June 16th, 2026 | Ford's $30K EV pickup breaks cover; Nicole Lacy on F&I trends

June 16th, 2026 | Ford's $30K EV pickup breaks cover; Nicole Lacy on F&I trends Automotive News Daily Drive · Jun 16, 2026

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Car

Ford Ranger

The Ford Ranger is a pickup truck that’s in the middle size class. It’s generally bigger than the Maverick, with more room and more truck capability. It may be discussed to explain how Ford defines its truck sizes.

Car

Ford Maverick

The Ford Maverick is a small pickup truck. It’s built to be easier to park and drive than bigger trucks, while still being able to carry things in the bed. It’s mentioned a lot when people talk about how Ford’s trucks are different sizes.

Term

negative equity

Negative equity is when your car is worth less than what you still owe on it. If you trade it in, that “extra” amount can get added to the next loan, making the new loan bigger.

Term

loan links

“Loan links” sounds like the way your old car loan affects your next car loan. If you still owe a lot on the old car, that can end up increasing what you have to borrow for the next one.

Term

interest rates

Interest rates are what you pay for borrowing money. When rates are higher, car loans cost more each month and overall, which can make it harder to get out of a bad trade-in situation.

Term

longer terms

“Longer terms” refers to extending the length of the auto loan (more months/years). Longer loans can keep payments lower in the short run, but they also increase the total interest paid and can delay equity building, especially when the vehicle’s value drops faster than the loan balance.

Brand

Subaru

Subaru is a car brand. In this conversation, the dealer network is being used as an example of how incentives and financing choices can affect whether customers get stuck owing more than the car is worth.

LIVE

Welcome to Daily Drive, for Tuesday, June 16, 2026.

I'm Kellan Walker in Las Vegas, today on the show.

A peace deal with Iran may be in the works, but don't expect relief at the service counter

anytime soon.

The EU-US trade deal clears a major hurdle, and two big GM suppliers are taking their

spat public.

Plus, RC Lacey Auto Group's Nicole Lacey gives us a look at the FNI trends she's seeing

on the dealership floor.

Let's run through all the news you need to know to keep up in the auto industry.

Even with a preliminary US-Iran peace deal reportedly on the table, don't expect quick

relief for dealer service lanes.

The ongoing conflict has blocked nearly a fifth of global oil flows through the Strait

of Hormuz, disrupting supplies of synthetic motor oil and other petroleum-based products.

Nissan has already started rationing oil supplies to US dealers.

The National Automobile Dealers Association says members are concerned about dwindling

synthetic oil inventories.

And according to the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association, lubricant prices

aren't expected to ease until at least mid-2027.

The EU-US trade deal is one step closer to reality.

The European Parliament voted today to ratify the agreement, ahead of a July 4 deadline imposed

by President Trump.

Here's the deal.

The EU drops tariffs on US industrial goods and in exchange gets a 15% ceiling on its

exports to the US.

But Germany's VDA says even that rate is still squeezing its automakers.

And even under the deal, friction over metals tariffs and tech regulations could still cause

tensions to flare up again.

EU member countries are expected to give final sign off June 26.

And a rare public supplier spat is playing out at top levels of two major GM vendors.

Lear CEO Ray Scott trumpeted a mid-cycle conquest win, snagging GM's wire harnessing business

for its T1 full-size SUV program from incumbent Aptiv.

Aptiv CEO Kevin Clark fired back on his own earnings call.

He called the lost business low margin and build to print and called Scott's comments

about Aptiv's GM relationship disturbing.

The clash reflects a broader squeeze.

With fewer new platforms to fight over, suppliers are increasingly poaching business from each

other.

And those are today's headlines.

You can find more details on all those stories at AutoNews.com.

Ford's $30,000 electric pickup is breaking cover.

The automaker has been testing heavily camouflage prototypes in California.

And the camo suits include a QR code linking to new video footage.

What CEO Jim Farley calls Ford's answer to low-cost Chinese EVs due in 2027.

