Ford Dropping Most Cars in North America

But last week Mark Rushbrook told me Ford's future cycle plans had no impact on the decision to bring the Mustang to Cup and that it didn't signify anything about the Fusion road car future.
 
I find this a bit unsettling, but I see more and more SUVs and trucks on the road rather than 4 door sedans.
I guess the profit margin is better on the crossovers, etc.
 
Tumbleweed said:
Looks as if Harv, Brad, Joey, Matt et al may end up racing SUV's :eek:! Looks as if sedans and hatchbacks are no longer selling for any of the makers. I guess they can race the Mustang however.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/25/autos/ford-cars-north-america/index.html
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Ford is having hard time competing with the 4 dr sedans from everyone else, for 2017, the Fusion came in #7, GM isnt doing much better, for 2017, the Cruze at #10, and 2018 so far isnt any better for Ford, the Fusion as of March 2018 is not even in the top 20 sales, and there isnt a sedan from Chevy in that list either.

But that top 20 does include the Toyota Camry, Honda Civic,Nissan Sentra,Honda Accord,Toyota Corolla / Matrix,Nissan Altima, and the rest are SUVs and Pickups.

SO that tells us two things
http://www.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html
 
I am surprised,I thought the Fusion and Mustang would both survive.All of the car companies are having to heavily discount sedans in order to move them or move to fleet sales.The new CEO is making his mark on Ford motor company.
 
Has to be a PR stunt to boost sales “before they are gone forever!”

Ford technicians would lose their jobs with the loss in profits with the way people drive those cars into the ground.

Not buying it.

Toyota has no problem making money with the Camry and Corolla.
 
year to date, Ford doesn't look like it is panic time
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2018/04/u-s-auto-sales-brand-rankings-march-2018-ytd/
upload_2018-4-25_22-49-16.png
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Has to be a PR stunt to boost sales “before they are gone forever!”

Ford technicians would lose their jobs with the loss in profits with the way people drive those cars into the ground.

Not buying it.

Toyota has no problem making money with the Camry and Corolla.
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Simple enough reason. They build a better car. I been working on cars for nearly 50 years. Would not buy any domestic vehicle. None. Even a Kia is superior to anything that Detroit makes.
 
Given this, I guess they had no choice but to switch to Mustang in NASCAR.

For me, whatever. I have no particular affection for sedans, and drive SUVs and trucks myself. Sports cars are a different matter, but that's a niche item. The world is changing and tastes have changed. Even housewives want "SUVs" that are really just sedans with higher ride heights and an altered shape.
 
Never been much of a sedan fan, but at the same time I loathe those mini suvs. I think they’re the ugliest pieces of crap on four tires. It is also not a good idea to abandon the lower middle class commuters. If it was me, I would keep a smaller Point a to point b no frills sedan, and one somewhat premium trim mid size sedan.
 
joe h said:
It is also not a good idea to abandon the lower middle class commuters.
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They are driving Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, Kias, etc. I get the impression these aren't profitable vehicles for Ford, while the trucks division is hugely profitable, as is the higher-end SUV market.
 
the problem is seriously why buy a US made car? the reliability isn't that great and hasn't been for years. Its like wendy's the problem isn't the hamburgers its that they suck. give me a camry or something honda that runs, the interior doesn't fall apart on. etc.
 
We have a '15 F150 that needed service which required a loaner. They gave us a Fusion. It was the biggest POS that I have ever sat in. As has been said previously in the thread, the sedan market is absolutely dead. Even the higher end German and Japanese makes are struggling to sell mid and large size sedans. It's all about the SUV now. I drive a midsize sedan and have depressingly watched it's blue book value fall off a cliff! The interesting thing is killing off the Focus. That seems to be a high selling "entry level" car for most families who can't fork over $45k for an Explorer or F150. I guess it isn't profitable enough to compete with the Corollas and Kias of the world.

