Ford To Abandon Most of Their Car Line

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frigilux

frigilux

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Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but this certainly took me by surprise! The only two cars in their line will be the Mustang and a crossover/sport version of the Focus. They're going to focus (no pun intended) on trucks and SUVs.

Every third car in this area is a Fusion (I drive one, too.) Apparently we were the only ones buying them.

money.cnn.com

Ford dropping all but 2 cars from its North American dealerships

By 2020, Ford plans to be selling only Ford Mustangs and the new Ford Active in North America.
money.cnn.com
 
Yessir.. SUV's overtook cars in sales volume back in 2016 or was it 2017.. Didja know that the best selling vehicle in Canada isn't a car.. it's the Ford F150. Followed by the Honda Civic .

I don't know if I'd go back to a car now after a couple of years with the Forester.. Sometimes I miss my little Mazda3 and think, well I could get an Impreza STI or something fun.. but I dunno.. When my back goes out,, getting in and out of a car is painful. LOL.
 
I live in a rural area so trucks are everywhere, although I've noticed the Dodge Ram is gaining ground on the almost ubiquitous Ford F150/350 here in farm country. But...dropping the Fusion?! That surprises me. I guess I'm old school. I like a trunk.
 
I wonder how long this experiment will last. Where I live there are a lot of people driving new Ford cars, mostly the Focus. But lately I’ve also been seeing new Fiesta’s again too. Now the Taurus, hardly ever. Of course there are lots of their big trucks and SUV”s too. But if they cease selling the Focus sedans, they better hope that the public really likes their new Focus hatchback, because other wise the buyers of the Focus sedan will probably buy Honda Accords or Toyota Camry’s instead.

And I heard they are bringing back the Ford Ranger. I had an 02’ Ranger that was a nice truck. But it had a govenor on it and you couldn’t go over 93mph. I know, because once when we drove to LA on I-5 I tried to get around a big truck on the right and it sure did flat spot at 93! Fortunately, I was able to get around the truck, but I thought this was BS. Sometimes you may need to exceed 93 for a brief time and even though I wouldn’t make a habit out of driving that fast, it can be necessary on occasion. The driver should have the option of using the full capacity of the engine.

Eddie
 
I'm strangely both surprised and not surprised by this...

 

I'm not surprised since SUVs seem to be so popular. But, at the same time, I guess I'm a bit surprised because there still would seem to be a market for cars. I, for example, would be far more likely to buy a car than a SUV. (Although my opinion probably doesn't matter to Ford since I'm unlikely to buy a new vehicle!) I'm sure I'm not alone.

 

I just wonder how this will work out for Ford. It might make sense now, with current sales, but things have a way of changing. At some point, people might decide they are tired of driving SUVs, and decide they want smaller cars again. Maybe gas prices will sharply spike, and, again, people will want a smaller car. But if Ford is out of the car business, they could face troublesome times as they adapt--or try to adapt.

 
 
I abandoned Ford after the crap 1989 Pinto I bought and their warranty had all these exclusions and at less than 12K had major problems, sorry, its all excluded. My great uncle owned the original Ford dealership and my whole family had to own Fords or we walked. I will never own a Ford again after the way they treated me. Their "brand" supposedly sells the most. But all the "brands" by GM far outsell them. A friend had to buy an F-150 last year and has had nothing but headaches since day one. My Silverado is 5 years old in June and regular maintenance is all I have done.
 
I was surprised by this too. I thought the Fusion especially is a great selling car and the current generation of Ford sedans seem very good. I don't see as many Taurus or Fiesta but I think that's probably just because the midsize will sell more than the subcompact and full size.

Honestly I think this is a "bold" but dumb move for them. I forsee them bringing back sedans a few years in the future and not admitting that they messed up.

It would be nice if the Ranger comes back. I think Ford's issue with them was they didn't update them much after the early 90s. I mean, the last ones here were basically the same as the 80s and 90s models.

Really I like Ford's cars better than their trucks or SUVS. I guess their SUVs are ok, but I'd rather have a Chevy than a Ford, but it's probably just the styling. I actually preferred the older Chevy styling to the current crop they sell...

I drive an old Malibu and I don't even know what kind of vehicle I'd buy to replace it. Sometimes I want something bigger but a truck seems too big in a way... I like the Taurus, but the mileage I'm sure isn't as good as I'm getting now. Kind of like the Kia and Hyundai sedans too, seems the public perception of them is still mixed. A minivan I could like too, but then there's the "you drive a minivan, ewww!" Who cares.
 
Mercury

Remember they still have Lincoln and perhaps this might be a good reason to bring back Mercury. Ford would be their utility line up of Trucks and SUV’s and the Mustang. Mercury would have a few Sedans and a coupe or two and then have Lincoln as the luxury name plate. Might be something to think about.
 
My stepson

is a Ford employee. He told us months ago the Taurus wasn't selling, and was headed to be discontinued. It used to be a middle class car, but the latest was too expensive. That's the same reason Mercury, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile are also gone.
Like it or not, today, we have more wealthy, more poorer, and fewer of us in the middle.
Competition from Asian cars has also been a factor that was a smaller piece of the markets pie 20 to 30 years ago. Also, well heeled buyers can now afford an Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc.
The Ford Flex, and Explorer are built on the same platform as the Taurus, and the Edge on the same as the Fusion. I was surprised to learn the Fusion is also going to be phased out over the next 3 years. It's built in Mexico. Could it be because of a new tariff?
Anywho, the new Ford Eco Sport is from India, and priced the same as the Focus based Escape. I bet it won't do any better in crash tests either.
If gas gets too much higher, Ford may need more mid size and compact sedans in the line up. China and India may then be the source.
The public has no say other than not to lease or buy. Most yawn and do it anyway. The roads are so bad, and some are closed for re construction.
I drive a chuck hole puddle jumper for daily point a to b trips.
If there is a meet or show I want to go to, then the '77 V8 Luxo barge comes out.
 
