Ford Market News

[kscarbel2]

As has been noted, the Taurus used to outsell the Toyota Camry.

(The Taurus's 2006 replacement, the Ford Five Hundred, was a flop on arrival.

That Ford can not compete with Toyota speaks volumes about the levels of incompetence within management.

This is the Ford that gave away the HN80 to the Germans, giving away a US$500 million investment and America's then most advanced commercial truck platform for a mere $200 million.

This is the Ford that abandoned the North American mid-sized pickup segment for seven years, that abandoned the Bronco brand for 24 years, has yet to bring the global market Everest to America, and brought the trouble-free global market Kuga to the US (as the Excape) only after adding an engine fire package.

[Jamaican Bulldog]

4 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

As has been noted, the Taurus used to outsell the Toyota Camry.

(The Taurus's 2006 replacement, the Ford Five Hundred, was a flop on arrival.

That Ford can not compete with Toyota speaks volumes about the levels of incompetence within management.

This is the Ford that gave away the HN80 to the Germans, giving away a US$500 million investment and America's then most advanced commercial truck platform for a mere $200 million.

This is the Ford that abandoned the North American mid-sized pickup segment for seven years, that abandoned the Bronco brand for 24 years, has yet to bring the global market Everest to America, and brought the trouble-free global market Kuga to the US (as the Excape) only after adding an engine fire package.

Thanks for sharing your informative links as always KS.

One thing to remember too is that the Fusion which replaced the original real mid size Taurus in 2005, became Ford's midsize competitor in that segment with the Camry, Accord, Altima etc. The Five Hundred was larger than the original Taurus and moved to the large sedan segment competing against Dodge Charger,  large Buicks etc which was a smaller market than the midsize.

Like you said the Five Hundred was a flop  especially as Ford mated the 3.0 with an annoying CVT transmission on the AWD versions. The engine revved higher and made the car seemed like it was going slower that it was really going. The front wheel drive versions had a 6sp auto which behaved better. When the Taurus name returned in a mildly refreshed five Hundred's body, it brought the much needed and more powerful 3.5 liter engine. When it was properly redesigned I think in 09, it was like a niche car because the midsize Fusion had already established it self as Ford's real midsize sedan and had more factory support for leasing etc. The Taurus went to mostly fleets such as police cars. It also didn't help the Taurus that although it was technically a large car, it was not much roomier than the mid size Fusion etc. especially with its bulky center console. As a Ford salesman I can tell you that I think they would have sold alot more Tauruses if it was available with a front split bench seat with column shifter.

The Taurus SHO is an awesome but under rated car, that was not marketed properly. Ford is very good at making sleeper cars but then don't tell anyone.

Demographic changes and preferences have made the market for large sedans shrink even faster than what is happening now for midsize sedans. Personally I prefer sedans to CUV,s and SUVs, but the latter is more versatile and viable especially as they have become more efficient and comfortable to drive etc.

In many ways the Ford Fusion has proven to compete and in some ways exceed against the Japanese cars in both quality, performance and technology. When the Fusion was redesigned in 13 it was stunning and it still looks modern and stylish, but Ford lags in keeping the car 'fresh' in a segment that refreshes often.

Your point is well taken on how Ford has stupidly abandoned segments such as the mid size truck and Bronco and then years later play catch up. I would add to that the mid size 7 pass  Aviator that left Lincoln without that type of vehicle for over a decade while selling loads of Explorers. No the MKT does not count. Another flop apart from in the Funeral industry.

Now they might do it again by casting doubts on the future of the Fusion as they think everyone wants a CUV. I sell 4 brands and can attest to the movement towards the crossovers but many people still want cars. Even Honda is cutting back on the supply of the new Accord.

I also understand that midsize sedans are not as profitable and it takes higher volumes in their sales than trucks and CUVs to make them more economically viable to produce. My suggestions regarding Fusion:

The platform it currently on is still very advanced. Significantly refresh the car and add the smooth and efficient 8 sp transmission coming in its CUV platform mate the Edge.

The Fusion is one of the few mid size sedans that offers AWD. I have the Sport which comes with many performance parts apart from the high output and torquey 2.7 twin turbo. They should make the Sport a ST which would help to market it and fit it in the growing ST lineup.

Later on Ford should keep the Fusion and move it to the new CD6 platform which may help reduce it's cost to produce as it will share it with other models. Otherwise if costs is still a factor to keep the sedan, do what they did very successfully originally with the first Fusion. Collaborate with Mazda on a midsize platform that still gives both brands its own sheetmetal and personality.

