Ford Market News

[kscarbel2]

[kscarbel2]

Bob, I think it's noteworthy that the F-550 was left out of the party.

Who doesn't think Super-Duty includes F-250 thru F-550, based on marketing to date? 

Is the F-550 going to be matched with the F-650 and F-750 from now on?

[Dirtymilkman]

Took a page from the LS engine. 

[Red Horse]

1 hour ago, kscarbel2 said:

Bob, I think it's noteworthy that the F-550 was left out of the party.

Who doesn't think Super-Duty includes F-250 thru F-550, based on marketing to date? 

Is the F-550 going to be matched with the F-650 and F-750 from now on?

Kevin- I think more of Ford's dumb ass marketing -from the same people who said..." f-750 tractors for towing!.    Maybe some confusion because I do believe F-450 dualies are still built at KTP while the 450 and 550 chassis are built at OAP.

I always said what if they applied today's technology to the old Super duty V-8's 401-477-534.  Sounds like they have done that. Do you know of any other gasoline motors with oil cooled pistons???

[kscarbel2]

 

[kscarbel2]

Ford recalls 3,500 Rangers for shifter problem

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  February 6, 2019

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is recalling 3,500 Rangers a month after the midsize pickup went on sale. Ford said the shifter that could move out of park while the engine is off, though it's not aware of any accidents or injuries.

The vehicles being recalled were built at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant between June 4 and Jan. 9. Roughly 3,000 of the vehicles are in the U.S., while the remaining 500 were sold in Canada.

The automaker said the affected Rangers could contain bezel wiring that interferes with the shifter interlock override, which could lead to the unintended movement.

The automaker sold 2,153 Rangers in North America in January, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of North America, said strong demand for the pickup is prompting the company to add "massive overtime" at Michigan Assembly beginning this month.

.

[kscarbel2]

Hmm......the global market Ranger NEVER had any shifter issues.

Already engineered and proven, why did Ford feel compelled to gut the global market Ranger and reinvent the wheel ???

I assume engine fires will be next.

[Maxidyne]

Ford in North America has an incredible ability to screw up a good thing...

[RoadwayR]

Continuing the cab discussion as it applies to Ford.  I don't see any chance at all of Ford developing a new medium duty cab considering their current economic state and CEO.  The fact that the new 7.3L was made to fit in the ancient E series seems to support this notion.  However, I think using the aluminum 250-550 cab on the 650/750 would at least be an improvement.  It couldn't cost much to engineer, and one would think there would be savings through parts commonality.      

[Maxidyne]

I agree, Ford looks for 6 figure annual production volumes and they're unlikely to achieve that with a Class 6-8 conventional. So a jacked up aluminum pickup cab is probably the best we can expect, unless they do something daring like putting a hood on the F-Max...

[kscarbel2]

Ford investing $1 billion, adding 500 jobs in Chicago

David Shepardson, Reuters  /  February 7, 2019

Ford said on Thursday it is investing more than $1 billion in its Chicago operations and adding 500 jobs as it prepares to launch three new SUVs this year and end production of the Taurus.

Ford said it is building a new body shop and paint shop at its Chicago Assembly plant, and making major modifications to the final assembly area. At Chicago Stamping, Ford is adding stamping lines, the company added.

The investment comes as Americans continue to shift away from cars in favor of SUVs, pickup trucks and other larger vehicles. Last year, U.S. industry car sales fell 13 percent, while light trucks rose 8 percent to 10.9 million, accounting for about 63 percent of vehicle sales.

Ford announced last year it was largely exiting the sedan market in the United States with the exception of the Ford Mustang. The company’s U.S. car sales fell 18 percent last year, while SUV sales rose 0.5 percent.

The Chicago assembly plant will stop building the Ford Taurus at this end of this month as it boosts SUV production. Ford said last year it was ending North American production of cars like the Focus, Fusion, Fiesta and C-Max.

The full-size Taurus, when introduced in 1985, was credited with reviving profits at Ford. It redefined U.S. car design with its jelly bean shape and was the top-selling model in the United States five times between 1992 and 1997. U.S. Taurus sales, which peaked at 409,000 in 1992, fell to 28,706 last year.

Ford is eager to highlight that it is building more vehicles than its rivals do in the United States. Ford built nearly 2.4 million vehicles in the United States in 2018.

“We are furthering our commitment to America with this billion-dollar manufacturing investment in Chicago and 500 more good-paying jobs,” said Joe Hinrichs, president of global operations.

By contrast, General Motors announced in November it would halt production at five plants in North America, including four in Michigan, Ohio and Maryland, as it cuts about 15,000 jobs.

GM announced this week it will add 1,000 workers to build new heavy-duty pickup trucks in Flint, Michigan. GM is also ending North American production of six car models.

