Read Jim Farley's Lips: No Boring Fords

Happy Monday! It's November 2, 2026, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In this morning's edition we're looking at Ford's desire to make its lineup more interesting, and the effects of our Canadian trade war on Michigan's election. We'll also look at companies getting ready for a midterm rout, and BMW's plans for autonomy. 

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Ford wants its sales back to pre-pandemic levels, and it has a new approach that CEO Jim Farley hopes will get the company there: Make cars that are actually interesting. Wild concept, I know, but perhaps it is just crazy enough to work. From the Wall Street Journal:

Ford Motor expects to sell 5 million cars a year by early next decade, Chief Executive Jim Farley told workers this week, a sales volume the company hasn't reached since before the pandemic. 

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The company's global strategy turns on Farley's emphasis to no longer make "boring" vehicles, which for now has left it without the budget-friendly small sedans and SUVs it used to give priority to. Farley has said that making affordable vehicles remains a priority, however, and Ford is planning to launch five new models priced below $40,000 by the end of the decade, including an all-electric pickup truck.

Ford once decided to kill off nearly all its interesting cars in favor of making crossover slop, so this will be a reversal of that. Of course, the crossover slop got Ford to the sales numbers it's now trying to return to, so who knows what's best. 

Michigan's race for Senate is a closely-watched one, and it's made headlines recently as (former?) Democrat Haley Stevens turned away from supporting her (former?) party-mate Abdul El-Sayed to go back Republican Mike Rogers. But within Michigan, there's another factor playing in voters' minds: The trade war with Canada. From Automotive News: 

The Michigan seat is crucial for Democrats to get a Senate majority. It's also a race where Trump's trade war with Canada has become a ballot box issue.

The economies of Michigan and Canada have long been integrated and Trump's tariffs have had a significant impact on the state. The auto industry on both sides of the border has been struggling with the 25 per cent auto tariffs for vehicles finished in Canada — which Trump has threatened to increase to 50 per cent next year.

The Detroit Regional Chamber has repeatedly said the tariff battle causes economic pain on both sides of the border. Multiple polls have shown most Michiganders — no matter their political affiliation — disapprove of Trump's tariff attack on Canada.

Midterm elections are often a judgment on the ongoing administration, and this midterm could shape up to be the biggest blue wave in recent memory. Pocketbook issues like the trade war with Canada are a major part of that, as people regardless of political inclination feel the economic sting of policy. 

Corporations tend to invest heavily in U.S. elections, hoping to buy candidates that will be friendly to their means of doing business. As analysts predict a rebuke of the Trump administration, though, some industries such as AI, defense, and more are concerned that the winds may turn against them. From Reuters:

Nov 2 (Reuters) – As the US midterm elections approach, Corporate America is bracing for a potential shift in the balance of power in Washington.

In case of a strong Democratic showing, analysts and strategists say clean energy, housing and healthcare stocks could benefit, while AI, data center and defense names may draw greater scrutiny from lawmakers.

Of course, it's an open question how much a blue wave would really affect anything. Many Democrats have been doing their best to turn as far right as possible — Abdul El-Sayed and Zohran Mamdani stand as rare exceptions to the Tallaricos and Newsoms of the nation — so it's possible Dem leadership wouldn't rock the boat too hard.

BMW wants to include the necessary hardware for a Level 2 driver assist system on a huge range of its cars, starting once the company's software can match the hardware. The only problem? BMW only said this about the hardware, there's nothing about the software being included. From Automotive News:

BMW plans to launch a Level 2 driver-assistance system that can handle turns, lane changes and roundabouts in city traffic, with the required hardware becoming standard on several key model lines from 2027.

The automaker expects to launch the enhanced system in Germany, pending regulatory approval that is anticipated in early 2027, the automaker said in a statement on Nov. 2.

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BMW plans to make the necessary hardware standard on the new iX3 and iX4, as well as all versions of the next-generation X5, 3 Series and 7 Series. Future vehicles based on the automaker's Neue Klasse architecture will also receive the equipment.

If this sounds familiar, every Tesla for years now has come with "all the hardware for full self-driving" despite that being patently untrue for many older vehicles. With automakers getting ever more interested in subscriptions, it's likely the hardware is all you'll get included in your purchase. 

I should rewatch "The Aviator." 

Prices are ever-dropping, it seems, though who knows if that rumor about nuking Iran will turn out to be true. Gotta nuke something. 

Marissa Paternoster rocks so hard.