Either way it would help Ford to borrow an idea from Subaru that is working for them. Offer high sitting  versions of the sedans and even a wagon version of the Fusion/Mondeo. Yes I think a Fusion wagon that sits like a Subaru Outback would sell well in the U.S.

[Maxidyne]

What torques me is that Ford is boxing themselves into the SUV and truck business. Looking at past history, buyers will move to SUVs and trucks when gas is cheap, then swing right back to high MPG sedans when gas prices rise. Then Ford, GM, etc. scramble to tool up to build small cars again while the rest of the world's car makers have small cars ready to go. There's also the possibility that the auto affordability crisis forces buyers back to sedans, and perhaps with a vengeance when they figure out that the "rugged" SUV they've been looking at is nothing more than a jacked up wagon/hatch with an even more jacked up price tag. Ford is especially vulnerable to this consumer awakening, what with their best selling SUV in North America, the Escape, being sold as the C-Max high roof sedan in some markets. The dragged out wait for the Ranger and even more tardy Bronco don't help either. And if Ford can keep the slow selling Flex around, why can't they bring existing heavy truck products like the Cargo here?

[kscarbel2]

I liked the Taurus SHO. Many are unaware the engine was contract engineered by Yamaha. Like UK-based Ricardo and Austria-based AVL, Yamaha actually does quite a bit of engineering under contract for global vehicle manufacturers.

[Maxidyne]

And as a Super Tenere rider, I have to thank Ford for saving Yamaha back in the 80s! Yamaha builds a lot of high tech mobility, from the Toyota S2000 back in the 60s to even the power wheelchairs they currently build.

[Jamaican Bulldog]

10 hours ago, Maxidyne said:

What torques me is that Ford is boxing themselves into the SUV and truck business. Looking at past history, buyers will move to SUVs and trucks when gas is cheap, then swing right back to high MPG sedans when gas prices rise. Then Ford, GM, etc. scramble to tool up to build small cars again while the rest of the world's car makers have small cars ready to go. There's also the possibility that the auto affordability crisis forces buyers back to sedans, and perhaps with a vengeance when they figure out that the "rugged" SUV they've been looking at is nothing more than a jacked up wagon/hatch with an even more jacked up price tag. Ford is especially vulnerable to this consumer awakening, what with their best selling SUV in North America, the Escape, being sold as the C-Max high roof sedan in some markets. The dragged out wait for the Ranger and even more tardy Bronco don't help either. And if Ford can keep the slow selling Flex around, why can't they bring existing heavy truck products like the Cargo here?

Yes low gas mileage helped to increase the demand for CUVs however many give mileage close to sedans which also helps drives the demand. We have been saying that Ford should offer some of the multiple speed transmission being deployed in the SUVS and trucks to make the sedans even more efficient. Due to the transverse mounted powertrain of the sedan platforms they would probably be limted to 8spds like the refreshed 2019 Edge but still would increase mileage.

Most people especially the NE or snow belt likes the AWD of the CUVs not so much to go off road that is one reasons CUVs and SUVs have become more car like. However tough looks have an appeal.

I still can't understand why Ford does not have heavy trucks here especially since their F series do so well in sales and profits. I see the Cargos all over South America. 

 KS mentioned in another post how Ford had the advanced heavy duty L series trucks and sold it to Daimler at a loss. 

[Jamaican Bulldog]

1 hour ago, kscarbel2 said:

I liked the Taurus SHO. Many are unaware the engine was contract engineered by Yamaha. Like UK-based Ricardo and Austria-based AVL, Yamaha actually does quite a bit of engineering under contract for global vehicle manufacturers.

Yes Yamaha did a great job. Those early SHO models are becoming classics especially with a manual. A nice one is hard to find because many were driven hard. The last SHO has Fords 3.5 ecoboost.

[Jamaican Bulldog]

1 hour ago, Maxidyne said:

And as a Super Tenere rider, I have to thank Ford for saving Yamaha back in the 80s! Yamaha builds a lot of high tech mobility, from the Toyota S2000 back in the 60s to even the power wheelchairs they currently build.

Ford has been influential in saving many companies including Mazda which is technically small compared to giants such as Toyota and Honda. I understand why Ford shed some of the their holdings such as in Jaguar, Volvo etc but the synergies with Mazda was very productive and successful. That is why I think with shrinking profits in sedans and small cars they should have kept those synergies with Mazda and even share powertrain tech such as Sky active and ecoboost. Now Toyota is taking advantage of joint ventures with Mazda.

