Ford Dropping Most Cars in North America

I'm a little surprised by this news. I see lots of Fusions and Focuses on the road. Typically, these decisions are also based on foreign sales. When GM was shutting down a couple of brands, Pontiac was a better seller in the US than Buick. But they sold a ton of Buicks overseas, particularly China. Based on that GM killed Pontiac and kept Buick.

It's starting to look like the only way to get a car that isn't a sports car is the get one of the higher end luxury car brands (Lexus, BMW, Cadillac) or an Asian model (Honda, Toyota, Kia).

I've driven a SUV for a year and about ready to get back into a car - if I can talk my wife into it. :D
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I'm 5'6", my wife is 5'. We gotta have something we can get into without a step ladder. Obviously head room isn't an issue.
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I'm 5'5" but don't mind the climb up. I can slide out. LOL I have gotten to a point where I need a step stool to get in the bed though. :(
 
Seems like dangerous strategy. With things a little shaky in the Middle East, gas prices could spike at any time. If it were to, Ford would be left with no fuel efficient vehicles.
Could turn out bad for them.
 
ahudsonman said:
Seems like dangerous strategy. With things a little shaky in the Middle East, gas prices could spike at any time. If it were to, Ford would be left with no fuel efficient vehicles.
Could turn out bad for them.
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Ah I was thinking the same thing, but Ford has plants all over the world. It is a trend when prices are down, Americans flock to the larger vehicles which they are doing now, but the herd will stampede if the gas prices spike. It has happened before, will happen again if gas goes high enough. .
 
StandOnIt said:
I had one of those, a couple of El Camino's too. Now they have these huge 4 door pick ups with a smaller bed than the Ranchero :D
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Yeah, I don't get that at all. Maybe I'm just too out of touch, but what's the point of a truck with a bed smaller than some wading pools? I'm stuck in the era when trucks were working vehicles, and what the paint looked like after 6 months of use wasn't a priority.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/26/news/companies/ford-suv-shift/index.html

No where is "comfort for my butt" found in the reasons for SUVs. LOL
All they talk about is ride height and space. I'm old --- I want comfort.
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My parents got a Honda SUV about a year ago. The back end may measure out to a lot of cubic feet, but the problem is it's vertical. Their Grand Marquis had a conventional trunk. It may have had fewer total cu.ft, but you could sure spread out a lot more groceries and stuff without having to stack them on top of one another.

That's another reason we'll be looking for a sedan - a traditional trunk fits our needs better than the back of an SUV. We're not packing for a camping trip or a soccer match on the road every weekend.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Yeah, I don't get that at all. Maybe I'm just too out of touch, but what's the point of a truck with a bed smaller than some wading pools? I'm stuck in the era when trucks were working vehicles, and what the paint looked like after 6 months of use wasn't a priority.
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A couple of years before he passed, my husband wanted a full size pickup with an 8 foot bed. Didn't want 4 doors, just one that had an extended cab.
Couldn't find one for love or money.

And speaking of trunk space --- the 96 Town Car I owned had a trunk big enough for a hot tub for 4 people. Dang thing was huge. The 2010 trunk is a bit smaller, but still large enough to carry plenty of luggage for 3 people with space left over. Tested it last summer. :D
 
MRM said:
I've driven a SUV for a year and about ready to get back into a car - if I can talk my wife into it. :D
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And this where my wife is headed, she now wants to get a SUV, not a fan of this crossover , we still have a few more years on the current car to pay down first.
 
Mid size SUV's are great, I rent them all the time when I travel. It is nice to sit in a vehicle instead of sitting DOWN in a vehicle.:booya:

If I were to buy anything (which I am not), I would buy a Mid Size for sure.

