Ford USA to kill all passenger cars except Mustang, Focus Active

[jpd80]

some of the early engineering on CD6 was begun under Mulally, his rejection of
(FAPA) Global RWD in 2008 was more of a "not right now when we already have D3".

So while it's not Falcon/Territory in a new Rapper, CD6 Mustang/Explorer throws up a lot of similarities.
But think beyond the now and culling of unnecessary mass product to that which is valuable niche vehicles
and there may be a brighter future after the rapture...

[jpd80]

Last year,
Ford USA's car sales were around 23% (595K) of 2.586 million vehicles sold.
So it's not hard to see Ford cutting that number in half by the end of 2020 and
replacing those car sales with more profitable Utilities, maybe even grow sales..

Ford/Lincoln Car sales % of total vehicle sales.
2013.......33.8%
2014.......33.5%
2015.......30%
2016......26.4%
2017......23%

If Ford continues to "trade" 100K of car sales per year to Utilities,
then 2018 will be 19%, 2019 will be 15% and 2020 will be 11.4%..
Add in a bit of growth in on top of those traded sales and Ford has its 10%

[jgmdat]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

That thing is hot! Bring it here!!

https://www.caradvice.com.au/635319/...over-revealed/

Mini Navigator

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by jgmdat

Mini Navigator

That thing is a beauty. They even got the RWD/AWD concept right. Can we please have this in RHD as the resurrected Territory PHEV

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by whynot

Ford are not without options if consumer sediment rapidly swings back to the mid and large sedans. They can easily import vehicles from Europe operations; wack on a large chrome grill, replace the dash with fake teak, and swap out the springs for something a lot softer .... bingo, USA certified vehicle

It wouldn't be the first time they scrambled to do this.
In the early 70's Mazda, Isuzu, Toyota and Datsun responded to the sudden fuel crisis which took Ford, GM and Chrysler by total surprise.
Ford and GM had to quickly form alliances with the Jap car makers to rebadge the smaller mini trucks they thought wouldn't sell until the sales figures started to show otherwise.
Hence the original Ford Couriers, Toyota Hilux's, Chevy LUV's.

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by LG17

So does that mean US cops will be driving Mustangs?

I know some of them use Dodge Charger sedans.
In Hawaii I saw Camry being used as a cop car.

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by Ben73

I know some of them use Dodge Charger sedans.
In Hawaii I saw Camry being used as a cop car.

My neighbour's eldest switches between a Charger and Taurus depending on his assignment. Most of the Crown Vic's have been cycled out by now. They tried some Malibus and Impalas, that lasted about 2 seconds.

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

The people are telling all the car makers what they want.

Absolutely they are they are and most manufacturers are listening

Ford it seems are not

[LG17]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

maybe,

The interceptor is now based on the Taurus since they stopped making the Crown. so if they stop Taurus....

It only leaves the Explorer - and I think there's an F150 variant going by this
https://www.ford.com/police-vehicles/

or maybe a Lincoln interceptor if its future platform is shared the the Explorer

Could be interesting chucking the crims in the back seat!

[jpd80]

Ford's Jim Farley explains Ford's view on product changes and what they're doing

https://www.at.ford.com/en/homepage/...o-dealers.html

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by Ben73

I know some of them use Dodge Charger sedans.
In Hawaii I saw Camry being used as a cop car.

Lol, and I thought NSW Police were stupid for pioneering the first fleet of Camry and Lancer police cars in the world

[anobserver]

So few buy sedans, makes me wonder whether the general disdain towards them has spread to many of those that currently own them.

Was at Bunnings yesterday and parked next to a white f6 typhoon, not sure of year model. It needed a wash, the front wheels were coated in brake dust, the duco was tattered and dull and a rusty box trailer was hitched up behind.

Utterly disrespectful and very sad to see. Could even bring myself to photograph it.

[roddy1960]

talking to my friend in Baltimore about three hours ago . He asked me what I thought of Ford's decision and I told him . Then I asked him what he thought of the distinct possibility that GM will be doing likewise with the Volt , a couple of Caddy's , and a couple of others and the Impala . "Not the Impala" he said .