Ford also spoiled a great product that brought a lot of people in the brand when it stupidly installed and kept the troublesome dual clutch transmission in the Ford Focus and Fiesta. That all would have been avoided if it had used Mazda's Skyactive powertrain or even the Asin transmission that Mazda uses.

Sometimes brands like Ford does not realize that cheap cars that may not be too profitable plays an important role in bringing first time buyers into the brand who later move up to more profitable models if they had a great experience with the first car. I have been selling Fords long enough to remember and have friends who did not consider Ford till they got the first generation sporty Ford Focus in late 90s early 2000s which was a big success. They since have bought other Ford models. In the last few years they have turned off many new customers with the troublesome transmission mentioned in the Focus.

[kscarbel2]

Ford recalls 2018 big pickups, SUVs for transmission glitch, rollaway risk

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  April 6, 2018

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. on Friday issued a recall for 2018 model year F-150 pickups and Expedition SUVs with 10-speed automatic transmissions for a potentially unseated transmission gear shift cable clip. The recall also covers 2018 model year F-650 and F-750 pickups with six-speed automatic transmissions. About 347,000 vehicles are affected.

In the affected vehicles, a clip that locks the gear shift cable to the transmission may not be fully seated. That could allow the transmission to be in a different gear from the one selected by the driver.

In some instances that could mean the vehicle may not be in park even when the driver shifts to park and turns off the ignition, which could cause unintended vehicle movement. There would not be any warning chimes or messages, since the shifter would be in the proper position.

Ford said it's aware of one reported accident and injury involving the issue.

Here's where the affected vehicles were made.

• 2018 Ford F-150 pickups built at Dearborn Assembly Plant, Jan. 5, 2017 to Feb. 16, 2018.
• 2018 Ford F-150 pickups built at Kansas City Assembly Plant, Jan. 25, 2017 to Feb. 16, 2018.
• 2018 Ford Expedition SUVs built at Kentucky Truck Plant, April 3, 2017 to Jan. 30, 2018.
• 2018 Ford F-650 and F-750 medium trucks built at Ohio Assembly Plant, April 25, 2017 to March 9, 2018.

Second recall

Ford on Friday also issued a recall for about 161 2017-18 model year F-150 pickups, 2018 Expedition SUVs, 2018 Lincoln Navigator SUVs and 2018 Mustang cars with 10R80 transmissions for a potentially missing roll pin that attaches the park pawl rod guide cup to the transmission case.

The issue could lead to the vehicles eventually losing their park function even when the shifter and instrument panel display indicate the vehicle is in park, leading to unintended movement without any warnings.

Here's where the affected vehicles were made:

• 2017-18 F-150 pickups built at Dearborn Assembly Plant, Oct. 20, 2016 to March 5, 2018.
• 2017-18 F-150 pickups built at Kansas City Assembly Plant, Dec. 22, 2017 to Feb. 26, 2018.
• 2018 Expedition SUVs built at Kentucky Truck Plant, Nov. 28, 2017 to Feb. 14, 2018.
• 2018 Mustang vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant, Nov. 6, 2017 to Feb. 12, 2018.
• 2018 Lincoln Navigator SUVs built at Kentucky Truck Plant, Dec. 13, 2017 to March 8, 2018.

[kscarbel2]

'Holy grail' platform coming into Focus

Nick Gibbs, Automotive News  /  April 16, 2018

LONDON — Joe Bakaj, Ford of Europe's head of engineering, calls it nothing less than the holy grail.

The new Focus compact, which rolled out here and in the central Chinese city of Chongqing last week, debuts Ford's global version of Volkswagen's much acclaimed MQB modular architecture, a central element of Ford's aim to achieve $4 billion in engineering efficiencies over the next five years.

The unibody front-wheel-drive architecture (it has no snappy name, yet) is the first of Ford's five new global platforms — and arguably the most important after the body-on-frame truck architecture. Ford is developing them to enable savings and cut development time for new models by up to 20 percent, the company announced in March.

The new architecture underpinning the Focus is flexible enough to encompass subcompacts such as the Fiesta as well as midsize models and crossovers such as the Edge and Escape, Bakaj told Automotive News at the global launch of the Focus here. "It's very scalable," said Bakaj (pronounced ba-KAI').