Ford said last month it will slash “thousands” of jobs in Europe as part of an overhaul that could result in plant closures and the discontinuation of some models.

[kscarbel2]

Ford’s South Africa plant starts production of refreshed Ranger

Irma Venter, Engineering News  /  February 11, 2019

Ford’s Silverton vehicle assembly plant in Pretoria has started production of the refreshed 2019 Ford Ranger.

“Following the investment of over R3-billion in our local operations and extensive upgrades to our plants over the past 18 months, we are delighted to see the first of the new Ford Ranger models coming off our production line,” says Ford Motor Company sub-Saharan Africa region MD Neale Hill.

“This is an extremely important and exciting year for the Ford Ranger, which will also see the launch of the first-ever Ranger Raptor – undoubtedly one of this year’s most highly anticipated new models,” he adds.

“The 2019 Ford Ranger will deliver more power, greater fuel efficiency, enhanced refinement and even more advanced technologies when it goes on sale in the coming months, and we are confident it will once again set the benchmark in the extremely competitive pickup segment.”

Selected range-topping models, including the Ranger Raptor, will be powered by the all-new 2.0 bi-turbo diesel engine assembled at spruced up Ford Struandale engine plant, in Port Elizabeth.

This unit produces 157 kW of power and 500 Nm of torque – up by 10 kW and 30 Nm compared with the current 3.2-l TDCi engine.

It also delivers an up to 9% improvement in fuel efficiency when combined with a new ten-speed automatic transmission.

Other derivatives will feature a 2.0-l single turbo version of this engine, producing 132 kW of power and 420 Nm of torque, mated to the same ten-speed transmission.

Various other models in the line-up will retain the current 2.2-l and 3.2-l Duratorq TDCi engines and existing gearbox options.

As usual, the new Ranger line-up includes single cab, super cab and double cab body styles.

Following the launch of the new Ford Ranger models, attention will shift to the locally assembled Ranger Raptor, which Ford believes will create a new segment in the pickup market.

“There is a lot of excitement and hype around the Ranger Raptor, and this exhilarating new model will occupy a white space in the pickup market when it goes on sale in the second quarter of this year, creating the first-ever true performance model in this crucial segment,” notes Hill.

“We can’t wait to get the Ranger Raptor to market, enabling our customers to experience unrivalled off-road performance, cutting-edge technologies and the most muscular design yet seen in this class.”

Some of the defining features of the Ranger Raptor include position sensitive damping shock absorbers and an advanced terrain management system that includes a Baja mode for fast off-road driving.

The vehicle will also sport a toughened reinforced chassis, all-disc braking system and specially developed BF Goodrich tyres.

[kscarbel2]

Ford told Britain's May it is preparing alternative factory sites

Reuters  /  February 12, 2019

Ford told British Prime Minister Theresa May that it is stepping up preparations to move production out of Britain, The Times reported on Tuesday.

The automaker told the prime minister during a private call with business leaders that it is preparing alternative sites abroad.

Ford, which operates two engine plants in Britain, last month said that it faces a bill of up to $1 billion if Britain leaves the Europe Union without a deal.

Automakers and other manufacturers have warned about the toll a no-deal Brexit could impose, including higher tariffs, disruption to supply chains and threats to jobs. Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union on March 29.

Ford is the top-selling automotive brand in Britain, which is its third-largest market and the destination for roughly one in three cars made at its plant in Cologne, Germany. It employs about 13,000 people in Britain.

[kscarbel2]

Ford recalls nearly 1.5 million F-150 pickups for sudden downshifts

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  February 13, 2019

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is recalling 1.48 million previous-generation F-150 pickups after five accidents linked to potentially faulty transmissions. The vehicles, from the 2011-13 model years, can downshift without warning, Ford said.

The problem is related to a 2016 recall of more than 153,000 F-150s, Expeditions, Mustangs and Lincoln Navigators from the 2011-12 model years.

The affected pickups have six-speed automatic transmissions that Ford says could experience an intermittent loss of the output speed sensor signal to the powertrain control module, leading to an unintended downshift into first gear.

The pickups were built at Ford's Dearborn Assembly Plant from April 28, 2010, through Oct. 28, 2013, and at the Kansas City Assembly Plant from May 18, 2010, through Nov. 18, 2013.

Federal safety regulators have been investigating for a year whether to expand the 2016 recall. As of January 2018, NHTSA's Office of Defect Investigations said it had received 123 complaints of a problem "causing the vehicle to slow down suddenly without warning."

Additional recalls

Ford on Wednesday issued a separate recall for about 28,200 2017-19 Lincoln Continentals with faulty door latches. It also is recalling roughly 4,350 2019 Mustangs, Lincoln Navigators and Lincoln Nautiluses with instrument panel clusters that might fail to turn on.

In both cases, Ford said it was unaware of any injuries related to the defects.

