WSJ What’s News - Why Ford Ditched Its Boring Cars

Episode Date: August 3, 2026

P.M. Edition for Aug. 3. Ford spent decades producing ho-hum workhorse cars–the Taurus, the Focus. WSJ autos reporter Ryan Felton explains why the company is hitting reverse. Plus, Michigan public health officials say two people have died in connection with the cyclosporiasis outbreak. And WSJ business reporter Natasha Khan discusses why Kimberly-Clark is embarking on a moonshot effort to make paper towels and toilet paper out of a spiny desert plant called hesperaloe. Danny Lewis hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Two people have now died from the cyclosporiasis outbreak. And there's a spiny desert plant that could one day make your toilet paper softer? The company has been scouring the earth for a material that could replace wood fiber for 20 years. Plus, RIP to the Ford Taurus. Why did Ford stop making boring cars? It's Monday, August 3rd. I'm Danny Lewis for the Wall Street Journal, filling in for Alex Osce. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

We start today's show with the latest on the cyclosporiasis outbreak that's spread across the U.S. this summer. Two people in Michigan have now died, the first deaths tied to the outbreak. Michigan public health officials say that both of the people had significant underlying health conditions and that those may have been exacerbated by the illness and dehydration. cyclosporiasis is not generally life-threatening in the U.S. Turning to the Middle East, Iran says there are no talks underway or planned with the U.S. President Trump this weekend called off a major strike on the country to provide more time for negotiations on freeing traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. But the Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected Trump's suggestion that talks were underway,

though Tehran did acknowledge that it is continuing talks with Oman on how to manage the Strait of Hormuz. In a social media post today, Trump called Iran's leadership, quote, duplicitous. Stocks rallied and oil fell today on hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough on Iran. The NASDAQ soared more than 2%. The Dow and S&P both gained more than 1%, with the Dow closing at a record, its first since early July. And Brent Crude, the international oil benchmark, fell 4.7%. It's trading just under $84 a barrel. In earnings today, Marriott says the conflict in Iran put a significant damper on second quarter sales,

and the hotel chain is bracing for persistent challenges from the war. While Marriott's second quarter revenue rose 5% to more than $7 billion, that missed analyst expectations. And in the Middle East, Marriott saw a 43% drop in a crucial lodging metric, revenue per available room. Shares fell about 7%. And Tyson Foods lowered its profit outlook for the year as, soaring cattle prices continue to weigh on the meatpacking company's bottom line. Tyson says it expects its beef division to lose up to $650 million this fiscal year. But its stock closed up 2.9%. And as you heard on our show last week, Chevron and ExxonMobil just posted blockbuster earnings.

President Trump has a problem with that. But they made too much money. Too much money. Chevron, too much money. Exxon Mobil, too much, too much money. The companies are benefiting after the Iran war sent energy prices higher. They're going to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price. Exxon and Chevron declined to comment. Ford used to be known for, frankly, boring cars. Cheap hatchbacks, minivans, and the good old family sedan, like my high school friends' 1994 Ford Taurus that we lovingly called the Silver Bullet. But Ford no longer makes any of those cars.

Instead, the automaker's new lineup is all about passion, and it's been great for Ford's bottom line. WSJ Auto's reporter Ryan Felton joins us now from Detroit to explain just what's behind Ford's new strategy. The overall umbrella term is no boring cars. They don't want something that looks like everything else anymore. You know, you definitely could see that in some of the styling choices that they make, but also just the fact that they've leaned into some of these particular vehicles.

The iconic ones, you've got the Mustang, the F-150, the Bronco. But one of the things about boring is that those tend to be a little bit more affordable, right? Henry Ford once wrote that he'd rather sell lots of cars at a small profit than to make more money on fewer sales. Why is the company now going in the opposite direction of its founder? They're adamant that they're not abandoning the affordable market and that we're just kind of in this transition period. They say that they're intent on getting back into the space by the end of the decade.

But in the meantime, yes, the cheapest options that Ford has available is a small pickup truck and a small Bronco that is not totally welcoming and inviting to everyone. You have to really like it. What does this all mean for Ford dealers? I think you see some dealers grousing about this, but the small car segment is a much smaller percentage of the overall market than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago. So what the competitors are fighting over

is five, maybe six, seven percent share of the overall market that they're all divving up. That's WSJ Auto's reporter Ryan Felton. Thanks for joining us. Thank you. Coming up, a backyard battery startup has raised a billion dollars as demand for electricity booms.

That's just ahead. In Washington, the two Republican senators who had stood in the way of Todd Blanche's confirmation as Attorney General say they now plan to advance him. That's after Blanche said he had formally rescinded the controversial $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. The fund could have been used to pay President Trump's allies. The Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Blanche's nomination is set for tomorrow. But even after winning the backing from the two senators, John Cornyn and Tom Tillis, it's not clear if Blanche's, Lanch has enough support in the full Senate to win the role. Also unclear, just how legally binding the Justice Department's new move is. We exclusively report that a home battery startup co-founded by

the son of Michael Dell has raised $1 billion. That company is called base power, and it now has a $13 billion valuation. Zach Dell's company is three years old, and it's riding the trend of a nationwide boom in residential electricity storage. It's installed more than 23,000 home batteries across and the Chicago area, giving customers up to 36 hours of backup electricity. Base power does about 100 installations a day and hopes to double that by the end of the year. And finally, could paper products wave goodbye to wood? After a 20-year search, Kimberly Clark says it may have found a new material for making paper towels and toilet paper. WSJ business reporter Natasha Khan is here now to tell us why the company behind brands like Scott, Cotonel, and Huggies is so excited about

Hesperallo. Okay, Natasha, what is Hesperallo? Well, it's a plant with long, pointy leaves. It grows in arid climates. When the company found it growing at an abandoned Arizona test crop facility, it had been unattended for years, but the plants were thiving. So it was assigned to them that it could be a durable crop. Scientists have told me that the Hesperalo requires less water to cultivate.

So it's another potential benefit when they're growing it in a region where water can be scarce. So why is Kimberly Clark so gung-ho about this plant? The company has been scouring the earth for a material that could replace wood fiber for 20 years. And one of the things that they're particularly excited about with Hesperallo is that the cost and scale seem promising that it can make stronger and softer paper-based products. And they're hoping that it could also have a less environmentally damaging footprint as well. They've had a previously stated ambition to eventually stop using fibers from natural, force in their products. So they really began this 20-year quest for potential sources. So looking at wheat straw, leftover corn, they even looked at chicken feathers and seaweed, really

trying to pulp everything to see if it might give them a similar result as wood fiber traditionally has. They've told us that there's a long research runaway ahead. But at this point, the company says that it's the first to do substantial research on Hasparallo and already holds more than 30 patents related to these findings. They are right now building a facility in Arizona to further evaluate whether Hesperallo is a viable commercial crop. That facility slated to open next year. All right, WSJ's Natasha Khan. Thanks for joining us. Thank you. And that's what's news for this Monday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Anthony Bansy, with supervising producer Tali Arbell. I'm Danny Lewis for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back

with the new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening. Thank you.