The U.S. version of the next- generation Focus will be sourced from China in the second half of 2019, Ford said. It's unclear what body styles will come stateside.

Ford is ending U.S. production of the car this year at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich.

What VW did

VW Group's fwd modular transverse toolkit (aka MQB) was launched in 2011 and now underpins around 40 percent of the cars the VW brand sells globally. It predicts that by 2020, that figure will rise to 80 percent. The architecture is also used by Audi, Skoda and Seat, creating savings across the group.

Ford's embrace of a similar modular system makes sense for the company, said Tim Urquhart, principal analyst for IHS Markit.

"It's the only way forward to drive proper value and economies of scale, especially for a mass-market player like Ford," he said.

Like the MQB, the Ford unibody platform will fix certain hard points, such as the distance between the ball of the driver's foot and the front axle, Bakaj said. That would allow the fitting of common modules across a range of vehicles, such as seat structures, electric handbrakes and air-conditioning units. "You won't use every module from the bottom to the top, but you'd try and reuse as many modules as possible," Bakaj said.

This strategy looks much further ahead than Ford managed with vehicles on the C1 platform underpinning vehicles such as the current Focus, Escape and Transit Connect van, which used different air-conditioning systems, for example. "When we ran those car lines, we didn't have a clearer long-term plan over time, and we had to make changes," Bakaj said. "If you can plan out a suite of vehicles over a period of time, you get a scale globally."

Vehicles built using Ford's new architecture even have their own design chief. Joel Piaskowski was appointed Ford's head of cars and crossovers globally in August last year.

Increasing the number of model ranges on a single architecture can bring problems. VW initially struggled to adapt the MQB across different vehicles and brands, pushing up costs. The greater number of common parts can reduce supplier costs because of scale savings, but the strategy can also disrupt production and drive up recall costs in the event of a part failure.

The scale will be key to ensuring the Focus is cheap enough to compete in China, yet sophisticated enough to attract buyers in the U.S. "We'd use the same technology but aim to source locally in China. That's how we'd get cost and scale," Bakaj said.

Ford said it has reduced the number of orderable configurations on the U.S. Focus from 360 to 26, as well as cut engineering costs for the global car.

"For example, in many markets, we won't have a price leader where we would have in the past," Jim Farley, head of global markets, said at the event. That would cut the need to make cheap wheel trims, for example.

"The reduction of complexity is around the vehicles and the content that doesn't add a lot of value," he said. At the same time, Ford has added "good complexity"; one example is increasing the num-ber of higher-end trim levels to push up the average purchase price. In Europe, Ford added a crossover-inspired Active version with greater ride height, different bumpers and plastic protective strips.

Said Bakaj: "We've reduced the number of parts we've engineered; we've reduced the cost of engineering, but we've offered more derivatives to suit different personalities, and that's the holy grail."

.

[Dirtymilkman]

Here we go.....more worried about shareholders than customers. We want vehicles to be unique, different seats, different engines. This isn't Europe. If a focus, fusion and fiesta have the same everything in them, why pay more for a fusion over a focus?  

[Maxidyne]

Every once in awhile I'll look up a part for one of my VW Golf TDIs and out of curiosity see what other cars it's used on and find the same chassis part is used on Golfs, Jettas, Passats, and their Audi, SEAT, and Skoda equivalents. OK, that's an acceptable compromise- All those vehicles have gross weight ratings within a 20% or so range. But now VW is using Golf chassis parts on the 7 passenger Atlas SUV, and they're threatening to hack that up into a pickup truck? VW'd best not dispute any warranty claims arising from my hauling a half ton in the Golf! On the other extreme, VW is trying to use those same chassis bits in the next size down Polo et al, were the dead weight of bits designed to hold up a giant SUV or pickup is just that, dead weight. What we used to call the A series platform (Golf, Jetta, etc.) sells over a million units a year. IIRC the Focus and it's Escape/Kuga/B-Max and Transit Connect variants sell over a million units a year... If they can't get sufficient economies of scale at those numbers, compromising the Fiesta, Fusion, Edge, etc. platforms to share parts ain't gonna help much.

[Jamaican Bulldog]

The idea of using one architecture to spawn variants of different size and vehicle class will become more common.  New technology and increased strength in the frames  while enhancing safety plays a big role. As the article mentioned VW has been doing this before but Subaru is also doing it too. Their new Impreza platform for small cars can be used for vehicles up to the size of its up coming 7 pass SUV. There was a time when lets say a vehicle platform for a compact car like the Focus could only be limited to that size, a compact CUV variant like the Escape or compact van like the Transit Connect, CMax etc. 

