Ford Market News

[kscarbel2]

Ford to retool Michigan Assembly in May-October for Ranger, Bronco

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  March 2, 2018

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. will idle its Michigan Assembly Plant in suburban Detroit for more than five months starting in May, temporarily laying off 2,000 hourly workers while it retools the plants to build the 2019 Ranger pickup.

The Wayne, Mich., plant will reopen Oct. 22 for Ranger production, according to a filing with the state of Michigan.

Ford will end production of the Focus sedan and C-Max Hybrid crossover May 7, the automaker said in a notice in compliance with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. All affected employees will either return to the plant in October or transfer to another plant.

During the downtime, the workers, represented by the UAW, will receive roughly 75 percent of their normal pay if they have at least one year of seniority.

In a statement, Ford stressed that the move was a "temporary measure." The Detroit News reported the WARN notice filing Friday afternoon.

Ford had not previously revealed specific details about the timing of the changeover, saying only it would end car production at Michigan Assembly in mid-2018. Ford ended production of the C-Max Energi, a plug-in hybrid, late last year.

Ford unveiled the 2019 Ranger at the Detroit auto show in January. It has not released details about the Bronco SUV, which will be assembled alongside the Ranger and go on sale in 2020.

[kscarbel2]

Ford adds diesel option, tech to Transit Connect cargo van

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  March 6, 2018

DETROIT -- The technology upgrades and new diesel engine that Ford Motor Co. announced last month for its 2019 Transit Connect wagon are coming to the cargo van variant, too.

Aimed at businesses ranging from dog groomers to package-delivery companies, the freshened van is meant to bolster Ford's 46 percent market share in the segment.

"It is a critical tool with smart features to help improve productivity out in the field," Tim Stoehr, Ford general fleet marketing manager, said Tuesday in a statement.

Ford introduced the Transit Connect to the U.S. in 2010 and last redesigned it in 2014. In 2017, Ford sold 34,473 Transit Connects, nearly double the sales of the second-place Nissan NV200. The company says about 97 percent of the roughly 300,000 small vans sold since its introduction are still on the road.

The 2019 cargo van, on sale this fall, will come standard with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to an eight-speed transmission. That replaces the 2.5-liter four-cylinder on today's van.

A new 1.5-liter EcoBlue diesel engine, also paired with an eight-speed transmission, is available as the only diesel option in the segment. Ford expects it to be rated at 30 mpg highway.

The cargo van also will offer a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with a six-speed automatic transmission and a prep package for fleets to use either compressed natural gas or propane.

Officials say the vehicle will offer a class-leading towing capacity of 2,000 pounds when equipped with an optional trailer tow package.

It will also feature rear cargo doors that swing out 180 degrees and can be locked in the open position to easily load and unload goods.

Ford says the 2019 cargo van will come with the most driver-assist technology in the segment. That includes standard automatic emergency braking, part of Ford's efforts to make that technology standard on all of its models by 2022.

Available technologies include adaptive cruise control, a blind-spot information system with cross-traffic alert and lane-keeping assist.

It will feature a standard embedded 4G LTE modem that provides Wi-Fi for up to 10 devices, part of a companywide initiative to connect every vehicle by 2019. The Sync 3 infotainment system is optional.

The vehicle is part of Ford's dominant lineup of commercial vehicles, including the F-series pickup and full-size Transit van. The automaker accounted for 43 percent of all U.S. commercial vehicle sales in 2017 through November, according to Polk registration data.

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[kscarbel2]

 

[kscarbel2]

 

[Maxidyne]

BTW, the last month or so I've been seeing a lot of "product placement" of first generation Broncos in TV ads. This suggests that the upcoming Bronco will take it's styling cures from the original, and that Ford plans to develop the Bronco into an iconic brand like it's competitor, the Jeep Wrangler.

[kscarbel2]

Ford recalls 1.4 million sedans because steering wheels could fall off

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  March 14, 2018

Ford Motor Co. is recalling nearly 1.4 million Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans in North America because loose bolts could allow the steering wheel to come off.

The automaker said it knows of two accidents and one injury linked to the problem, which federal regulators began investigating in October. Ford said the steering wheel bolt can loosen over time, resulting in detachment of the wheel and a loss of steering control.

The recall covers the following vehicles:

• 2014-17 Fusions built in Flat Rock, Mich., from Aug. 6, 2013, to Feb. 29, 2016.

• 2014-18 Fusions and MKZs built in Hermosillo, Mexico, from July 25, 2013, to March 5, 2018.

