Watch! Interview: MME Chief Engineer Donna Dickson

[SWO]

She kept saying that they were only focused on testing the updated software on MY 24 to get it shipped, but they now have time to go back and perform testing on vehicles with older hardware.

That sounds like pretty terrible news for current owners to me.

We're over a year(?) past the "soon" update for BC.

What is "we have time to go back and look" in Ford years?

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[BigMach-E]

I am going to have to agree with @SWO and I said if they hung us current owners out to dry on relaxing the limiter, I said I will never buy another Ford product again. Well, there you have it @Ford Motor Company , turning “true believers” and “conquest customers” into “never again”.

 

[MellowJohnny]

You could get pretty drunk in a drinking game where you take a shot every time Kyle says "spicy" and "charging monster" in a video.

Add "full send" to the list...

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

3 years for a frunk button is a good example. I know, I know, people will say, "but they did it though" ... yeah ... *3 years later*

Many, if not most, 2021s still don’t have a remote frunk release. Among those that do, few have an in car button. They’re beyond 3 years on this.

Yeah they have certainly fumbled on updates like the frunk and Bluecruise. The reasons I'm still hopeful that we won't have to wait an obscenely long time for potential charging improvements are:

1. We've already received the MY 24 update for sync 4A, so some degree of work to bring current software to the rest of the model years has already started.
2. The only other charging curve update they sent out, to improve the speed above 80%, did not take too long to arrive via OTA after it started shipping on cars out of the factory, so it may not be as complex of an update as those other long delayed features.

A lot of We’s in there aren’t generally applicable to the ownership population.

Who is "Tom"?

Side kick. Sort of. Go watch one of the shorter videos.

 

[rreddy3]

So, I’m going to be a contrarian here: if I were to walk up to a random Mustang Mach-E owner in the parking lot and ask them about software updates, do you think they’d respond that those are a pain point?
Is it possible that software updates are more of a pain point to “enthusiasts” than to the wider group of Mustang Mach-E owners?

Not to minimize any concerns or problems an owner is having with a MME, or overlook the wealth of good information on the forum and advice from members, I've begun to wonder if the problem discussions create an echo chamber effect. It also makes me
wonder if Ford didn’t quite finish baking the cake and if I’ve bought what given enough time will become a lemon, which in turn makes we wonder if I should have kept my 2020 Acura RDX.

All that aside, 4 weeks into the car I can say, I like it. No major complaints. A few actual buttons for some key features would be better than having to fish around through menus, although you can get use to the menus. Personally I think the styling is great, and the dash panel to my eye is mid century Danish modern, even with the giant screen plopped in the middle, and in answer to s different thread, as far as I am concerned it is a Mustang that happens to be electric and have a bit more utility value than an ICE Mustang. And, yes, I have experienced ICE Mustangs. I bought two ICE Mustangs new. None, however, from the modern era. The first was a ‘69 convertible and the second a “new edge” SN95 series coupe, I believe that car was an ‘00. Fun cars.

I do understand the OTA updates are a hot topic. In a discussion I had with a person at Ford about a couple of questions about the car, I said Ford would do itself and the MME owner community a huge favor if Ford explained its OTA process clearly and the logic behind it, and implement changes as needed to the logic and process. The person said the mesasge would be passed to that person’s boss. For what all that is or isn’t worth.

 

[SWO]

Add "full send" to the list...

Oh yes, how could I forget.

 

[Rabidsquirrel22]

A lot of We’s in there aren’t generally applicable to the ownership population.

You really think there are a significant amount of 2021 MY owners that haven’t received the >80% charging improvement software???

 

[Deleted User 981389]

After 11 Ford products over the last 30 years I'm done with @Ford Motor Company. Between 3.5L cam phasers, CP4 failures on the 6.7 and the MME GTPE disappointment I'm done.

 

[BigMach-E]

After 11 Ford products over the last 30 years I'm done with @Ford Motor Company. Between 3.5L cam phasers, CP4 failures on the 6.7 and the MME GTPE disappointment I'm done.

See! This is what I’m talking about, Ford! You had a chance, and you are blowing it. Everyone knows that the only hardware change to 24 in terms of drive train/battery components is this new in house motor, that doesn’t have higher specs than the BorgWarner, other than maybe efficiency, and the GTPE uses about 3/4ths the capacity of that motor. These performance increases are just software, it’s not a hardware thing any anyone who is saying that it’s hardware based doesn’t know what they are talking about.

 

[Mirak]

I missed the interview. What did Donna say about the trunk button?

 

[HuntingPudel]

Finally watched the video. Ms. Dickson did say that @Ford Motor Company is looking into placing some part of the performance upgrades onto legacy GT hardware. Hopefully, the validation process will be short. ?‍?

 

[rcechinel]

Who is "Tom"?

Tom Moloughney, one of the other hosts of the podcast. He is very tight with Ford, had exclusive interviews with Jim Farley before. He and Kyle were at the unveil of the NACS adapter on the day Tesla opened up the superchargers to Ford. Allegedly, they did it in Jersey because Tom lives there, but he was in Europe and arrived at the very end of it, leaving Kyle to shine alone. I like the show because all 3 put out a lot of good content, especially Kyle, who is a robot and works 24x7. And it's an excellent summary for all EV news for the enthusiasts.

 

[SWO]

See! This is what I’m talking about, Ford! You had a chance, and you are blowing it. Everyone knows that the only hardware change to 24 in terms of drive train/battery components is this new in house motor, that doesn’t have higher specs than the BorgWarner, other than maybe efficiency, and the GTPE uses about 3/4ths the capacity of that motor. These performance increases are just software, it’s not a hardware thing any anyone who is saying that it’s hardware based doesn’t know what they are talking about.

Part of me wonders if Ford is stuck in the archaic mentality that updating the older cars will rob from '24 sales.

If Ford doesn't pass along the charging and power updates to the older cars it will say a lot about their commitment to supporting the vehicles post-sale.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

You really think there are a significant amount of 2021 MY owners that haven’t received the >80% charging improvement software???

Yes. I know a few on this island alone.

As for the update that added the frunk release for job 1 2021 cars, it only enabled the door keypad code release method. They may or may not have the FordPass button and only two of the folks I know with job 1s have the sync screen button. They’re both on the mainland.

 

[Hammered]

Hearing about how impressive this Donna Dickson gal is, I have to say, after watching this video today, she didn't seem all that impressive to me.

She seems like a diversity hire. Ford's been doing this a lot and it's reflecting in the quality and final outcome of the product. Had a gear head been put in charge of the MME, things would be much different. This is a direct result of the DEI push of black rock / state street / vanguard being their largest shareholders. I watch just about every video from ford reps and despite making up about ~3% of engineers, they've got several top spots held by women. While I noticed the unusual makeup of heads of departments, my sister who is a literal rocket scientist pointed out it happens too frequently and she's leaving a one of the large defense contractors due to such things. She's not even vocal but will ramble on about wondering how some of these individuals made it through school.

Ford is at the top of recalls costing them billions because they're not putting the best candidate into spots that require the best of the best. They didn't even have the sense to push for higher power hybrids. They try to do econoboxes (or 100k lincolns) instead of making 600hp+ PHEVs people would buy. Hell they under-rate the hybrid F150s so the raptor 3.5 looks like the top dog in power (it's not). Now after squandering the last 3-4 years and making a mediocre push on EVs, they're suddenly going to concentrate on hybridizing the fleet. Farley has got to go. I won't buy another ford until that joker is gone. His tenure has been a trainwreck.

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