Most people won't even know or notice that so many vehicles share similar architectures or even what that means. Not only will it help economies of scale but it will allow manufacturers to become more flexible if the market for certain segments change. In case of Ford, if this new platform can be flexible enough to spawn cars as small as the Fiesta and Ecosport up to the size of an Edge, it may even allow it to more economically viable to eventually start making small and medium size cars in the U.S again. By mentioning the Edge in this article, that is a hint that if Ford stays in the mid-size sedan market (which it should), the next Fusion may be on that platform as well. The current Edge is off the Fusion platform which is still a modern platform.  I just hope they will keep offering a twin turbo V6 that I enjoy in my Fusion Sport.

[kscarbel2]

Ford claims 30 mpg F-150 diesel wins pickup mileage crown

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  April 19, 2018

DETROIT -- The first diesel version of the Ford F-150 will be rated at 30 mpg in highway driving, making it the most fuel-efficient full-size pickup on the market when it hits showrooms next month.

Ford had targeted 30 mpg earlier this year for the rear-wheel-drive version and announced the official EPA estimates for the pickup Thursday. It will be labeled with 22 mpg in city driving and 25 mpg combined.

The four-wheel-drive version of the truck with a diesel engine, which is expected to be more popular among customers, is rated by the EPA at 20 mpg city, 25 mpg highway and 22 mpg combined, Ford said.

The 2018 Ram 1500 diesel, the only other diesel offered among light-duty big trucks, has an EPA rating of 27 mpg on the highway.

"Even a few years ago, customers wouldn't have imagined an EPA-estimated rating of 30 mpg highway would be possible in a full-size pickup, but our team of crazy-smart engineers rose to the challenge," Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's executive vice president for product development and purchasing, said in a statement.

The 3.0-liter Power Stroke engine is part of the F-150's midcycle freshening. It's meant to appeal to customers who tow and haul more than usual.

The diesel engine will have 250 hp and 440 pound-feet of torque, besting the only other diesel offering in the full-size segment, the Ram 1500. It also will have best-in-class payload capacity among diesel offerings: 2,020 pounds for XL and XLT fleet applications and 1,940 pounds for retail applications.

It can tow up to 11,400 pounds, which also is best among full-size diesel light-duty pickups.

The diesel engine will be mated to Ford's 10-speed transmission, which was introduced on the 2017 F-150.

Ford said it expects the diesel engine to account for roughly 5 percent of retail sales. It will cost $2,400 to $4,000 more than other F-150 engines.

Retail customers may get the diesel on the three highest F-150 trims: Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum. Fleet customers, may order a diesel in the less expensive XL and XLT trims.

Although F-150 is the first full-size pickup to crack the 30 mpg barrier, the Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup also achieves that mark.

[kscarbel2]

No thanks, Ford says to 9-speed offered by GM

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  April 23, 2018

DETROIT — The idea was to get two new transmissions for the price of one. In today's world, cost savings trump even the fiercest rivalry, especially with stricter government-imposed fuel economy standards looming.

Ford Motor Co. agreed to develop a 10-speed gearbox for rear-wheel-drive vehicles such as the F-150 and Mustang and let General Motors use it, too. And GM, in turn, would share with Ford a nine-speed designed to make its front-wheel-drive crossovers and cars smoother and more efficient.

But Ford didn't get quite the result it anticipated from the arrangement, signed five years ago this month. It has elected not to use GM's nine-speed transmission out of the box, opting instead for a series of new eight-speed transmissions on vehicles such as the Ford Edge, Ford Transit Connect and Lincoln Nautilus.

The first of those is based off the nine-speed, dropping one of the gears. The second eight-speed, for higher-performance vehicles such as the upcoming Edge ST and V-6 version of the Nautilus, adapts a six-speed that was co-developed with GM as part of a 2002 tie-up. A third eight-speed is expected for smaller, lower-torque vehicles.

GM's nine-speed didn't provide enough of a fuel economy improvement to justify the added cost and weight of an extra gear, Ford said.

"Typically, if anyone gave me a transmission that didn't require much work, outside of tuning it for a specific vehicle, I would take it and run," Dave Sullivan, analyst with AutoPacific Inc., told Automotive News. "It's a lot of design work after the fact to come up with their own flavor. It shows there might be some different schools of thought in terms of transmission efficiency."