The vast majority of the vehicles were sold in the U.S., while some are in Canada and Mexico, Ford said.

Ford is telling dealers to install a longer steering-wheel bolt "with more robust thread engagement and larger nylon patch placed properly for proper torque retention."

It's the second time in the last month that an automaker has had to initiate a recall for steering wheels that can fall off. Hyundai recalled about 44,000 of its Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport crossovers in late February, saying the steering wheel assembly could break.

Clutch plate fracture

Separately, Ford said Wednesday that it would recall about 6,000 cars for potential clutch plate fractures that could increase the chance of a fire. That recall covers the 2013-16 Ford Focus with a 1.0-liter Fox GTDI engine and B6 manual transmission and the 2013-15 Ford Fusion with a 1.6-liter GTDI engine and B6 manual transmission.

The Focuses were built in Wayne, Mich., from July 2014 through June 2016, while the Fusions were made in Hermosillo from March 2012 through June 2014. Ford said it's not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this recall.

[kscarbel2]

Ford set to replace 75% of North American lineup in 2 years

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  March 15, 2018

4 new nameplates planned

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. says it aims to supplant Toyota Motor Corp. as the top seller of hybrid vehicles in the U.S. in three years as part of a dramatic reshaping of its lineup to focus heavily on utility vehicles and pickups.

The automaker plans to add two off-road SUVs and create hybrid or electric versions of its other utilities with the expectation that light trucks will account for nearly seven out of every eight vehicles it sells in 2020.

The automaker on Thursday said it would replace more than 75 percent of its North American lineup and add four nameplates within the next two years. It said the product blitz would reduce the average age of its fleet to 3.3 years from 5.7, giving it the industry's freshest lineup among full-line automakers.

By 2020, Ford expects pickups, utilities and vans to be 86 percent of its sales, up from about 70 percent today. It will have eight utilities in North America, up from six today.

Ford plans to offer a hybrid variant -- either a traditional hybrid, a plug-in hybrid or both -- on every new utility it adds or redesigns moving forward. The automaker expects to overtake Toyota in hybrid sales by 2021. Ford is currently No. 2.

"We're moving past hybrids as a science project," Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets, told reporters during an event at the automaker's product development center. "They're an accepted, reliable technology, and we want to make them as emotional and valuable as the desirable EcoBoost."

The announcements followed months of pressure by analysts and investors who have asked for more concrete proof of Ford's plans to cut costs and transform its business. Wall Street and industry observers in recent months have criticized Ford as having an outdated product portfolio that, outside of the F series and Mustang, relies too heavily on low-margin cars and older SUVs.

"Our passion for great vehicles is stronger than ever," Ford CEO Jim Hackett said in a statement. "This showroom transformation will thrill customers, drive profitable growth and further build toward our future of smart vehicles for a smart world."

Product changes

Ford's new utility offerings will fall into one of two categories: performance-oriented or off-road.

"Where we compete is what you're seeing Ford bet on," Farley said. "We don't just want to be in the generic SUV business. We want to be either in the performance or in the high-speed, off-road business."

That means an expansion of the Ford Performance ST badge, which Ford has already announced for the freshened Edge coming this year. There will also be an Explorer ST, Farley said Thursday.

He also said Ford will offer a "lineup of off-road SUVs," including a small, purpose-built SUV and the Bronco, which is arriving in 2020.

Farley said Ford was looking to target brands such as Jeep and Land Rover but with a different customer in mind.

"Both of these vehicles are for a growing group of people who want to simplify their life and get out there with their family and friends," he said. "For Jeep, that's rock-crawling in Moab. For Ford, our people want true off-road vehicles that are comfortable at high speeds. They don't want SUVs that look like doomsday vehicles or have spartan, government-issued interiors."

Additionally, Farley said Lincoln plans to offer two SUVs by 2020, including the Explorer-based Aviator. He said the luxury brand will add four utilities after 2020 but declined to go into specifics.

In addition to off-road SUVs, Ford has said it plans to unveil a Mustang-inspired battery-electric SUV, tentatively referred to as the Mach 1.

"That vehicle is going to be famous without having to shoot it up in space," Farley said, in a reference to Elon Musk's stunt that launched a Tesla Roadster via a SpaceX rocket last month.

Operations changes

Ford is working to make its vehicle-building process more efficient. It expects to achieve $4 billion in engineering efficiencies over the next five years.

