New midsize EV pickup will start at about $30,000, Ford promises

• Ford announces a new Universal EV Production System and EV platform to streamline manufacturing and reduce costs.

• First vehicle will be a midsize, four-door electric pickup starting around $30,000, launching in 2027.

• $2 billion retooling of Louisville Assembly Plant will secure 2,200 jobs, with no layoffs planned.

Ford Motor Co. is launching what it says is a sweeping new approach to electric vehicle production, anchored by a midsize, four-door electric pickup it says will offer breakthrough affordability when it arrives in 2027. The vehicle, expected to start at about $30,000, will be built at Fords Louisville Assembly Plant, which will undergo a $2 billion retooling later this year.

The Louisville facility currently produces the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair SUVs, employing 2,800 hourly and 200 salaried workers. Ford said the new truck will ensure the jobs of 2,200 hourly employees. About 600 positions will be affected, but Ford stressed there are no layoff planssome workers will be offered retirement buyouts, while others can transfer to nearby facilities. Company officials hinted additional EV models could eventually be added in Louisville, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The investment is part of nearly $5 billion in spending that includes Fords $3 billion BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan. That plant will produce prismatic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries starting next year for the Louisville-built truck. The combined projects are expected to create or secure almost 4,000 U.S. jobs and bolster domestic supply chains.

"Model T Moment"

Ford CEO Jim Farley framed the announcement as the companys Model T moment, emphasizing the need to create profitable, American-made affordable EVs that can compete globallyespecially against Chinese automakers. Developed by Fords California-based Skunkworks team, the Universal EV Platform will reduce parts by 20%, cut assembly time by 15%, and use a cobalt- and nickel-free battery pack that doubles as the trucks floor.

While Ford has not released performance specs, range estimates, or charging details for the new pickup, Farley said the total cost of ownership over five years will be lower than that of a three-year-old used Tesla Model Y. The truck will be similar in size to todays Ford Maverick.

The news comes as Ford delays its full-size electric pickup successor to the F-150 Lightning until 2028 and pushes back its E-Transit van launch to the same year. Current production of the Lightning in Dearborn and the Mach-E in Mexico will continue unchanged.

ufts-led research shows calories from dollar store food nearly doubled from 2008 to 2020

By Truman Lewis of ConsumerAffairs

The digital divide hasn't closed. What are the options?

AOL, one of the last major providers of dial-up internet in the United States, will soon retire its decades-old service. The shutdown marks the end of an era for the distinctive screech and hiss of a modem connection and leaves a small but significant number of Americans facing a tough question: whats next if you still cant get broadband?

Although the FCC says more than 90% of U.S. households now have access to broadband, millions still live in areas where high-speed internet is unavailable, unreliable, or unaffordable. For many rural residents, AOLs dial-up was slow but dependable, using the same copper telephone lines that power landline calls.

The end of dial-up wont directly cut people off from the internet, but it will force them to seek alternatives often at higher costs or with more complicated setups.

Alternatives to dial-up in 2025

1. Satellite Internet
Providers like Starlink, HughesNet, and Viasat can reach nearly anywhere in the country. Starlinks newer low-Earth-orbit satellites offer far better speeds and lower latency than traditional satellite services, but equipment costs can top $500 and monthly plans often exceed $100.

2. Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)
Companies like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T offer home internet via 4G LTE or 5G networks. If your cell signal is strong, speeds can rival cable, with prices starting around $50/month. However, rural areas with weak coverage may not benefit.

3. Mobile Hotspots
Using a smartphone or a dedicated hotspot device, users can connect laptops and desktops to cellular data. This is a flexible option but can be expensive if your carriers data caps are low. It, like fixed wireless, may not work in rural areas or in more urbanized areas with lots of network congestion.

4. DSL and Fiber (Where Available)
Some regions still have DSL providers operating over phone lines much faster than dial-up but slower than modern broadband. Where fiber has expanded, its the gold standard, offering gigabit speeds.

5. Community and Municipal Networks
A growing number of towns are building their own broadband infrastructure or partnering with nonprofits to deliver affordable internet access, often with grant funding.

The loss of AOL dial-up underscores the ongoing challenges in bridging Americas digital divide. Federal and state broadband initiatives, along with private investment, are racing to expand access but for some, the transition may be bumpy.

What, you didnt know there was still dial-up?

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• AOL will discontinue its iconic dial-up internet service on September 30, 2025, ending a 34-year run that defined the early days of the Internet.

• The decision closes a nostalgic chapter for millions who first logged on with AOL's dial tones, but only a low thousands of U.S. users remained as of the early 2020s.

• The shutdown also retires the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, marking a final farewell to an era of pings, screeches, and "You've got mail" greetings.

People of a certain age will likely recall the distinctive sound of a computer modem, connecting to the internet over a telephone line. For most, its a sound that disappeared more than a decade ago, and for AOL customers, its a sound that is now disappearing for good.

AOL has announced it will officially end its dial-up internet service on September 30, 2025. This move comes as the culmination of a gradual decline in usage, finally closing the door on what was, for many, their very first digital experience.

The announcement, quietly posted on AOL's help and support pages and later echoed by its parent company Yahoo, reads: AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet. Along with the internet service, related software like AOL Dialer and AOL Shield browsertools designed for an era of slow modems and landlineswill be retired as well.

From internet trailblazer to relic

In the1990s, dial-up was the way to access the internet, albeit very slowly. AOL boasted more than 18 million subscribers and became nearly synonymous with getting online. For those old enough to remember, the process was instantly recognizable: a series of loud beeps and static, that hopeful Welcome! Youve got mail, and, for some unlucky households, a sibling picking up the phone and disconnecting everything.

The company was a cultural force, distributing free trial CDs that flooded mailboxes and forging new kinds of social interaction with chat rooms, screen names, and instant messages. Its popularity was immortalized in pop culturemost notably in the 1998 film Youve Got Mail.

But as broadband, cable, fiber, and satellite alternatives swept the marketplace, AOLs dial-up slowly slipped from relevance. Also, as web pages became more robust, with graphics and video, a telephone line was unable to adequately display them in a timely fashion.

By 2015, AOLs subscriber base had shrunk to about 2 million. In recent years, that number dropped to only the low thousands, and mostly in rural or isolated communities where high-speed alternatives remain sparse. As always, dial-up lingered longest where users had no other options.