Ford pulls out of SEMA - The end of the line for ICE support from Ford?

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Its sad Ford never really had it for the 'street' guys. This is why Chevrolet has dominated the performance street reputation for the masses. Look now what the popular LS series of engines has done to revive the small block evolution. Ford, on the other hand is still playing catch up. They never learn.

Chevy has always been the most HP for your dollar. Take a look at crate engine prices between Ford and Chevy. I've got a new (not rebuilt) Chevy 300 hp 4 bolt main SB in the garage. I think it was about $1,900 delivered. What's a used 4 bolt 302 block - $1,500? All the replicas in Ford v Ferrari were powered by LS engines. Ever ask yourself why Pete Brock never opens the hood of his beautiful red Coupe at a Ford event? I'll let you guess.

[csxsfm]

So true.  Back when I was racing in the late 60's I used to get upset when I would walk into John Geer Chevrolet and see a long block L88 selling for what I was paying for a HiPo 289 short block.  Still get steamed thinking about it!  Darn beancounters.

[68countrysedan]

Chevy has always been the most HP for your dollar. Take a look at crate engine prices between Ford and Chevy. I've got a new (not rebuilt) Chevy 300 hp 4 bolt main SB in the garage. I think it was about $1,900 delivered. What's a used 4 bolt 302 block - $1,500? All the replicas in Ford v Ferrari were powered by LS engines. Ever ask yourself why Pete Brock never opens the hood of his beautiful red Coupe at a Ford event? I'll let you guess.

I have always been annoyed that the aftermarket, along with enthusiast publications, were SBC, SBC, SBC centric. But your comment is reality. Upside is that SBFs are covered by the aftermarket, albeit, more money.

I commend GM for deloping the LS engine series. The upgraded OHV design makes a heck of impressive performance package that's a good value. I attended the LSFest-West and was impressed that the OHV V8 is alive and well and it's installed in every non-GM from Fords (which I refused to acknowledge. Put a Ford in your Ford is my standard.) to 911s. As a result, performance interest remains healthy. 

While the Modular V8 is a very good engine, Ford got high tech excessive with 3V and 4V versions. At least with the 2V you can avoid variable cam timing and extra valve and cam costs. Plus bigger bore centers would have been nice. 

Sad to read the comment about Pete Brock and his Cobra coupe.

As a post script I offer the following for  your consideration.

I read a recent Forbes article about how one coming aspect of cars is that manufacturers will be offering various apps as subscriptions like Microsoft does with its Windows, which translates into yearly charges. Also noted is that car makers no longer update older apps because the software is obsolete, like Apple no longer supports I Phone 6s.

It occured to me another reason why there's EV support besides enviromental and government aspects. An EV is esentially a computer on wheels with various programs, from drivetrain to Alexa connectivity, to be upgraded as needed. The concept of a car, transportation, image, enjoyment, is muted.

To quote Zora Arkus-Duntov, "The thoughts are offered for what they are worth - one man's thinking aloud on the subject."

[98SVT - was 06GT]

I read a recent Forbes article about how one coming aspect of cars is that manufacturers will be offering various apps as subscriptions like Microsoft does with its Windows, which translates into yearly charges. Also noted is that car makers no longer update older apps because the software is obsolete, like Apple no longer supports I Phone 6s.

It occured to me another reason why there's EV support besides enviromental and government aspects. An EV is esentially a computer on wheels with various programs, from drivetrain to Alexa connectivity, to be upgraded as needed. The concept of a car, transportation, image, enjoyment, is muted.

To quote Zora Arkus-Duntov, "The thoughts are offered for what they are worth - one man's thinking aloud on the subject."

Tesla has a lot of options you can buy and they will download to your car. Problems have cropped up when the owner sells the car with the options and then Tesla deletes them from the software because in fact the "owner" only purchased the app for the time he owned the car.
With OBD III they will be able to remotely monitor and send changes to your car - They'll even be able to mail you a ticket or shut the car off if you don't pay your tickets or get the smog system fault they detected fixed.
Never Forget Zora Arkus-Duntov invented the Ardun cylinder head for the Ford flathead and tried to get a job at Ford. They sent him on his way because they were not interested in performance.