Among those efficiencies, it's reducing by 20 percent the time it takes a vehicle to go from a sketch to the showroom, and it's improving its plant changeover time by 25 percent.

Moving forward, Ford said it plans to build its vehicles off five flexible, modular architectures. They are: front-wheel-drive unibody; rear-wheel-drive unibody; commercial unibody; body-on-frame; and battery electric.

Ford also will significantly reduce the number of combinations available for order. For example, Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of global operations, said there will be just two or three different moonroofs instead of today's seven.

Roughly 80 percent of Ford vehicles are built using only 10 to 20 percent of combinations, he said.

"Every action we now take is driven by what will serve our customers in a way that supports our business priorities," Hinrichs said.

Ford shares rose 0.45 percent to close at $11.07 on Thursday.

New tech

Ford also plans to offer more standard driver-assistance technology. It has rolled out a number of features over the years, but now plans to package five of them together under a new name: Ford Co-Pilot360. That includes automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitor, backup camera, lane keep assist and auto high beams.

[kscarbel2]

 

[kscarbel2]

Ford pursues deal to buy, redevelop Detroit's Michigan Central Station

Automotive News  /  March 19, 2018

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. is in discussions to purchase the dilapidated Michigan Central Station in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood just outside of downtown.

Two sources familiar with the matter said a deal for the automaker to redevelop the 500,000-square-foot former train station off of Michigan Avenue owned for decades by the Moroun family could come as soon as next month.

If a deal comes to fruition, it would mark Ford's biggest step back into the city where it was born, three months after announcing that it was going to put more than 200 employees just down Michigan Avenue in The Factory at Corktown building. A redeveloped train station could house more than 1,000 workers, depending on the layout.

"At this time, Ford is focused on locating our autonomous vehicle and electric vehicle business and strategy teams, including Team Edison, to The Factory in Detroit’s historic Corktown neighborhood," Ford spokesman Said Deep said Monday in a statement to Crain's Detroit Business. "While we anticipate our presence over time will grow as our (autonomous/electric vehicle) teams begin moving downtown in May, we have nothing further to announce at this time.”

A redevelopment of the depot, which has been abandoned and blighted for three decades since Amtrak stopped service in 1988, would be one of the most expensive and complex local undertakings in recent history, development experts familiar with the property have said in recent months.

One source familiar with Ford's pursuit of the train station said the move is aimed at building a workplace in an urban setting that can attract younger workers to the automaker.

Ford company officials, including Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr., have said talent attraction was a driving factor in Ford buying The Factory building and embedding a team of employees focused on developing the business strategy for selling electric and autonomous vehicles of the future.

"Our young people love ... living and working in urban areas," Bill Ford Jr. said in January at the Detroit auto show.

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[TS7]

A waste of money by Ford.

[kscarbel2]

1 hour ago, TS7 said:

A waste of money by Ford.

Ford, at times, is run like a family business (above example).

At other moments, it's not run like a business at all.

[Maxidyne]

Good point. Ford is something of an anachronism, the only automaker I know of that still owns a working farm among other assets. The Ford family and employees control most of the stock, which tends to keep corporate raiders and the short term profit mentality that comes with them away, which may have saved Ford from the bankruptcy flu that was going around Detroit a decade ago. The "official version" is that Ford needs all this extra office space for all the new techies they're hiring who will design the electrified automated Fords of the future. But aren't they in the middle of a major rehab of "glass house" and the surrounding headquarters complex in Dearborn?

To be honest, this lack of a clear direction is sadly reminiscent of the years when a senile Henry the first struggled to run Ford... But again, maybe there's a plan. Ford has been taking their sweet time redeveloping the Twin Cities Assembly Plant site that closed nearly a decade ago, while the land has probably doubled in value. With "peak auto" perhaps imminent, perhaps Ford is investing in urban real estate as a hedge in case the millennials won't buy suburban mobility?

[TS7]

The Moroun family ( Big in Trucking ) should be glad Ford will take that off there hands. If I was Ford, I would give them 5 - 10 F750"s (used) for it, no more. But Ford management people I know say I do not understand, young people can ride there bikes to work there from downtown Detroit. That area is many year's from being cleaned up. Funny most (all) Ford management live 30 - 50 miles away.

[Maxidyne]

There's good reasons why this magnificent building's been abandoned for decades- It's a half million square feet, has to be rehabbed to historic standards, and that will probably cost at least $100,000,000. Then again, you could do ten of them for the cost of a new car or truck platform...

