Ford CEO Jim Farley is a man who knows his audience. The chief executive has made a few statements that are guaranteed to please the enthusiasts among Ford’s fans at the ongoing Detroit Auto Show. While the face of a global company will typically do that to keep spirits up and appease Wall Street, Farley’s authentic excitement for cars (and racing) leads me to believe that the man’s really on a mission. That mission? No boring cars.
“Rule No. 1 at Ford: no boring products,” Farley told Automotive News at the event. “We do not make shampoo.”
Ford drastically changed its product strategy years ago when it axed its passenger car portfolio from the North American market, focusing purely on crossovers, SUVs, trucks, and performance vehicles. We’ve seen some truly cool stuff come out of Dearborn since then, though there’s always been a lingering feeling they’re underserving a sector of the automotive industry—but that’s another story for another time.
Farley’s pledge to keep the V8 alive as long as possible, his willingness to build and sell a $300,000 Mustang that’s essentially a street-legal GT3 race car, green-lighting the storied pony car’s return to endurance racing, and his focus on off-road performance vehicles backs up his claim of “no boring products.”
During last year’s Rolex 24, Ford Performance boss Jay Ward told me that the Blue Oval had spent some time “learning from other brands,” specifically Porsche with the 911. The comment was made about the 911’s various trims and levels offered to suit different tastes and budgets, adding that nothing was stopping Ford from doing something similar. Now, Farley is referencing the Stuttgart automaker once more, but in a slightly different way.
“Ford wants to be the No. 1 undisputed off-road brand in the world,” Farley told AN. “We want to be the Porsche of off-road.”
I recently drove a Ford Ranger Raptor—which we named The Drive‘s Best Truck of 2024—and its handling capabilities blew me away. I’m not saying it’s directly compared to, say, a Porsche 911 Dakar, but I can see where Farley is going with this. I’ve also done some high-speed off-roading in a Bronco Raptor and it’s a serious, serious machine.
Farley’s comment has less to do with making its performance products drive like a Porsche and more with making Ford the go-to brand for folks who desire a high-performance off-road vehicle. Y’know, just like Porsche is the go-to brand for sports car enthusiasts.
According to the report, Ford’s off-road-inspired vehicles accounted for 20% of its approximately 2 million sales in 2024. In case you’re not great at math, that’s roughly 400,000 units. Jim Baumbick, Ford’s vice president of advanced product development has taken notice and backed Farley in his quest to avoid boring cars.
“We’re not trying to make toasters on wheels,” Baumbick told AN. “We’re not trying to make just commodity products. It’s all about emotion.”
Emotion is important in the car business, and it certainly gets folks to visit Ford.com or even a dealership, but it’s not the only thing required to sell cars. Especially expensive performance machines, whether they’re SUVs, trucks, or sports cars. 2025 figures to be another interesting year for the automotive industry as it navigates ever-rising prices for consumers, the intersection of electrification, the realities of mass-scale production, and—at least in the U.S.—a new administration and all the regulatory uncertainty that comes with it.
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