FORD'S BALLSY MOVE: C1 Focus, CC, Kuga, CMax, TransitConnect, Transit, F100 approved!

[igor]

http://www.autosavant.net/2008/06/fo...ories-for.html

Ford Will Retool US Factories for Switch to European Models

By Brendan Moore

06.13.2008

It was reported by several publications a few days ago that Ford was considering taking one of their shuttered or soon-to-be shuttered SUV or truck assembly plants and investing a large sum of money in retooling the plant for production of one of their European models. Such a move is unusual among automakers; renovation of a plant generally occurs when a new model or a new generation of an existing model is going to be introduced, but these are unusual times for automakers currently. The market has turned 180 degrees in the past few months due to upward-spiraling gas prices, with SUV and pickup sales plummeting like a fat guy jumping off a bridge, and consumers clamoring ever so loudly for small, fuel-efficient cars.

Ford has been rocked pretty hard by this change in consumer preferences and has not been reticent about saying that they believe the US market has irrecoverably changed towards fuel economy. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Alan Mulally is not one given to indecision.

Our sources at Ford say that Mr. Mulally has already made the decision to convert at least three truck/SUV production facilities in North America as soon as possible to produce Ford models currently sold in Europe, where Ford is renowned for its small cars. The timeline Mulally prefers, according to insiders, is “yesterday”. He has made up his mind and is pushing forward.

MUCH MORE AT LINK: http://www.autosavant.net/2008/06/fo...ories-for.html

[emh]

It's good to see Ford being decisive, compared to the on again, off again uncertainty that almost every new GM product seems to go through. I hope this pays off for Ford.

I'm confused by the plan to sell the two Focii at the same time. How much more expensive will the 2nd gen likely be?

I may have missed other discussions on this, but why is the Transit considered so important? Doesn't seem like a good fit for the North American market...

[igor]

Originally Posted by emh

It's good to see Ford being decisive, compared to the on again, off again uncertainty that almost every new GM product seems to go through. I hope this pays off for Ford.

I'm confused by the plan to sell the two Focii at the same time. How much more expensive will the 2nd gen likely be?

I may have missed other discussions on this, but why is the Transit considered so important? Doesn't seem like a good fit for the North American market...

1) the US Focus is about $2,000 cheaper than its competition (feature by feature) and about $2,000 cheaper than the C1 Focus,
In essence Ford will have a B-Car and a C-car - B-car being the old FOcus, C-car being the new one. I expect the C170 (old) Focus to die when Fiesta comes online as that car is to be priced exactly on the level of the current US Focus.

2) Transit is important as it is much more fuel efficient. It is unitbody and thus lighter. There is even a light duty FWD model available, and smallest engines are I4 diesels. The heaviest duty models are RWD with V6 Diesels. making 400ft.lbs. Their overall GVWR is lower than E350, but AFAIK they will not kill any products right away - they will simply add more efficient products to the mix and see how market responds.

Igor

[FStephenMasek]

Originally Posted by emh

I may have missed other discussions on this, but why is the Transit considered so important? Doesn't seem like a good fit for the North American market...

Vehicles such as the Transit and Sprinter are far more useful for almost anything contractors / workers do - they are easier to load and unload, less tippy, so handle better, more secure, and can be had in passenger, or mixed passnger and cargo, versions. They are also more efficient designs in terms of use of space and steel, so offer better fuel efficiency.

[dratnol]

I didn't see it mentioned in the article, but are the diesel engines coming with the new cars too? A Focus with a diesel would be a nice option to have if nothing else for marketing purposes.

[igor]

Originally Posted by dratnol

I didn't see it mentioned in the article, but are the diesel engines coming with the new cars too? A Focus with a diesel would be a nice option to have if nothing else for marketing purposes.

that was not part of the source information ...

this is still just a report based on a person talking to Brendan - this is not official release ... Mulally is aware of the article and did not deny it (did not confirm it either) .... but that is it - this is from a person who heard the discussion over past weeks.

Igor

[jkennedy293]

Let's not get too excited. The plants won't be ready to produce cars for at least 2 years.

[emh]

Originally Posted by igor

1) the US Focus is about $2,000 cheaper than its competition (feature by feature) and about $2,000 cheaper than the C1 Focus,
In essence Ford will have a B-Car and a C-car - B-car being the old FOcus, C-car being the new one. I expect the C170 (old) Focus to die when Fiesta comes online as that car is to be priced exactly on the level of the current US Focus.

Thanks for the clarification, and that makes sense. Hope it's not too confusing for consumers from a naming perspective, and doesn't hurt perception of the new model.

2) Transit is important as it is much more fuel efficient. It is unitbody and thus lighter. There is even a light duty FWD model available, and smallest engines are I4 diesels. The heaviest duty models are RWD with V6 Diesels. making 400ft.lbs. Their overall GVWR is lower than E350, but AFAIK they will not kill any products right away - they will simply add more efficient products to the mix and see how market responds.

I knew the Transit was efficient -- just wondering if US buyers are ready to be seen in a van (especially the truck-driving mucho folks, who would make up a good chunk of the target market). "See if it sticks" is probably the right way to look at it.

[igor]

Originally Posted by jkennedy293

Let's not get too excited. The plants won't be ready to produce cars for at least 2 years.

while that is what everyone believes - the plan is apparently MUCH faster .. remember the ORIGINAL plan had Kuga, C-Max, C2 Focus, Fiesta all here on sale withing 24 months from today - the new plan is to be MUCH FASTER!!

I (nor Brendan) have definitive information on how fast it can and will happen, but it is to be FAST.

Igor

[igor]

Originally Posted by emh

I knew the Transit was efficient -- just wondering if US buyers are ready to be seen in a van (especially the truck-driving mucho folks, who would make up a good chunk of the target market). "See if it sticks" is probably the right way to look at it.

this is not to replace trucks - at least not retail trucks - it is to replace E-series vans and company bought fleet trucks - companies love saving money and do not care about what their employees think about their self image.

Igor

[pgill00]

Originally Posted by igor

while that is what everyone believes - the plan is apparently MUCH faster .. remember the ORIGINAL plan had Kuga, C-Max, C2 Focus, Fiesta all here on sale withing 24 months from today - the new plan is to be MUCH FASTER!!

I (nor Brendan) have definitive information on how fast it can and will happen, but it is to be FAST.

Igor

I think 24 months from today is "at least 2 years".

[throwback]

Kudos to Mulally for making the moves that need to be made. Can you imagine Bill Ford being this decisive? Even if this take 2 years, Ford will have a new Fiesta, Focus, S-Max, possibly Kuga, hoepfully Ka as well. This will position them to have desirable, fuel effecient cars for sale.

[FoMoCo Fan]

Sounds great on paper. HOWEVER big questions remain:

These Euro models may be fuel efficent, but how will American consumers respond to vehicles without supersized cupholders, etc.

Will Ford have the marketing $ necessary to back up such a huge new product offensive? Even with closing down Mercury, that's a lot of new models to foist on the airwaves all at once. Saturn has tried the same thing, and without the marketing $ to move the product and let people know they exist, and the results have been less than stellar. Of course the Ford brand has far more market awareness than Saturn has, so that could help.

I wonder if exporting these vehicles to Europe is part of the plan, with the falling $ vs the euro?

[igor]

Originally Posted by pgill00

I think 24 months from today is "at least 2 years".

that was the ORIGINAL plan. my point is - the time line was moved up significantly to well under 2 years.

Igor

[genjy]

Genjy....while funny, please dont post things like that anymore

Big Al