[Red Horse]

 Think of the remediation alone to get rid of the asbestos and everything else that is in it, that has been declared hazardous since it was built.

Then again, when some of us take pride in supporting one of the last corporate giants that you can relate to in terms of having a personal face, The downside is that someone at the top-like Bill Ford- can support a decision like this that makes no sense-in particular when they are spending a lot of money on a new complex how many miles away?

Once again a decision that seems to be based on a desire to keep the "autonomous/electric" crowd separate from the old school.

[Maxidyne]

This is not a new business model- A lot of businesses like hotels are more in the real estate investment business than the hospitality business, as long as the room rates cover the operating costs they're OK, they'll make most of their money when they sell the property. For about the last 15 years of their existence Hostess was a more of a real estate investment play than a bakery, seemed like they closed the bakeries on the most valuable properties rather than the ones that were losing money. That came back to bite them in the late 90s when they closed their Natick, MA bakery, assuming the shopping mall across the street would make for a quick and profitable sale. But the property took years to sell while they spent a fortune trucking in bread from a replacement bakery in Maine. They went bankrupt in 2012 and all their couple hundred properties went up for sale as the market bottomed and were sold for pennies on the dollar. For example, Franz bought the whole operation in the northwest- 4 bakeries plus trucks and depots for 40 million. The Seattle bakery they got in the deal had been stripped of all baking equipment, but within a couple years they sold it for 20 million and to a developer and got back half their investment. Had the creditors been a bit more patient and the court dragging their feet a bit they might have gotten another billion for the assets.

Hopefully Ford will be buying at the bottom of the market to reduce their risk...

[TS7]

This is not about real estate, it is about a location that will attract creative young people to an area they will want to work and live in. Detroit is changing, hard to explain to outsiders, but it is. I may not like it, but it is real.

[Maxidyne]

I don't care one way or the other, but good to see Detroit finally getting some investment.

[kscarbel2]

The mid-size Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom.

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[Red Horse]

This is what a lot of us thought was going to be announced at Work Truck Show.  Did I see a standard transmission??? Nice size!

[kscarbel2]

Ford's Farley: Dealerships have to 'evolve in a meaningful way'

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  March 27, 2018

NEW YORK -- Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets, envisions a future with smaller showrooms, less conquesting and a more personal relationship between dealers and customers.

Speaking at the 2018 NADA/J.D. Power Automotive Forum here, Farley called on dealers to embrace new opportunities such as digital retailing, autonomous cars and electrified powertrains. Dealers saved Ford from filing for bankrutptcy, he said, and they'll continue to play a vital role in the future, despite changes coming to the industry.

"The franchise system is going to have to evolve in a meaningful way, but it's doable," Farley said. "What makes you guys special is your creativity. If we just apply that creativity to a few other new areas, we can be just as successful as a team as we have in the past."

Part of that success hinges, Farley said, on building more valuable relationships with customers. He suggested doing away with the goal of conquesting and focusing instead on "nurturing those existing customers and exploring new revenue opportunities."

That includes focusing more on used-car businesses as well as fixed operations. New services will pop up once cars drive themselves, Farley said, and dealers need to jump on such money-making opportunities.

"All these connected cars will offer services," he said. "It should not be strange at all for someone should be able to get on their phone, hit the FordPass app and get a car wash while they're at work. I can think of hundreds of services like that customers would love."

Farley said the bond between dealers and customers can grow stronger through how vehicles are sold. He suggested the old system of companywide incentives on vehicles needs to give way to individual, one-on-one deals for specific customers targeted to their needs.

The physical footprint of dealerships needs to change, too.

Farley said one of his biggest regrets coming out of the economic downturn is asking dealers to build large, flashy showrooms.

"I think we're going to need really nice facilities forever," he said. "I'm just not sure that they have to be as big as they have been."

Ford's Lincoln luxury brand has been testing out what it calls "experience centers" that serve as mini-showrooms to introduce the brand to new customers in smaller, intimate spaces, usually in outdoor shopping malls.

There are steps the factory can take to help dealers, too.

"Ford has to become one of the simplest companies to do business with, and it starts with our product complexity," Farley said.

Ford is working to change that by dramatically reducing the orderable amount of parts on vehicles and speeding up the time it takes to go from designer sketch to dealer showroom.

"The auto business is clearly ripe for picking for new companies to come into our space, or traditional companies to make new kinds of bets," Farley said. "Dealers have a bight future in our industry provided they are ready to evolve with us."