Edit: Seems they are keeping a version of the Focus. My bad for posting before reading whole article!
 
hidesert cowboy said:
the problem is seriously why buy a US made car? the reliability isn't that great and hasn't been for years. Its like wendy's the problem isn't the hamburgers its that they suck. give me a camry or something honda that runs, the interior doesn't fall apart on. etc.
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I can't say that about my Lincoln. Last one I had I bought new in 2001 and traded it in on a 2010. Never had a problem with it. Only major work I
had done was a brake job at 125K miles. My current one hasn't yet cost me except for tires and oil changes. Only 70K miles right now.
 
hidesert cowboy said:
the problem is seriously why buy a US made car? the reliability isn't that great and hasn't been for years. Its like wendy's the problem isn't the hamburgers its that they suck. give me a camry or something honda that runs, the interior doesn't fall apart on. etc.
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My GM vehicles have been VERY reliable. My 2007 Saturn SUV has been the best vehicle I have ever owned or worked on. My 1999 Chevy truck is getting a little ragged now, but has been a tremendous vehicle for me. My parent's 2012 Impala (which I maintain) has had ONE issue (warranty part) in 75,000 miles.
 
It is easy to look at the sales volume of Ford and assume they are doing well but volume alone does not tell the story. What really needs to be known is the number of sales that are retail versus the number of sales made to Fleets, Municipalities and Rental Car Companies which are generally not profitable and sometimes made just to keep a plant operating.
 
At work, my car is one of a couple in a sea of pickups and SUVs. For seventeen years I drove a pair of International Scouts as my daily driver. I replaced the first one with the second one due to rust. And when it came time to replace the second one the crop of SUVs (a new term at the time) had no utility - you couldn't haul a piece of plywood in any of them. I have no idea how the term sport got associated with those vehicles, they are station wagons.
 
Ive had cars and SUVS. I had a 1987 chev blazer 5 speed I LOVED. for me, something that has not been mentioned, is I love the ride height. the vision of the road. Im 6'2 so I need it. my curent SUV is more of a van, 7 pass dodge journey. need it for the kids. but man,,,,that 3.5L will HAUL AZZ.
 
I am actually looking for a very well used vehicle at present that I would like for a specific purpose and have predominantly been looking at the Prius, Yaris and to a lesser extent the Fit. I am in no hurry but will be ready to pounce when the right one becomes available.
 
StandOnIt said:
sorry, they are on the list, they are on there, I couldn't capture that low. :D:p Volvos are good
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Ford did a good job keeping Volvo afloat. I had a '06 SAAB 9-3 before my current S60. It's a shame what GM did to SAAB. My 9-3 was flat out awesome to drive! It was magazine worthy at 10 years old with 117k miles on it when i got rid of it. In hindsight I should have kept it.....

I'm sad to hear that Ford is considering doing this. I've only ever driven cars because they're more fun to drive and they get good gas mileage on average. The only negative is all my cars have been FWD. Having lived in Northern PA most of my life as well as SW Montana I've had my share of white knuckles adventures. This past winter, including the Martinsville race fiasco, caused me to consider opting for AWD or 4x4 come late fall.
 
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This is all quite interesting. Better buy up some of these sedans, because in 40 years when they are almost all gone you will be able to get your money back selling at Barrett Jackson. At least the aren't discontinuing my daily driver...a F-450.
 
hidesert cowboy said:
the problem is seriously why buy a US made car? the reliability isn't that great and hasn't been for years. Its like wendy's the problem isn't the hamburgers its that they suck. give me a camry or something honda that runs, the interior doesn't fall apart on. etc.
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Reliability in reality is largely dependent on driving conditions. Too many people buy an economy daily driver and horse it like it’s a performance vehicle and void warranties with aftermarket drivetrain parts - then cry about poor reliability when the thing starts wearing down at 70k miles.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
I can't say that about my Lincoln. Last one I had I bought new in 2001 and traded it in on a 2010. Never had a problem with it. Only major work I
had done was a brake job at 125K miles. My current one hasn't yet cost me except for tires and oil changes. Only 70K miles right now.
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Hang on to that baby. My Mom's husband was crazy about the Mark IVs, but my Mom didn't like it because it was hard to park. It was too big. One year sometime in the early 80s I believe, they came out with a smaller version of the Lincoln Continental. He got one for her and we all loved that car. I loved that car. Well, her husband who bought the car passed away. He new husband ran the car into the ground. My Mom has passed away now and there's nothing I would have liked to have than that old Lincoln.

