It's a new era for the Ford Motor Company. For the first time in 55 years, the automaker expanded its lineup of the iconic Mustang model with an all-electric version — and the line's first SUV.
"It's time to transition to electrification," Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of automotive, told Cheddar Monday.
Hinrichs says Mustang has traditionally focused on "fast, fun, and affordable," and he believes the Mach-E will stand up to that test. It reaches 0 to 60 miles per hour in about 3 seconds.
The Mach-E also has a range of at least 260 miles which keeps the model in line with Ford's environmental sustainability commitments. Drivers making the switch from gas to electric will have access to some 12,000 charging stations through the FordPass Charging Network, the largest public charging system in North America. Ford will also offer multiple home charging solutions as it puts more than $11 billion into a global transition to electric vehicles.
At price points ranging from about $44,00 to $60,000, the Mach-E costs about $10,000 more than a combustible engine Mustang but is competitive with Tesla, the leading electric car brand. Hinrichs predicts all manufactured Ford vehicles will be electric at some point "in our lifetime." He says the company already has 40 all-electric or hybrid cars in development.
Ford's technology teams aren't solely focused on electric. The company is carefully working on its autonomous technology and Henrichs says it will wait until self-driving cars are safer than those driven by humans. "The requirements are greater than [for] a human driver, and they should be," says Hinrichs "We tolerate a lot of human driver behavior that we won't tolerate in an autonomous vehicle."
The Super Bowl is only a few days away, and the game is currently tracking to be the most expensive one ever.
Gametime, a website and app for last-minute tickets, says the average ticket price for the NFL's championship game is $9,502.50, with the most expensive seats costing nearly $38,000. That's a far cry away from the average ticket price of the first-ever Super Bowl in 1967, which was only $12. The average ticket price increased by more than $8,000 in just the past decade. Matt Rados, Senior Operations Manager at Gametime, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Earlier this week, digital investment advisor Betterment announced that it has hired Makara, a company known for its management of cryptocurrency portfolios. Sarah Levy, CEO of Betterment, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she explains why crypto represents such a promising long-term play and how her company stands to benefit from this latest move.
At-home medical labs company Getlabs raised $20 million in a Series A round, led by Emerson Collective and the Minderoo Foundation. Getlabs aims to be the boots-on-the-ground partner to telehealth. The company says more than 70% of medical decisions still require collecting diagnostic tests in person, and that it fills that void by delivering health care directly to their patients' homes. Founder & CEO of Getlabs Kyle Michelson joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The White House laid out plans for a $5 billion investment into a national network of charging stations to ease EV driving anxiety. Bruce Brimacombe, CEO of EV infrastructure GOe3 joined Cheddar News to discuss how much needs to be done for drivers to get over the fear of running out of energy. "People need to be able to do what they're doing now," he said. "But that is the way that if you're going to buy an electric car, you got to feel like you're not changing your world." Brimacombe noted that building out the infrastructure between cities was GOe3's own focus.
U.S. automakers are saying that the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, a crucial border crossing between the U.S. and Canada, is affecting their production lines. Michelle Krebs of Cox Automotive warns that the disruption "couldn't come at a worst time," amid chip and labor shortages in Detroit.
AND DETROIT-BASED AUTO MAKERS SAY THEY ARE SHUTTING DOWN PLANTS OR SCALING BACK PRODUCTION BECAUSE OF PARTS SHORTAGES.
Sonos reported better than expected Q1 earnings amid chip shortage with the release of its Roam product. CFO Brittany Bagley joined Cheddar News to discuss the smart speaker maker's successful report and its plans to hit its 2024 targets as people leave their homes as pandemic restrictions ease. "Even as people head out in the world, it doesn't mean they don't like to listen to music at home or watch a streaming movie at home," she said. "So there's still a real role for us and our products in peoples lives, sort of, no matter what else they're doing."
Lynn Martin, president of the NYSE Group, explains why investors at the New York Stock Exchange should still feel confident despite the recent Wall Street volatility and discusses the landscape for 2022 when it comes to IPOs and retail investors.
The merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery received Justice Department approval on Wednesday, and Patty Hirsch, EVP of consumer and digital platforms at WarnerMedia, joined Cheddar News to discuss current and future offerings from the media conglomerate that will control both HBO Max and Discovery+. "Content really drives so much, and CNN has always had a very long history of creating an incredible documentaries, incredible content … and this service I think is going to ultimately provide the kind of content consumers want and the kind of content that consumers are going are going to pay for," she said. Hirsch also discussed NFTs in use through its Turner Sports and DC brands.
Black entrepreneurs lead the way in the creation of new businesses, but they often cannot get the necessary funding to get their business off the ground. The Fearless Fund is on a mission to change that, and help Black business owners get venture capital. The fund also offers a unique grant program meant to help entrepreneurs with growth, peer coaching, and more, including grants between $10,000 and $20,000. Arian Simone, Co-Founder and General Partner of Fearless Fund, joins Closing Bell to discuss the Fund's mission, how it helps Black entrepreneurs, and more.
Multinational food company Kellogg’s reported an earnings beat amid supply chain issues and an extended labor strike. Kellogg’s Chairman and CEO c joined Cheddar News to discuss overcoming the obstacles and what's to come for the company. "The first half of the year is really going to be one about rebuilding inventory, and into the second quarter, starting to reestablish promotional activity for our customers and our consumers," Cahillane said. "And then the back half of the year, obviously, we're really much more back in business, and we expect to exit the year with our business in cereal being just as strong as it's ever been."