[kscarbel2]

Ford awards CEO Hackett $16.7 million as he tries tricky turnaround

Bloomberg  /  March 29, 2018

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. awarded $16.7 million in compensation to CEO Jim Hackett in his first year in the role as the former office furniture executive attempts a tricky turnaround aimed at reversing a stock slide, reviving profits and preparing the nearly 115-year-old company for the autonomous age.

Hackett, who took the top job in a management shakeup last May, received $1.3 million in salary, $1 million in bonus and $14.4 million in stock and other compensation, Ford said Thursday in a regulatory filing. His total for 2016, when he was running Ford’s nascent mobility business, was not revealed because he was not among the company’s top paid executives at that time.

Hackett, 62, is working to overhaul Ford’s lagging lineup while also spending billions to develop self-driving cars and electric vehicles to prepare for the profound changes expected to upend the auto business in the coming decade. The former Steelcase Inc. CEO is shifting spending away from slow-selling cars to develop new crossovers and SUVs so Ford can reverse market share losses in that hot segment. To pay for those new models and bets on future technology, Hackett has warned that Ford’s profit will fall this year. Investors have traded shares down about 11 percent this year.

Compensation balance 

“Given where the stock price is, investors don’t want to see an excessive compensation package,” David Whiston, an analyst for Morningstar Inc. in Chicago. “But you have to balance that with the need to retain talent.”

Earlier this month, rival Tesla Inc.’s shareholders approved the largest compensation deal in history for its CEO, Elon Musk. If successful, the award could end up being worth more than $50 billion.

For the first time, Ford provided the ratio of the CEO’s compensation to the average worker, as required by a new federal mandate. Hackett’s annualized pay was 285 times the $87,783 earned by the company’s median worker.

Ford’s board ousted Hackett’s predecessor, Mark Fields, after shares fell about 35 percent and the company lost nearly $25 billion in market value during his nearly three-year tenure as CEO. Fields received $21 million in compensation for his partial year of work in 2017, excluding a stock incentive grant that was canceled when he left. That compares with compensation valued at $22.1 million in 2016, his last full year as CEO.

Earnings struggles 

Top executives reached an overall average of 100 percent of the 2017 targets set for them by Ford’s board, according to the proxy. That included 133 percent for automotive revenue, 55 percent for automotive operating margin, 106 percent for automotive operating cash flow, 146 percent for Ford Credit pretax profit and 107 percent for quality.

Ford’s pretax earnings fell by $1.9 billion last year amid higher prices for commodities such as steel and increasing costs for warranty repairs. The carmaker was hit harder by rising commodity prices than its rivals and has said its costs are too high, which is why Hackett has set a goal of slicing $14 billion in expenses. Analysts say the bulk of Ford’s profits continue to come from the F-series pickup, which saw U.S. sales rise 9.3 percent last year.

Executive Chairman Bill Ford received total compensation of $15.6 million for 2017, compared to $13.9 million in 2016. Excluding pension values and other compensation, pay for the 60-year-old great-grandson of Henry Ford rose 16 percent to $12.9 million, from $11.1 million in 2016.

The company scheduled its annual meeting for May 10 and it will be conducted online for the second year in a row. Shareholders for the 14th consecutive year will consider a proposal to strip the Ford family of its 40 percent voting control of the automaker and move to one vote per share. The measure is opposed by Ford’s board, which includes two family members, Bill Ford and his cousin Edsel Ford II.

[Jamaican Bulldog]

People like Farley should stick to rolling out cars without delays and recalls, listen to dealers and properly figure out what customers really want such as the Transit Custom you showed. Rather than condescendingly telling dealers what the Farley/Hackett 'think' they should sell or how to operate their dealership. They haven't figured out that many loyal to the brand are only really loyal because of the relationships  dealerships have nurtured with customers. 

They talk about customer service but not long ago wanted the squeeze out small dealers because they figured people would just travel a little further to buy from big ones, not realizing that the small town dealers had forged relationships with customers. When the small ones were squeezed out. The many local folks just bought from other local competitor brands.

They pushed heavily electric cars and hybrids years ago that were mostly supported by heavy govt subsidies. When they didn't sell as people preferred the value of other models,  they blamed the dealers while being oblivious to the customer preferences. Then they would say for you to get the XYZ models that you really want that have good turn over you must take certain numbers of the hybrids etc. ( the same ones that sit on the lot for months which the dealers have to pay Ford floor plan expenses while they sit. I foresee the same thing will happen when the autonomous and electric vehicles roll out which are the recipients for loads of funds that was diverted to them from other models.