I feel the same way about my 2001 F150 Lariat. The only major repair I've had to do was replacing the a/c compressor.
 
DanicaFreak said:
Ive had cars and SUVS. I had a 1987 chev blazer 5 speed I LOVED. for me, something that has not been mentioned, is I love the ride height. the vision of the road. Im 6'2 so I need it. my curent SUV is more of a van, 7 pass dodge journey. need it for the kids. but man,,,,that 3.5L will HAUL AZZ.
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I got to have the ride height too. I can't stand riding on the pavement LOL
 
Zerkfitting said:
At work, my car is one of a couple in a sea of pickups and SUVs. For seventeen years I drove a pair of International Scouts as my daily driver. I replaced the first one with the second one due to rust. And when it came time to replace the second one the crop of SUVs (a new term at the time) had no utility - you couldn't haul a piece of plywood in any of them. I have no idea how the term sport got associated with those vehicles, they are station wagons.
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When the term was introduced, I believe it was in reference to their off road capability and their multipurpose nature. Of course as years went on, the term has been corrupted somewhat. Now the term crossover is in vogue and serves make a distinction between tall station wagons (cars) and actual trucks without an open bed.
 
My company car is a 2013 Ford Taurus...picked it up new in July of '13, it now has 165,000 miles on it. Still on the second set of tires and put brakes on it at 125,000...that is all that has been done to it, besides oil changes every 3,000 miles.
Averages around 30 mpg on the highway, and has a 160,000 mile average fuel mileage of 27.9 (my company pays attention to this). This is with the 3.5 V-6. Best car I have had for work in thirty years. One complaint...the cruise will not go on over 92 MPH. Makes the drive across the Dakotas and Montana a little longer.

Previous company car was 2007 Taurus (500 Hundred), did not care for it. Did not handle well or stop well, and just was not as tight...but turned it in with 201,000 miles on it and never had anything done but normal maintenance and wear and tear items. Believe it or not, a shopping cart got away from a lady and banged into the LR quarter leaving a dent and deep scratch. The insurance company "totaled" the car! Said it they would have to paint the entire car and that was too much!

Car before that was a 2004 Chevy Impala...two transmissions in the first 100,000 and too much time at the dealership for a multitude of electrical gremlins made us turn it in before normal.

Prior to that had a 2003 (bought in 2002) Dodge Charger...company opted for the 2.7...it blew up (that is when I got the Impala).

Car before that...a 1999 Taurus...had just under 200,000 on it when it was supposed to be turned in, I bought it for the salvage value. We put another 150,000 on it and sold it to my neighbor...his daughter still has it and just turned 500,000k on it. Go figure.

My personal vehicles today are 2014 Ford F 150, 2007 Ford Explorer, 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis...and just gave my 1995 F 150 with 347,000 miles on it to my son.
 
Excuse me if I've have asked this before and forgotten the answer, but what exactly is a 'crossover'? What's being crossed?
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Excuse me if I've have asked this before and forgotten the answer, but what exactly is a 'crossover'? What's being crossed?
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They are cosmetically designed to look more like SUVs, but built on car platforms with no genuine trace of off-road capability. What's being crossed is car handling characteristics with traditionally truck frame-based SUV appearances.

In truth most modern SUVs, certainly the smaller ones, are cars underneath.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
I have a Ford Ranger, also.
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An '04 Ranger is what I'll be trading in for the sedan, although I don't know how much good it will do me. I'll probably have to wait for one of those 'Anything you can drag on the lot' sales promos.

I hate the car-buying process. That's one reason I usually drive them until they're dead.
 
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