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Automotive News & Views Is Ford's End Right Behind Chrysler's?
180 messages, Last post on Nov 08, 2007 at 7:04 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Ford F-Series struggling to stay on top, waiting 18 long months for a redesign. They are reduced to lying about it's towing abilities, just to slow the mass exodus! Can't name their current line-up, making many changes in the last year. Anyone inspired by the new vehicles coming out?  Ford Edge is good, but already getting outshined by Mazda CX-7. Would someone buy the Edge over the CX-7? Ford Flex? Looks like a Mini Cooper, without the style or anything nice. Redesigned Ford Focus award-winning days are over. Pretty brutal look. No news on Ford Ranger. Exploder's days are numbered. 500/Taurus sales continue to tumble, and prices will start at $24k? They're afraid to redesign Crown Vic at this point, the only car that actually hits it's target. Since Mark Fields took over, things have taken a turn for the worst! At least Chrysler has some vehicles that hit their target market, and have some appeal! At least they have 300, Caravan, and Jeep. Outside of the NEXT F-150, the cubbard is pretty bare. Fleets sales are making things look better than they are, sales wise. The biggest problem is their Turnaround Plan bit the dust! Or was it Way Forward (I think they misnamed that too.)? Can anyone find a silver lining? A reason for Hope? I think they're having more trouble attracting traffic than Chrysler is.  DrFill |
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Replying to: drfill (Apr 04, 2007 6:08 pm) The market has changed so much and Ford as well as Chrysler and GM think THEIR plans will always work and invariably, they get it wrong. Here's an example of a comment from DCX Chairman yesterday: CEO on the fact that the Chrysler unit lost $1.5 billion in 2006: "The crucial factor was the unforeseeable shift in demand to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles which was triggered by increased gas prices in the U.S.," Zetsche said. He noted that Chrysler's strengths have been minivans, pickups and sport utility vehicles, autos not known for their fuel efficiency. Unfortunately, The Big 3 were blind sided by a SUDDEN increase in gas prices. I remember visiting a Lincoln dealer at the end of 2005 and most of the new vehicles were Navigators. What a joke! Regards, OW
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Replying to: drfill (Apr 04, 2007 6:08 pm) 
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Replying to: circlew (Apr 05, 2007 4:10 am) Durango and the Jeeps? -mike |
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If the '09 F-150 falters in the slightest, their game maybe over. I've seen the next Ford Focus, and that ain't gonna git it! The market has already turned it's back on the 500, I mean the Taurus. Changing the name now only highlights the incompetence of a weak engine, cheap wood, and bad Passat knock-off styling. Exploder is done. Ranger is Done. The minivan is done. Flex I don't get. Edge seems decent, but it's far from class-leading. Escape can't get a new V6 after 7 years? The thing just gets heavier. DrFill
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between Chrysler and Ford is that Ford has a global operation it can bring to bear when things at the North American operation get their suckiest. By contrast, Chrysler is just about to be cut loose from its European partner and has already cut its ties with its Asian partners. Chrysler is all alone, with nothing in the cupboard (I liked that metaphor!  ) as you say. I predict a break-up for Chrysler, with the winner the one who retains or gets Jeep. Ford may hit the skids of bankruptcy, but I don't see a break-up in their future. If they do have to go to court, I hope someone over there finally has the sense to kill Mercury (and maybe Lincoln too, not exactly an inspiring or aspirational brand any more) and really focus on waking up the Ford brand from its coma. |
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...will die. But Ford itself won't...they seem to be in the midst of redefining themselves into a low-volume performance brand. The Edge is decent (though heavy), the Fusion looks good. The next Focus (after the silly refresh) will likely finally be updated with the Euro platform. The Mustang, of course, is not going anywhere. Ford used to be just another producer of wheeled appliances, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore (consider how much of their car business is now based on Mazda's work). Ford as the source of Hertz snoozeboxes may be dead. But if Ford succeeds in turning itself into "American Mazda" they'll be OK. Especially if they really have the quality control under control (finally). The world finally figured out that Americans really do like driving Euro-style sporty cars, and since GM and DC seem to be slow on the uptake (though GM is turning Saturn into American Opel, so maybe they get it too), Ford may as well make use of Mazda's expertise to be the primary American manufacturer for such vehicles. |
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The Mustang has acres of brand equity. The Fusion seems to be successful, though not a Camry/Accord-level success. And the F-150 will be a player for the forseeable future. Mercury is a true waste of money. The money spent thur should go to Lincoln, to build something somebody wants. Not much aspiration in Lincoln right now, probably because Ford's core is eroding. If Ford could make something cool like the Mazda3, they'd have 200k sales right thur. Not expecting much from the homely Focus, doh. The Freestyle was junk. The Flex is junk.  DrFill |
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Replying to: drfill (Apr 05, 2007 7:05 am)
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Replying to: steve_ (Apr 05, 2007 7:11 am)  Then again, with the overlap between Freestyle and Edge, I can see one of them going byebye...probably the Freestyle...and a third-row seat being added to the Edge if it is successful (It's a midsize...Mitsu and Toyota managed to get 3rd row seats into COMPACT SUVs). |
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