GM, meanwhile, has said the nine-speed adds refinement, giving its vehicles a more premium feel. It has launched the nine-speed and 10-speed transmissions on a number of vehicles.

The shift underscores the different strategies the nation's two largest automakers are taking with their powertrain development, even amid their collaboration.

Minimal gains

GM began rolling out the nine-speed gearbox in 2016, but fuel economy gains were minimal or nonexistent.

The 2017 Chevrolet Malibu, for example, delivered just 1 mpg more in highway driving than the previous generation with an eight-speed transmission — up to 33 mpg from 32 mpg.

The China-built Buick Envision, which switched to the nine-speed from a six-speed for the 2019 model year, achieves 1 mpg less on the highway — 25 mpg, down from 26 mpg, according to EPA estimates.

"I don't know if it necessarily delivers for all applications," Sullivan said.

GM, though, contends that the nine-speed offers a better driving experience than the eight-speed it replaced.

"We've engineered our nine-speeds for even more refined shifts," GM spokesman Tom Read said in a statement. "Smaller steps between gears in a nine vs. an eight-speed enable smoother shifts for customers."

The automaker said the new transmission has a wider gear ratio than the old eight-speed, providing benefits in off-the-line acceleration and highway cruising.

"The smaller steps between the gears, compared to the eight-speed, enable smooth, almost imperceptible upshifts for excellent refinement," Dan Nicholson, GM's vice president for global propulsion systems, said when the 2017 Malibu was introduced. "No matter the engine torque or vehicle speed, the 9T50 is always in the perfect gear."

More power

Ford made the decision to switch from the nine-speed to an eight-speed before GM began using it on any production vehicles, according to a source with knowledge of the automaker's product planning.

Ford hasn't revealed fuel economy figures for the first vehicles with the new eight-speed gearboxes, but its engineers believe they can achieve everything GM is getting out of its nine-speed with one less gear.

"The small efficiency benefit did not justify the added weight and cost of an extra clutch and gear," Ford spokesman Mike Levine said in a statement to Automotive News.

Ford has made vehicle lightweighting a top priority since it redesigned the F-150 with an aluminum body for the 2015 model year. Although transmissions have long development cycles and the eight-speeds were in the works well before Jim Hackett took over as CEO last year, the decision to take a different, more efficient route mirrors his mandates to cut costs and focus on "operational fitness."

In October, Hackett called for a $14 billion reduction in costs through 2022, with plans to cut $10 billion in incremental material outlays and reduce engineering costs by $4 billion over the next five years.

But the transmission switch also is about performance, at a time when Ford is creating a broad portfolio of sportier and high-horsepower vehicles. By adapting the six-speed from the 2002 GM alliance, Ford hopes to get more torque and power. The Nautilus, when equipped with a 2.7-liter V-6 engine, will get 335 hp, Ford said, while the Edge ST, which gets a specially tuned 2.7-liter V-6, will generate 335 hp and 380 pound-feet of torque.

The higher-volume eight-speed gearbox, based off GM's nine-speed, will power the mainstream Edge, Nautilus and Transit Connect.

The 2019 Transit Connect, which goes on sale this fall, will come standard with a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine mated to the eight-speed transmission. A 1.5-liter diesel, also paired with the eight-speed gearbox, is optional and is expected to get 30 mpg highway, Ford said.

[kscarbel2]

Ford brand sedans to be nixed in N.A. under deeper cost targets

Nick Bunkley, Automotive News  /  April 25, 2018

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday said it plans to stop selling all Ford brand sedans in North America and that it is nearly doubling its cost-cutting target by 2022 from the plan it laid out only six months ago. The automaker said it will either fix or eliminate unprofitable global operations.

Ford said the only cars it will keep in North America beyond their current generations are the Mustang and the Focus Active arriving in 2019.

The automaker said it now expects to achieve an 8 percent global profit margin by 2020, two years sooner than planned. It upped its five-year cost-cutting goal to $25.5 billion, from the $14 billion projected by CEO Jim Hackett in October.

“We’re going to feed the healthy parts of our business,” Hackett told analysts on a conference call Wednesday, “and deal decisively with the parts that destroy value.”

Ford announced the improved guidance as the company reported a 9 percent increase in first-quarter net income. Its global profit margin was 5.2 percent in the quarter, as higher commodity costs reduced earnings in North America. The company posted a 6.4 percent margin during the same quarter last year.

Ford shares rose 2.6 percent to $11.40 in after-hours trading on Wednesday. 