Here to talk about it is Michael Martinez, who covers Ford for us at Automotive News.

Mike, welcome back to Daily Drive.

Thanks, Co.

Alright, Mike, so how close is this truck to being production ready?

And what does the footage actually tell us about where Ford stands?

Well, we're getting pretty close here.

We know the truck's going to launch in 2027.

We heard when I was in Long Beach to tour that EV center, they said they would start

rolling out prototypes in the coming weeks to test them on streets.

They're going to start doing more builds in Louisville at the plant where it will be produced.

So we'll see more and more on the roads as the years go on, as the year goes on, rather.

But I'd say just in terms of what we can tell about the truck from these prototypes,

not much.

That camo is really good, and they lay it on pretty thick.

Although we can at least distinguish the size.

It looks small.

It looks like a Maverick, not like a Ranger.

Ford has said consistently it's a midsize, but it looks way more like a compact,

at least in automotive news parlance.

Now, Ford is building this as the foundation for an entire platform.

What's the bigger picture beyond just this one truck?

Well, we know there'll at least be a handful of models on this UAV platform.

We reported last year and last year's future product pipeline that there would be

a small crossover coming after the pickup in 2028.

You guys can stay tuned for a couple more months for the next future product.

We'll probably have an update there.

But Ford's made a point to say that they can move to any type of body style,

including sedans with this platform.

So a lot of optionality there.

Perfect. Mike, always insightful.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Thanks, Cole.

Nicole Lacey is a business manager with the RC Lacey Auto Group,

where she works the FNI office day in and day out.

She joins automotive news retail reporter John Hutter to talk about the latest

trends she's seeing, from shifting customer attitudes to what's moving the

needle on product sales.

You know, obviously affordability is a big issue we're hearing about.

And it's kind of, but it's looking more and more like the Fed isn't going to cut

rates either tomorrow or really for the rest of the year.

In fact, there's a possibility it could even raise them a quarter point.

And so I was kind of looking at, is that going to be manageable for you guys?

Like how bad that Z Jam, your, your, your store?

I guess stores, technically.

I mean, interest rates, it's, it's always a struggle.

It's always a hurdle that we have to get over.

You know, I was discussing these things with my brother and other managers,

and they were just like, you know, it's another hurdle that us as dealerships

have to get over the past five years.

It kind of just seems like it's one thing after another.

And they promise that, you know, oh, the rates are going to be cut.

And then next thing you know, like you just said, they're actually being raised

a quarter point.

It's nothing we haven't done before in the past.

It is an extra hurdle.

It does make it a little bit tougher, you know, more cash deals versus financing.

Not as many people coming in through the doors, but it's nothing we haven't seen

before. So I know we'll be able to get through it.

Sure. No, that's fair.

Yeah. And that it's funny.

I kind of heard that from like Cox had a kind of a similar take.

Well, it's dealership just gotten used to it, you know, just that, you know.

And then kind of the other the other finance one is the loan term lengths

because that seems to be the main way dealers are managing affordability.

And I was curious to kind of get your take on what you guys are seeing.

You know, like it looks like it is starting to creep up.

Like if you guys are seeing more 72, 75, 84 or kind of talk about what you're

what you guys are seeing on the ground with longer loan terms.

I would definitely say on average, our loan rate is 66, 72.

I have a couple of banks who have come in and are like, yeah, we're going to push

it until 96 months.

We don't want that.

You know, I mean, it's bad enough we got a 67 year term coming in

and, you know, the turn rate isn't as fast and everything.

So I don't want to see that 96 month one.

But there are banks out there trying to make that, you know, next step

so it can be affordable for the consumers.

We try to put a lease on every kind of right back just to, you know,

compare and kind of keep the trade cycle a little shorter, keep our customers

coming in sooner rather than later.

But the 72, 84 months is definitely happening a lot more than it used to.

Talk about you said with the leases.

So you kind of offer that as like, hey, we could get you, we can do a 72

month loan or we could do a lease with this monthly payment.

Yeah.