[kscarbel2]

It's noteworthy that Ford's Australian and European-designed vehicles don't have the wide range of "issues" that Dearborn vehicles do.

[Red Horse]

1 hour ago, kscarbel2 said:

It's noteworthy that Ford's Australian and European-designed vehicles don't have the wide range of "issues" that Dearborn vehicles do.

Again, further away from HQ the less "help" you have???? Nah-can't be that simple.

[kscarbel2]

Ford's groveling campaign has begun.

.

 

[RoadwayR]

This may be significant:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/12/ford-executive-raises-doubts-about-vw-deal-for-electric-vehicles.html

Ford seems to be lagging in BEV's, and I thought their salvation could have been in partnering with VW.  Ford could have benefited from VW's all-out drive for electric vehicle supremacy.  It doesn't make sense, couldn't Ford and VW share BEV components if not vehicle platforms?  Maybe VW just can't use that old train station or the ultra-hip Corktown facility.  But VW sure-as-hell will use Ford's light commercial trucks...........    

 

[Jamaican Bulldog]

No word yet what will happen to the Mexican Hermosillo plant when the Fusion ( which they are sabotaging to make a case of no sedans) goes away and what will happen to the Lincoln MKZ. That plant put out some well built cars and they Ford spent a lot of money on it.

[kscarbel2]

Ford overhaul nears halfway point

John Irwin, Automotive News  /  February 17, 2019

TORONTO — Ford is about half finished redesigning most of its major processes under CEO Jim Hackett's "fitness" plan, said Joe Hinrichs, the automaker's president of global operations.

Hinrichs said the changes are "much more dramatic and deeper" than those Ford undertook during the 2008-09 financial crisis.

"That was a massive restructuring to shrink and cut and reset the business, close 16 plants in North America, all the things that we did," Hinrichs said last week, referring to changes a decade ago. "But we didn't redesign each of our major processes, most of them. Now we're redesigning almost every major process that we have, so that's a big deal."

Hinrichs said Ford is "probably 40-50 percent" of the way through overhauling how the company does business, from developing products and designing vehicles to managing costs with suppliers.

Ford's executives have been tasked with re-evaluating every aspect of the business to make it quicker and more cost-efficient, Hinrichs said.

In October 2017, Hackett laid out a $14 billion cost-cutting plan to boost Ford's financial "fitness." Last April, that target nearly doubled to $25.5 billion.

The overhaul includes plans to ax sedans from the company's North American lineup and reduce its global salaried work force.

But the moves have done little so far to satisfy investors who see Ford as being too slow to adapt to the massive changes sweeping through the auto industry. Since late August, Ford shares have traded at less than $10, a level the stock had largely traded above since emerging from the financial crisis in 2010.

Hinrichs said some on Wall Street are taking a wait-and-see approach on Ford, and those investors will not be satisfied until they see the company go through a downturn without "dramatic cash burn" and losses. He said the financial benefits of Ford's restructuring will become apparent between 2021 and 2023.

"A lot of it also has to do with the operational performance of the business," Hinrichs said. "Is it getting better or not? We have to demonstrate that our operating performance is getting better for people to feel more comfortable that we have our arms around the challenges."

[TS7]

I think Ford needs someone like Lee Iacocca, who I think saved Chrysler in 1980. They need someone who knows how to build cars and how to sell them today. Massive changes? I wonder if Jim Hackett rode his scooter to the glass house today, it snowed last night in SE MI.

[kscarbel2]

1 hour ago, TS7 said:

I think Ford needs someone like Lee Iacocca, who I think saved Chrysler in 1980. They need someone who knows how to build cars and how to sell them today. Massive changes? I wonder if Jim Hackett rode his scooter to the glass house today, it snowed last night in SE MI.

Or Bob Lutz. But there are no young Iacocca's and Lutz's anymore.

[TS7]

Kscarbel there may be, that person just does not fit the PC world that the Leaders of Ford and GM live in today. 

[Red Horse]

4 hours ago, TS7 said:

Kscarbel there may be, that person just does not fit the PC world that the Leaders of Ford and GM live in today. 

Got that right..Hackett's claim to fame?...he is a "cerebral thinker"!

[RoadwayR]

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ford-motor-southamerica-heavytruck/ford-exiting-heavy-truck-business-in-south-america-idUSKCN1Q82EB

That's a disappointment.  While I don't believe there is any chance we will ever see the Ford-Otosan commercial trucks in the U.S., I thought the Brazilian-built medium duty Cargo would have been a great addition to Ford's North American commercial truck line-up.  A Cargo with the new 7.3L gas engine would have been competitive with GM and Isuzu LCF's.  In any event, Ford pulling out of Brazil is hardly a surprise.      

Edited February 19, 2019 by RoadwayR