’s the throughline: this isn’t just about policy wonks in a restored train station. It’s about the future of the trucks, vans, and tools that make the modern world go. Whether it’s an F-Series Super Duty towing a generator to a job site or an E-Transit van hauling goods across town, the Essential Economy runs on wheels—and Ford wants to keep those wheels turning faster, smarter, and stronger.

September’s Detroit summit won’t solve the productivity puzzle overnight. But by convening the right voices under the vaulted ceilings of Michigan Central, Farley is betting that America can, once again, build its way forward.

Source: Ford

NEW CARS

The Ford GT Mk IV Bows Out After an Eight-Year Run

Ford has officially announced the last production wave of the track-only GT Mk IV, bringing the iconic American supercar’s improbable eight-year run to a definitive end.

The GT Mk IV first appeared in 2023 as the ultimate evolution of the GT lineage, a no-compromise, track-exclusive weapon built in partnership with Multimatic. While most of the planned 67 cars are already spoken for, Ford will open order books for the final handful of examples in the coming weeks. How many are left? Ford isn’t saying.

What we do know: each Mk IV is a monster. Under its elongated, aero-sculpted carbon-fiber bodywork lies a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter EcoBoost V-6 pushing out more than 820 horsepower—an even more aggressive setup than the road-going GT’s 660-hp 3.5-liter V-6. Ford claims a 0–60 time of about 3.0 seconds, but in reality, it’s the cornering numbers that raise eyebrows. Thanks to a radical aero package producing over 2,400 pounds of downforce at 150 mph and grip levels exceeding 3 Gs, the Mk IV bends physics more than most production-based cars have any right to.

Handling duties are taken care of by Multimatic’s Adaptive Spool Valve dampers, which can be adjusted from inside the cockpit—because even on a $1.7 million car, sometimes you need to fine-tune things between hot laps.

The GT Mk IV isn’t just another Ford halo car; it’s a rolling farewell to one of the most celebrated American supercars of the modern era. When this final batch of Mk IVs leaves Multimatic’s Ontario facility, the GT nameplate will retire with it. No encore, no revival—this is the end of the line.

If you want one, now’s your last chance. Just make sure you’ve got $1.7 million and a track to call home.

Source: Ford

NEW CARS

The Ford Mustang GTD Liquid Carbon: Muscle Car Meets Haute Couture

The Ford Mustang has been many things over the last six decades: affordable muscle, rental-lot burnout machine, and the occasional track-day pretender. But now? Now it’s strutting about like it’s on a Milan catwalk, dipped not in paint but in the sort of exposed carbon fiber that makes supercar owners nod in solemn approval while crying inside about depreciation.

This, ladies and gents, is the Mustang GTD Liquid Carbon. It is, somehow, an even more unhinged version of the already bonkers GTD. Ford looked at its radical track-bred monster, laughed, and decided to delete the paint altogether. Why hide the weave when you can flaunt it? The entire body is naked carbon, meticulously aligned across the hood, roof, wing, and even that cheeky little ducktail. It’s not just showing off — it’s artistry, and it makes Ferrari’s carbon options list look like GCSE woodshop.

And yes, there’s function beneath the fashion. Skipping the paint job saves 13 pounds. That’s like taking a small dog out of the car before a hot lap. Then Ford doubled down, swapping sheet-metal doors for bonded carbon-fiber ones, because in the Performance world, grams matter and excess flab belongs in the driver’s seat, not the chassis.

Naturally, the spec sheet reads like automotive wish-fulfilment. A 5.2-liter supercharged V8 hurls out 815 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque. That’s delivered through a semi-active inboard pushrod suspension — a setup more at home on endurance racers than American boulevard cruisers. The Performance pack adds 20-inch magnesium wheels, Brembo brakes big enough to stop the Earth’s rotation, and enough aero trickery to make you wonder if the car doubles as a Dyson vacuum prototype.

Inside, it’s a cocktail of black leather, Dinamica microfiber suede, and Hyper Lime stitching. Subtle? Not in the slightest. But when your car looks like Batman’s track toy on the outside, you don’t go all grey-beige Scandi minimalism inside.

Now, for the bit that makes your accountant faint: the standard GTD starts at $327,000. The Liquid Carbon? Ford hasn’t said yet, but given the artisanal carbon-fiber couture, expect the price to drift comfortably into “do I buy this or a house?” territory. Deliveries start this October, which gives you a couple of months to sell your kidneys, your neighbour’s kidneys, and maybe your neighbour.

Is it worth it?

Of course not. It’s a Mustang that costs more than most Lamborghinis. But is it also the most outrageous, spectacular, and utterly desirable Mustang ever? Absolutely.

Source: Ford