He hadn't seen the list of GM's for the axe . The Impala is pretty iconic and Louis was genuinely upset by the impending doom of it .

What is Dodge doing ?...Anybody know if they're heading down the same road ?

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Lol, and I thought NSW Police were stupid for pioneering the first fleet of Camry and Lancer police cars in the world

Except for the caged vans that's all you need for general duties.

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Lol, and I thought NSW Police were stupid for pioneering the first fleet of Camry and Lancer police cars in the world

They also had 4Runner cop cars which I thought was strange.

Originally Posted by solarite_guy

My neighbour's eldest switches between a Charger and Taurus depending on his assignment. Most of the Crown Vic's have been cycled out by now. They tried some Malibus and Impalas, that lasted about 2 seconds.

I had an Impala rental car and it was OK but felt like it would be ready for the scrap yard once it was a few years old. I guess they wouldn't last as a cop car.

While driving north of LA I was following an Impala that had a 'CA Exempt' plate. No idea if it was a cop car or if other government cars have those exempt plates.

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Except for the caged vans that's all you need for general duties.

Um, is it really worth sacrificing those extra seconds, minutes or hours taken up by driving an underpowered puss box to the scene of an emergency or crime scene?

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Um, is it really worth sacrificing those extra seconds, minutes or hours taken up by driving an underpowered puss box to the scene of an emergency or crime scene?

Well we seem to manage in Mercs. I wouldn't class them as performance vehicles.
Besides, response to incidents is not the high speed drama you see on TV. We are only permitted to exceed the speed limit by 20 in built up areas and 40 on the highway....IF safe to do so.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

That thing is a beauty. They even got the RWD/AWD concept right. Can we please have this in RHD as the resurrected Territory PHEV

Yes! The motor even points the Right Way.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

What is a Focus Active?

New Focus HB with 30 mm higher ride height and plastic wheel arches
Think of it as an XV competitor - perfect for our market but Ford won’t bother
as Thailand doesn’t change to new model until sometime next year, that model looks more like Mazda 3 - hope it sells just as well too 😎

[russellw]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Last year,
Ford USA's car sales were around 23% (595K) of 2.586 million vehicles sold.
So it's not hard to see Ford cutting that number in half by the end of 2020 and
replacing those car sales with more profitable Utilities, maybe even grow sales..

Ford/Lincoln Car sales % of total vehicle sales.
2013.......33.8%
2014.......33.5%
2015.......30%
2016......26.4%
2017......23%

If Ford continues to "trade" 100K of car sales per year to Utilities,
then 2018 will be 19%, 2019 will be 15% and 2020 will be 11.4%..
Add in a bit of growth in on top of those traded sales and Ford has its 10%

Cars are only one part of the equation.

According to my records, the total US market in 2017 was 17.24M vehicles of which the Ford brands sold ~2.5M or 14.94% which was up slightly on 2016 (14.81%) and 2015 (14.90%) but well down from the 23.11% it was in 2000.

I'm writing a more detailed review of the impact which I'll post in the tech portal but at first glance it is clear that at least two of the models being sacrificed (Fusion / Focus) are performing well in their respective segments and will wipe out ~350k sales between them. C-Max only represents 18k sales although that segment (Alternate Power) is growing and Fiesta represents ~50k sales but has hardly set the world on fire.

Cheers
Russ

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Um, is it really worth sacrificing those extra seconds, minutes or hours taken up by driving an underpowered puss box to the scene of an emergency or crime scene?

You mean Starskey and Hutch in the big red Torino
throwing it sideways around every corner
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...E_BZq1NtTOSGm0

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by russellw

Cars are only one part of the equation.

According to my records, the total US market in 2017 was 17.24M vehicles of which the Ford brands sold ~2.5M or 14.94% which was up slightly on 2016 (14.81%) and 2015 (14.90%) but well down from the 23.11% it was in 2000.