So our salespeople are trained to, you know, during, you know, the initial

initial meet and greet when they're trying to learn about the customer

and everything like that, kind of drop the seed about leases just so we can,

you know, show, yeah, you, you're still going to have a $600 a month payment

and you're out 67 years, or we can lease it and, you know,

you're 200, $300 lower.

So it's, it's just something that we try to, you know, put out there,

let the customer decide, but also kind of help us out in the meantime.

No, that, that makes sense.

Talk about the return cycle.

What do you, are you guys seeing a blip, like, let's say in, like,

historically, if you did a 60 month loan, they would come back in three years,

but the ones that you've done 72 in the past year, I'm just making these numbers

up, but they're coming back at four or five.

Talk about how that plays out, you know, in terms of when they return at

different loan likes.

Yeah.

When we had a shorter terms and even more incentivized shorter terms, you

know, 60 month terms, we'd be seeing people around the four year, four and a

half year mark coming back sooner or at least, you know, three years into the

loan I'm looking for next year.

What are my options?

You know, start the conversation.

I'm now with the 67 years.

It's, they might come in within six years at the seven, you know, they're

holding on to their vehicles a lot longer.

You know, I don't have a car payment right now.

You know, I had a 1.9 36 month loan.

I haven't had a car payment in three years.

I have an 800 credit scoring.

You're still coding me 67 percent with a $700 payment.

Why would I come in and do that right now when I haven't had a car payment?

It's been a few years.

I'll, I'll wait to see what happens kind of thing.

That's interesting.

So it's not even a negative equity thing that's keeping them out of it.

It's just that their prior deal was so good.

Yeah, they, they paid it off and they don't.

No, it's crazy.

I mean, you know, the past, well, now it's been six years since COVID, but

the past six years in the car industry has been, it's been wild.

You know, we had COVID, the chip shortages, everything between interest rates.

And if these people got in when it was hot for that time to trade in the used vehicle,

you know, they were getting crazy at numbers for their trade in.

And now when they're coming in and seeing 67 percent interest rate,

not having that extra equity in their trade to them, it doesn't make sense.

And I'm, that's a big hurdle we're getting over.

Are you running into a big negative equity issue because of loan links?

Or was that more of just the prices that things were at a few?

So it's both because of the loans and everything.

We are seeing quite a few more people in a negative equity situation and no one

wants to roll that over into a new loan, especially with interest rates

and the price of vehicles.

But yeah, the longer terms and the loans and everything

that definitely affects the equity and inequity in their vehicle.

Are you guys running into a more negative equity kind of situation,

just in general with consumers?

Or is it the same amount, but it's higher with their packing in terms of it?

You know, it truly depends, you know, there's, I would say

probably 50 percent of our customers, we can get them out clean,

not necessarily having any equity or inequity in their vehicle,

kind of like making it clean.

But it also depends on what their interest rate before, what their credit score was.

Those all kind of fall into play, you know, a good credit score.

Yeah, we can definitely try to get you out.

Anything that's a little bit lower or more of a challenge is

we've been seeing a little bit more of that lately.

In Ballpark, what would you estimate are 72

and above loan likes that you're dealing with that you're running into?

Or I guess that you're I'm sorry, that your customers are taking out now today, you know?

Yeah, I mean, I would say we have a pretty high 6070 percent or doing 72

Being a Subaru dealer, too, they're kind of incentivizing out that far as well.

So it's why wouldn't they take it if even if they want to pay it off sooner?

But I would say a majority of our customers who are taking the loans

are going the 72 month. Interesting.

Do you get are you getting anybody going longer?

Are you getting any eighty fours?

Yes, yep. Yeah.

So we have a few banks and everything who

will stretch the term out from 72 up to 77 months kind of thing.

So you give people that leeway and then the 84 up to 86

And if it just happens to fall, you know, make their payment twenty dollars less,

customers are taking it. Interesting.

And so and when you're your estimate about seventy percent,

that'd be 72 and above, right?