[Red Horse]

22 hours ago, Jamaican Bulldog said:

People like Farley should stick to rolling out cars without delays and recalls, listen to dealers and properly figure out what customers really want such as the Transit Custom you showed. Rather than condescendingly telling dealers what the Farley/Hackett 'think' they should sell or how to operate their dealership. They haven't figured out that many loyal to the brand are only really loyal because of the relationships  dealerships have nurtured with customers. 

They talk about customer service but not long ago wanted the squeeze out small dealers because they figured people would just travel a little further to buy from big ones, not realizing that the small town dealers had forged relationships with customers. When the small ones were squeezed out. The many local folks just bought from other local competitor brands.

They pushed heavily electric cars and hybrids years ago that were mostly supported by heavy govt subsidies. When they didn't sell as people preferred the value of other models,  they blamed the dealers while being oblivious to the customer preferences. Then they would say for you to get the XYZ models that you really want that have good turn over you must take certain numbers of the hybrids etc. ( the same ones that sit on the lot for months which the dealers have to pay Ford floor plan expenses while they sit. I foresee the same thing will happen when the autonomous and electric vehicles roll out which are the recipients for loads of funds that was diverted to them from other models.

Sounds to me like Farley has OD'd on Hackett Kool-Aid.  Hard to believe that Bill Ford and Big Al went out of their way to hire Farley from Toyota .  I think whatever good ideas Farley may have brought from Toyota, he has forgotten their formula for success.

[kscarbel2]

Ford, GM to drop 4 car nameplates

Automotive News  /  April 4, 2018

General Motors and Ford Motor Co. plan to discontinue four slow-selling car models, including the venerable Ford Taurus sedan, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

GM will stop production of the subcompact Chevrolet Sonic by as early as this year, and is planning to discontinue the Chevrolet Impala in the next few years, the Journal said. It also reported that Ford will stop making the Fiesta small car for the U.S. market by as early as next year, and discontinue the Taurus, once the top-selling car in America.

Overall, U.S. sales of new cars are down nearly 11 percent this year and are on track to drop for the fifth straight year in 2018.  

Automotive News, in its annual Future Product series last summer, reported the Sonic, Impala, Fiesta and Taurus were widely expected to be discontinued at the end of their current product cycles.

The Detroit News in July also reported that Ford and GM were looking to stop production of those vehicles.

"Nothing formal to report today," Steve Majoros, marketing director for Chevrolet's cars and crossovers, told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the Journal report. "But I would say for all three of those products [Sonic, Impala and Volt] we are committed to those. They're a part of our portfolio today, they'll be a part of our portfolio here in the future.

"Every car we have in our portfolio plays a role, every car's important and you know the only way we're going to stay the fastest-growing brand is to keep providing the vehicles that people want. So they're a part of our portfolio and they're going to continue."

U.S. sales of the Sonic have fallen 21 percent to 5,983 vehicles this year while Impala deliveries have plunged 36 percent to 14,067. Taurus deliveries are off 25 percent this year in an overall large car market that has shrunk 12 percent.

The Taurus debuted in 1985 but was dropped in 2006 in favor of the Five Hundred sedan. Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally revived the Taurus name for the 2008 model year.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has already pared the Dodge Dart small car and Chrysler 200 midsize sedan from its U.S. product portfolio to better focus on light trucks. 

The move to drop car nameplates comes at a time when U.S. consumers are increasingly shunning sedans and coupes in favor of crossovers, pickups and SUVs.

Last month, Ford disclosed plans to pad its product portfolio with more light trucks, and add more hybrid and pure electric vehicles. Ford late last year began telling suppliers it is ending North American production of the Fusion midsize sedan, which Automotive News reported in December.

“As we have said, by 2020 trucks and utilities – including their electrified versions – are going to be almost 90 percent of our volume. Passenger cars, including Fiesta and Taurus, remain an important part of our lineup,” Ford spokesman Mike Levine said in a statement Wednesday, in response to a question about the Fiesta and Taurus.

Ford’s Lincoln luxury brand last week unveiled a production preview of the all-new Aviator crossover that’s expected to be built at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant next year, which also builds its sibling Explorer crossover and the Taurus.

Last month, GM unveiled a revamped luxury Sierra pickup, intensifying the battle among the Detroit 3 for fat profits at the top end of a highly lucrative segment.