Cars being cut in North America are the Fiesta, Fusion and Taurus. They will be discontinued over the next few years as their lifecycle ends. Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s head of global operations, said other vehicles will replace the cars at factories in Mexico and Chicago where they are now built.

Ford’s head of global markets, Jim Farley, said the company is exploring new vehicles that give people the space and versatility of a utility vehicle without a fuel economy “penalty.”

“We will have a very diverse passenger car business,” Farley said. “It just won’t be traditional silhouetted sedans that tend to be commoditized.”

Small cars lose money

Ford CFO Bob Shanks said small cars and "most Lincoln products" are among those losing money.

Ford officials already signaled that some cars would be removed from the portfolio as consumers gravitate toward far more profitable pickups, SUVs and crossovers. Shanks said the Lincoln brand is not in overall danger but noted that it lost money in China because it is in ramp-up mode there after being introduced in 2014.

While Ford didn’t mention them, analysts say the Lincoln Continental and MKZ sedans, which share platforms with many of the Ford cars slated to be scrapped, also remain in doubt.

Shanks suggested that Ford could reduce investment in certain geographic regions or exit them completely if it did not see adequate returns on the horizon. That echoes the strategy General Motors has employed in selling its European business and abandoning several other countries, including Russia.

“Everything will be on the table,” Shanks said. “We can make different investments; we can partner; we can exit products, markets. And we will do that."

Less capital spending

He also said the company was reducing its planned capital spending from 2019 through 2022 by $5 billion to $29 billion through such actions as using common “modules” to account for 70 percent of the value of each vehicle and reusing tools and equipment.

Shanks wouldn’t say whether Ford would need to eliminate jobs to achieve the additional $11.5 billion in cost cuts. Nearly half of the cuts would be in sales and marketing -- through incentive optimization, reduced advertising and other actions -- with the rest coming from engineering and product development, material costs, manufacturing and information technology, in that order.

About $4 billion of the $11.5 billion in cuts would be accomplished in 2019 and 2020, Shanks said, with the rest occurring in the subsequent two years. He said the company used “hard work” to find more efficiencies after Hackett unveiled the plan in October. The plan was met with a tepid reaction from analysts and investors, who have been eager to hear more specifics.

“We have looked at every single part of the business,” Shanks said. “I don’t think they’re done yet.”

In the first quarter, net income rose $144 million to $1.74 billion, and revenue grew 7.4 percent to $42 billion. About $100 million of its income was due to a lower tax rate.

Ford’s North American pretax profit fell 9.2 percent to $1.94 billion, with commodity costs accounting for more than the entire decline. It lost $149 million in South America, 37 percent less than in the first quarter of 2017, and earned $119 million in Europe, down 43 percent. Its Asia Pacific business swung to a $119 million loss, from a $148 million profit a year ago.

Ford Credit’s profit jumped 33 percent to $641 million, while the automaker’s fledgling mobility ventures lost $102 million, 59 percent more than a year ago.

[Maxidyne]

Ford it setting itself up for bankruptcy when customer's preferences shift back to cars.

[RoadwayR]

Following FCA........

I wonder how much the are making/losing on the F-650/750.  Sales of those trucks are not what I thought they would be.

 

[Maxidyne]

Sadly, I'm afraid we're witnessing the last days of the American auto industry- FCA is already threatening to sell off Jeep and Ram, GM has sold off their euro car biz and thus "end of lifed" most all their cars and relies on Isuzu for their compact pickup, cabovers, and V8 diesel, Nissan/Renault for a small van, and International for conventionals over 1 ton. With these retrenchments, Ford is becoming the F150 company with a bunch of SUVs, Ranger/Everest, and vestigial vans tacked on... When gas hits $4 a gallon the fickle SUV buyers will flee back to sedans and Ford will have nothing to offer them.

[Red Horse]

10 hours ago, RoadwayR said:

Following FCA........

I wonder how much the are making/losing on the F-650/750.  Sales of those trucks are not what I thought they would be.

 

Well I think the only thing they should really get rid of is Hackett!. 

As for 650/750 I thought for sure they would be gone given their inattention to the segment-at least IMO.  But in one of the press releases this week, "commercial vehicles" were identified as a key market.  Having said that, as many commercial customers run the full range of trucks-and for sure if not class 8, class 1 through 6 and 7 for sure- I don't believe they can afford to drop 650/750.  

For example, look at the utilities.  For sure a range from class 1 to 7-with a few class 8's thrown in.