It'd be just anything that's that long, like including the eighty fours.

OK, gotcha.

And then the last affordability one, I'd got some data from Experian

talking about how there are still it's like twenty percent of the deals

they're seeing out there are new vehicles and there you can actually get

a payment under 500 a month.

And but they they sent me kind of a I think I sent that to you

of kind of what vehicles they are.

And so I'm trying to get a handle on is that is it just like incentives

and people with, you know, insanely good credit or, you know, or is can you actually

put people into regular people into, you know, sub 500 a month payments.

And I mean, since Ford and Subaru had a lot of vehicles that are more,

you know, more affordable in that range, I wanted to get your take as,

you know, somebody who sells both of those.

No, it's definitely incentive wise, having money down what their credit score is.

You kind of have to have like the perfect trifecta for it to be that amount.

I mean, I've going back to affordability,

especially with some of those vehicles, too, with the leasing.

I mean, I've seen people recently put eight to 10000 dollars down on a lease

to get it under, you know, 1100 dollars and make it affordable to them.

But I haven't seen that ever.

So it's definitely, like I said, the incentives, the money down,

the credit score, all of that kind of plays into that lower number.

So even with the more like something like a maverick or something like that,

the customers really can't get like a I think that's the cheapest thing

for these days, you know, they can't really get a sub 500

unless it's, you know, amazing credit or something like that.

Yeah, I mean, it would it would be close.

I haven't ran one in a while, but a majority of it is the incentives,

the good credit score and money down.

Kind of on that note, just talk about kind of the affordability more in general,

what you're what you're seeing with consumers.

And we touched on loan lengths a little bit, but just kind of, I don't know,

what problems are you running into or just in general?

What affordability strains are you finding as a dealer?

We're having a lot of people take cash out of their retirements.

They're 401ks right now, everything like that.

And yeah, it's awful to hear that that's what they're doing

because they'd rather, you know, have something that they can drive

and it's safe, it's something different than what they have.

But at the same time, it's like you're digging into your retirement fund

right now or they're taking out, you know, a home equity loan

because it makes more sense than paying the finance rate on these vehicles.

There's really no talking them out of it either because how you said,

interest rates, they're not going anywhere.

But that's what we've seen a lot of, a lot more cash deals, a lot less traffic.

It's, you know, just trying to stay relevant and get out there

and find ways that we can get these cars off our law and affordable for customers.

Are more and more of your customers piling into used

or do they still, the new buyer is still the new buyer?

You know, I was talking to a guy at Edmonds about that

where it's like psychologically the guys that want new,

it's a lot to make them for them to switch to used.

Is it skewing more used these days for you guys or?

We're in a very interesting location in upstate New York.

So our trends are definitely a little bit different than everyone else's.

Right now, for the past few months, we've done essentially 50-50,

50% new, 50% pre-owned.

You do have those buyers who are the true least buyers too,

which every three years they want a brand new vehicle.

They like the new technology, new safety, all of that.

And then you have the more conscious, I guess, people who would say,

nope, I, you know, I want a pre-owned one.

I want the better warranty on it.

I want all the bugs and stuff like that already out of it, the depreciations out of it.

But we're in a unique spot up here.

So it's about like 50-50.

That's Daily Drive for today.

I'm Kellyn Walker.

Thanks to Automotive News executive producer Jake Neer,

as well as our own Michael Martinez for his reporting for today's podcast.

We also had reporting from Curt Nagle of our sibling publication,

Friends Detroit Business.

You can get the latest news on Ford's EV strategy, trade policy,

and everything happening in the auto industry at AutoNews.com.

We'd love to hear from you.

Let us know what you think of the show and the topics we covered today.

Send us an email at dailydrive at autonews.com

or leave us a voicemail at 313-444-2774.

And if you enjoy the podcast, remember to like, leave a review and subscribe

so you never miss an episode.

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17:45

Ford Ranger

Ford Maverick

negative equity

loan links

interest rates

longer terms

Subaru

About this episode

Original notes