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 Seventy percent of the world's electric vehicles are made in one country. These cars "have far superior in-vehicle technology. Huawei and Xiaomi are in every car," Ford's CEO Jim Farley said. "You get in, you don't have to pair your phone. Automatically, your whole digital life is mirrored in the car."

"Beyond that, their cost, their quality of their vehicles is far superior to what I see in the West," added Farley. 

Wait a second. "In the West." This country that he's talking about, could it be the United States?

In a word, "no." In some more words, I have to admit that this post is not precisely the happy news promised earlier this week, but rather a side trip down "Warning Street." Ford's CEO has made several visits to China over the past several months and has returned "humbled," to use his word

"I don't like talking about the competition so much, but I drive the Xiaomi," Farley said of the Xiaomi Speed Ultra 7. The SU7 is Xiaomi's maiden electric vehicle. "We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago, and I've been driving it for six months now, and I don't want to give it up." For those of you unfamiliar, Xiaomi is the world's second largest producer of cellular telephones and a consumer electronics company based in Beijing. 

And they make cars. Electric cars. The retail price for the newest version of their "luxury high-performance SUV" is less than the Tesla Model Y. 

This is good news for a planet that needs more electric cars. It does seem a little confounding since Ford recently announced that they were shifting their focus away from all-electric vehicles and back to hybrid versions of those same cars, primarily SUVs. This announcement came from the Ford's CFO, John Lawler. Which made me wonder if John and Jim ever sit down and discuss business. 

The car business. The future is out there. It just may not be found in America.