Russ, i mislead you on the above percentages by not stipulating that,
The percentages quoted are of Ford/Lincoln car sales versus total Ford /Lincoln sales
not Ford/Lincoln total sales versus Total US vehicle sales.

Sorry for the confusion.

[russellw]

My analysis of the US market and this decision has been uploaded to the Technical Portal.

Regards
Russ

[Maka]

Originally Posted by russellw

My analysis of the US market and this decision has been uploaded to the Technical Portal.

Regards
Russ

Russell's US market analysis & look into Ford's somewhat controversial decision to cull its passenger car lineup & in the process cede market share to its market competitors is a excellent, well laid out & thought through read imo. I definitely recommend AFF members to have a read for sure.

cheers, Maka

[jpd80]

Great Job Russ.
There was some mid sized / full sized relation with older 'Tweener DN101 Taurus leading up
to its axing in 2006,
The Five Hundred and Fusion were its replacements that took sales in two directions
after that but I digress.....

We aren’t privy to what goes on behind the closed doors at Ford HQ but despite the announcement not foreshadowing any plant closure it is hard to see how the drop in overall volume is going to not impact at least the older / less efficient plants which were no doubt partly behind the decision given the capital investment required to bring them even close to modern standards.

Forget about loss of cars for a moment and let's see what's coming:

1. Michigan AP begins making Ranger late this year and Bronco a year later in place of Focus/ C-Max.
The add back is imported Focus Active from China, that shoud actually sell really well in Nth America.

2. Hermosillo AP begins making C2 based CUVs in next two years in place of Fusion
Those C2 based products will basically replace Fusion sales and then some.....

3.Chicago AP begins making RWD Explorer/ Aviator next year in place of FWD Explorer/Taurus.
New RWD Explorer and Aviator will sell their heads off, Taurus won't be missed.

4. Cuautitlan will begin making Electric Vehicles (Mach 1) in next two years in place of Fiesta
If Mach 1 EV is half as good as Ford says, it will sell at higher levels than Fiesta (4K/mth)
Ecosport is already imported from India and beginning to outsell Fiesta at higher prices..

Those products are going to sell heaps more and at higher profits than the cars they replace.

Over the next five years, Hackett will drive Ford's North American profit and ROI through the roof,
cars will phase out over the next two years and be replaced by "near cars" but people can't see that
because Ford did a terrible job of presenting all of this and basically left to many unanswered questions...

So it's not really a case of losing 428,000 sales as all those cars should be replaced by
Ranger, crossovers and SUVs that sell in similar numbers but with a lot more profit.

The most telling statistics is the slow decline of Ford / Lincoln USA's car sales over the past five years
2012...760,646...of 2,168,015
2013...836,433...of 2,493,918
2014...804,714...of 2,480,942
2015...797,817...of 2,613,612
2016...694,046...of 2,614,697
2017...595,390...of 2,586,715

[jpd80]

So if the Focus Active is a Focus with 30 mm higher ride height,
I wonder if the Chinese will also do a Mondeo Active......

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by GCRXR6

Well we seem to manage in Mercs. I wouldn't class them as performance vehicles.
Besides, response to incidents is not the high speed drama you see on TV. We are only permitted to exceed the speed limit by 20 in built up areas and 40 on the highway....IF safe to do so.

Meh, being confined to drive around in a Camry, would be enough for me to resign from the force. The thing is an occupational hazard

[EgoFG]

Interestingly the Focus has a reputation in China for being tougher than it's price/market competition, and cheaper to repair

[stefcio007]

Originally Posted by EgoFG

Interestingly the Focus has a reputation in China for being tougher than it's price/market competition, and cheaper to repair

There's a guy in China that has some tutorial videos for the Focus, has helped me on mine. Good for patriotism too since the car will now be made there, more jobs for locals.

[Maka]

Hi guys, here's a interesting & counter take/opinion on Ford's recent decision to cull most of its US passenger car lineup -

https://www.whichcar.com.au/opinion/...-car-portfolio

cheers, Maka