Couldn't care less.
Old Henry was a Jew-hating bastard anyway. He bought a newspaper during the great depression for the express purpose of "introducing" rural Americans to the "evil Jews". Hired a nazi journalist and imported him to Dearborn where he spewed his Jew-hated for over TEN years to an audience who had, for the most part, never even met a Jew. Forced ALL Ford Dealers to include a copy of the Dearborn newspaper with every sale including all tractors and farm equipment or lose their franchise. Any wonder why American anti-semitism peaked in 1934. So, it is hard for some Americans to look at Ford products objectively. No one in my family would ever buy one.

The best truck I ever owned was a Dodge. If I wanted another truck I would buy another Dodge.
My favorite car, out of all the different ones I've had over the years is my Chrysler 300 Touring AWD.
If I had to go out and replace it tomorrow, I would buy another one. So, late in my life I have discovered a fondness and loyalty for Chrysler products over all others.

I have co-workers who love their little Fords, a Focus and a Taurus, and they never have a trouble with them. If they go to replace them they will have to turn to some other manufacturer. Ford's loss.
 
My Opinion

Ford is making a mistake putting all their eggs in the Truck SUV basket.
Back a few years Chrysler, while under control of Daimler stuffed their lots with big hog Hemi V8s and Trucks. Then along came high gas prices again and they had nothing to offer in the economy line.

I find it difficult to understand that Toyota can have a number 1 seller in the Camry, Honda sells tons of the Civic and Accords, but Ford can't sell a Fusion or Taurus?

Still thinking Ford, and yes GM and Chrysler have always been short-sighted, focusing only on the next board of directors meeting with gigantic profits to show, instead of designing a safe, fuel efficient car that people will actually want.
 
I like my Fusion, as well. It was obviously a "fleet" car---4 cylinder 2.5 liter engine; no extras like a back-up camera (which is the one thing I wish it had).

My stepfather bought a 1975 LTD and sold me his '69 Delta 88. That Ford was horrible. It was in the shop frequently, had two wiring fires, and was generally a piece of crap. I hated the ultra-light feel of the power steering---or more precisely, a lack of feel in the steering.

That gorgeous Delta 88, on the other hand, was an awesome car! Kept it through college.
 
Only trouble is

So, if you want a sedan you might go to Toyota. They have several nice cars and they all have Toyota Sense for safety. You may buy one and realize the quality and reliability are really nice. Then when you look for an SUV or Truck maybe you will just go back to Toyota.

I have a 2008 Ford F150 truck and a 2014 Mustang. I really like both of them. But who knows when I go to shop. I looked at the Taurus and really liked it, old style but luxurious. Also drove a recent Fusion and that was nice too.

Toyota has the Safety Sense and Honda Accord has a similar system on all of its models. Ford makes you pay for a premium model and charges extra for its safety systems.
 
Not to worry, Pinto, etc. Mrs, Dodge and Mrs. Ford

were friends. They did many benefits together. Henry's name was on the publication true, but he was not the writer. It was for tax purposes. The authors were none other than Dearborn's Mayor Hubbard, and his team of bigots. Also note that blacks were forbidden to live there even though many worked for Ford. So they settled Inkster, to the west. Google the Motown song "My baby must be a magician". The group was form Inkster. When you are from here, you learn a lot, unless you're Taylor white trash or ignorant. Steven, I worked for a Jewish owned company, Borman's Inc. supermarkets. Paul Borman drove a Lincoln. Nice man.
Bill Ford has something in the works. Ben, an Olds was hard to beat back then period. I wonder which plant your grand dads '75 LTD was built in. Two of my aunts had them, and loved them. Years of trouble free service. Poor mans Lincoln from '73 on, they were so heavy. Maybe the problem was how many plants built them. Oakville Ontario, Hapeville Ga., St. Louis, and Pico Rivera Ca., albeit mainly for the west coast market.
The 400 V8 from Windsor and or Cleveland did have a pre disposition for leaky valve seals in '73 and '74, at least.
The Pinto was derived from the Corcel, of Brazil, and built in St. Thomas, Ontario.
 
So, if you want a sedan you might go to Toyota. They have several nice cars and they all have Toyota Sense for safety. You may buy one and realize the quality and reliability are really nice. Then when you look for an SUV or Truck maybe you will just go back to Toyota.


 

Yes. And I think I've told this story here before. But my parents knew someone who bought a Japanese car about 1980 just because they wanted something with good gas mileage. Then, a few years later, they realized that the car had over 50,000 miles, and, unlike any Detroit car they'd owned, it still had all the original parts (apart from routine maintenance). And at that moment, they apparently said: "We're never buying from Detroit again!"

 

And I can see that happening to Ford once their customers are forced to look elsewhere for cars. Their quality is supposedly better than the 70s, but is it at the level of long term reliability of, say, Toyota?

 

Even if a loyal Ford buyer has been happy enough with the reliability, he or she might find something else to like about another maker's cars that becomes a selling point when he or she buys a new SUV...and it comes from the company that makes the small daily driver that Ford doesn't want to bother with.
 

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