Now if you follow medium duty on the BON site-as RoadwayR does- there are plenty of posters who think they are doing just fine selling their internally sourced 650/750 and have no need for alternative power trains beyond the PowerStroke/Torqueshift combo.  I disagree. 

Hopefully a stated recognition of the importance of commercial vehicles will wake them up to the need for more options that will make the trucks more attractive.

[Maxidyne]

A lot of Ford car sales is driven by the Focus and Fusion fleet sales, and the fact that a fleet can get everything they need from a company car to heavy duty pickups from Ford. But while ford is axing those cars and showing no interest in expanding the F650/750 upward, Toyota will soon be able to supply everything from a subcompact to a baby 8, and will probably offer Cummins V8 diesels to fill that gap in the pickup range. Daimler is pricing their small SUVs competitively and can supply everything on up to a Western Star "Super 8". Usually fleet sales are around a third of Ford's sales, and with cars gone, Ford can say goodbye to a lot of those sales.

[RoadwayR]

For some reason, Toyota/Hino seems to be COMPLETELY uninterested in class 2/3/4 conventional/heavy duty pickups.  They have dropped all regular cab Tundra's and Tacoma's.  In addition to not offering any 3/4 or 1 ton pickups, Toyota markets their trucks exclusively to personal use buyers.  Fleet/commercial sales are all but non-existent.  One would think this is an area Hino would move into.

[kscarbel2]

Edsel Ford II says Ford board may take up train station plan May 10

Automotive News  /  April 30, 2018

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. board member Edsel B. Ford II said Monday that the automaker's board of directors "has been briefed" on fast-moving plans to purchase the long-vacant Michigan Central Station as part of a "big redevelopment" of downtown Detroit's Corktown neighborhood.

Ford's comments mark the first time a member of the Ford family or any company official has confirmed the automaker is pursuing purchase of the train station, which Crain's Detroit Business first reported March 19. CDB is an affiliate of Automotive News. 

Ford, the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, commented on the automaker’s efforts to establish a Detroit campus to develop electric and autonomous vehicles following a ceremony at the city’s Campus Martius park downtown. Edsel Ford II was honored Monday for his work with the Detroit 300 Conservancy group that was instrumental in creating Campus Martius.

The Ford Motor Co. board plans to discuss the train station deal at its May 10 meeting and could take action on the major real estate acquisition proposal, Edsel Ford II said.

"It doesn't need a vote, but it requires buy-in," Ford said.

Internally at the automaker, Executive Chairman Bill Ford has been said to be driving the push for the company to re-establish a major presence in Detroit some two decades after the automaker's last employees left the Renaissance Center, whose construction was led by Edsel Ford II's father, Henry Ford II. 

"Bill's excited about it, and I'm excited about it," Edsel Ford II said, calling it a potential "big redevelopment of southwest Detroit."

Ford cautioned there's no done deal yet to purchase the train station from the family of billionaire trucking mogul Manual "Matty" Moroun.

"There's T's to cross and i's to dot and nothing is -- as you know -- officially announced yet," Ford told reporters.

The push to establish a campus in Corktown beyond the building Ford purchased in December at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard is driven by a desire to "cluster" the autonomous and electric vehicle units in one spot, Ford said.

"I think that's what's really driving it," he said.

The Michigan Central Station has sat vacant since the last Amtrak train left the station in January 1988 and become an internationally recognized symbol of the city’s late 20th century decline. The Morouns have said they spent $8 million installing 1,100 new windows in the building in 2015.

But there’s an unknown cost of rehabilitating the station and its 13-floor office tower atop of the 110,000-square-foot first-floor concourse that sat open to the elements for years -- a challenge the Ford scion acknowledged Monday.

"I don’t know how long it’s going to take to redevelop all of that if we did buy the building," Edsel Ford II told reporters. "But it seems to me that the building is in somewhat disrepair, so we would have to spend some time and effort and redo it all."

[Maxidyne]

Given that Hackett wants to cut back on new vehicle development Ford has no need for more office space. Buying the remains of a massive railroad station and office building suggests that Hackett is either crazy, cray enough to go into the real estate business, or maybe he wants to play with toy trains in 1:1 scale?

[grayhair]

On 4/25/2018 at 8:53 PM, kscarbel2 said:

Small cars lose money

 

Ford CFO Bob Shanks said small cars and "most Lincoln products" are among those losing money. (Due to slow sales because their quality is poor compared to other manufacturers vehicles in those segments.)