That aside, I see a lot of KIA's and TieYoders in my travels, I mean a whole lot.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
That's why I wouldn't buy a little sports car. I had one in my younger days and I sure got tired of my butt dragging the ground. Plus,
it was a pain to literally climb out of it.
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I drove a Prius as a shuttle car. They are supposed to be one of the most trouble free cars made. Not only fairly hard to get out of, it was gutless on the highway and it darted about at highway speeds. some of this stuff is for really populated areas. I can't see total electrics with extension cords stretching across the sidewalks in the urban areas.
 
My house is nothing but Chevrolets. The newer one belongs to the wife, the older three are mine.....

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More people can also afford more car now that the economy is roaring. It’s just like the 90s when everyone was scrambling to buy Explorers, Blazers, Broncos and Jimmys. If gas spikes again I can see sedans making a comeback, it always happens
 
This might be a great time to look at Ford sedans now.The only way to move them off the lot now is with heavy discounts with the news out.I might look at a Ford if the price is too good to pass up.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Yeah, I don't get that at all. Maybe I'm just too out of touch, but what's the point of a truck with a bed smaller than some wading pools? I'm stuck in the era when trucks were working vehicles, and what the paint looked like after 6 months of use wasn't a priority.
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IDK what size bed I have on my Tundra but it looks to be about 6 to 6.5 feet which is plenty for me. I don't need an 8 foot bed but I do need space in the back to haul passengers on occasion and I need a bed big enough to move gear, transport motorcycles and 4 wheelers plus something to tow a boat a couple of times a year. Gotta have 4 wheel drive and it must have a transfer case and an almost 400 hp engine.

I can't see a time when I won't have some sort of sports type car, a nice sedan and a 4wd drive truck with body on frame construction. I have nothing against SUV's as my buddy has an Audi SQ5 and it is fun to drive and will be really fun when out of warranty so he can really get it moving. I have a couple friends with BMW X5's and Mercedes GLE's that are OK but I like the Audi the best of the lot.
 
darlingtonfan said:
This might be a great time to look at Ford sedans now.The only way to move them off the lot now is with heavy discounts with the news out.I might look at a Ford if the price is too good to pass up.
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You can get a nicely equipped Taurus for under 25k. Base models are going for 18k.
 
StandOnIt said:
I drove a Prius as a shuttle car. They are supposed to be one of the most trouble free cars made. Not only fairly hard to get out of, it was gutless on the highway and it darted about at highway speeds. some of this stuff is for really populated areas. I can't see total electrics with extension cords stretching across the sidewalks in the urban areas.
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Common sense says you determine what your needs for a vehicle are before you pull the trigger and purchase one. You don't buy a Prius to hammer down the highway at 90 mph but you do buy one if you travel the Dan Ryan daily or travel I65 through Nashville or I75 through Atlanta during rush hour. There are a bunch of applications where the Prius shines and the owners love them not just for fuel mileage but for longevity and reliability.
 
Being a normal size guy...6'2" and a tad under #250...I find most cars uncomfortable. And the egress and dismount more work than necessary.

My wife's 2007 Explorer is easy to get in and out of, and surprisingly still solid as a rock (we bought it new in '07), the Mercury Grand Marquis is fine once you are in it, except the seat doesn't go back far enough, and it is hard to get out of. My knees are almost up to my chin when I try to get out of it. Believe it or not the Taurus in much easier to get in and out of...and the seat goes back 2" further than the Mercury. The '95 F-150 was absolutely perfect for getting in and out of, the 2014 is ok, just an inch or so lower would have been better...and the seat cushions could either be a little shorter or get rid of the slight hump that pushes up my lower thighs a inch or so behind my knees.

Can't bring myself to purchase a GM or Fiat...especially the GM. That devious federal buyout cost me an early retirement.
 
ahudsonman said:
Seems like dangerous strategy. With things a little shaky in the Middle East, gas prices could spike at any time. If it were to, Ford would be left with no fuel efficient vehicles.
Could turn out bad for them.
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I agree, They will have lost brand loyalty when the next gas crunch comes and people start looking for a car.
 
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