Dear Ford, For Your Consideration

Rampant · Oct 8, 2017

Dear Ford,

For those of us that have children and need 4 doors, yet still want to drive something like a Mustang:

It would be simple to build -- just elongate the S550 chassis a little and viola. It is about time you shared the S550 to maximize returns on the chassis development anyway.

You can even call it the Falcon. Just let it have a V8 and a stick shift.

The Charger, 4 series Gran Coupe and A5/S5 Sportback all prove there is a market for "gran coupes". Heck, even KIA is getting into the act -- don't get left behind by KIA for Pete's sake!

Thank you.

TNcoupe · Oct 8, 2017

No, there are too many 4 door cars to choose from. We need more 2 door cars. Ford has already lost a sale on a 2020 Bronco from me cause they said theres no chance it will be 2 doors.

Rampant · Oct 8, 2017

TNcoupe said:
No, there are too many 4 door cars to choose from. We need more 2 door cars. Ford has already lost a sale on a 2020 Bronco from me cause they said theres no chance it will be 2 doors.

Name one sedan that is as fun to drive as a Mustang.
And....uh....Ford already has a fun to drive, 2 door car with a V8.....but not a 4 door option.

Zodiac · Oct 8, 2017

I probably would have bought a Falcon if it came to the US with a 5.0.

Kinjirra · Oct 8, 2017

Agree bring the Falcon back to the US... 4 doors, 10speed auto, 5.0 v-8 or the Ecoboost v-6 twin. Get whoever styled the Current Gen Mustang to to do the style on the New Falcon so you don't end up with the generic ford look and you have a competitor to the Charger. Chargers are such good selling(and good looking in the newest models) cars I don't understand why nobody else has jumped on that wagon

Don't just stretch the Mustang though... It will look like that ugly Porsche if you do

Bravo · Oct 8, 2017

As someone with a young child, my knee jerk reaction is that I would love Ford to do it...but they kind of already do - in the Fusion Sport and Taurus SHO.

No, they don't offer the 5.0 or 6spd manual, but they're as close as you're going to get in a "fun" sedan.

I'm afraid that a 4 door V8 (and thus RWD only) would not sell all that well. Adding 4 doors would increase the cost over what many are already calling an expensive Mustang, and you'd quickly be right up to Audi S4/S5 territory (and those vehicles are true AWD).

It's a fun thought, that the Ford Falcon would be neat, but the reality is that adding 2 more doors to the existing Mustang chassis wouldn't make it that much easier to get kids in and out of the vehicle.

Edit: Just to comment on the post above - Ford does have a competitor to the Charger. It's the Taurus - it can match it in almost every trim level.

PJR202 · Oct 8, 2017

Zodiac · Oct 8, 2017

Bravo said:
As someone with a young child, my knee jerk reaction is that I would love Ford to do it...but they kind of already do - in the Fusion Sport and Taurus SHO.

No, they don't offer the 5.0 or 6spd manual, but they're as close as you're going to get in a "fun" sedan.

I'm afraid that a 4 door V8 (and thus RWD only) would not sell all that well. Adding 4 doors would increase the cost over what many are already calling an expensive Mustang, and you'd quickly be right up to Audi S4/S5 territory (and those vehicles are true AWD).

It's a fun thought, that the Ford Falcon would be neat, but the reality is that adding 2 more doors to the existing Mustang chassis wouldn't make it that much easier to get kids in and out of the vehicle.

Edit: Just to comment on the post above - Ford does have a competitor to the Charger. It's the Taurus - it can match it in almost every trim level.

No. Just no. I can't believe you typed that.

Kinjirra · Oct 8, 2017

Bravo said:
As someone with a young child, my knee jerk reaction is that I would love Ford to do it...but they kind of already do - in the Fusion Sport and Taurus SHO.

No, they don't offer the 5.0 or 6spd manual, but they're as close as you're going to get in a "fun" sedan.

I'm afraid that a 4 door V8 (and thus RWD only) would not sell all that well. Adding 4 doors would increase the cost over what many are already calling an expensive Mustang, and you'd quickly be right up to Audi S4/S5 territory (and those vehicles are true AWD).

It's a fun thought, that the Ford Falcon would be neat, but the reality is that adding 2 more doors to the existing Mustang chassis wouldn't make it that much easier to get kids in and out of the vehicle.

Edit: Just to comment on the post above - Ford does have a competitor to the Charger. It's the Taurus - it can match it in almost every trim level.

Funny I never notice those cars floating around at car shows and my car friend never mention how fun they are..and none of them own one..

I think there is a huge market for a 4 door sports car that ford owns no market share in at all. Fusion and Taurus are not even close to it

Bravo · Oct 8, 2017

Zodiac said:
No. Just no. I can't believe you typed that.

Go on...

The Taurus is a heavy (4100) lb sedan that launches to 60 in 5s flat.

The Charger is a heavier (4300) lb sedan that launches to 60 somewhere in the 4s if you dish out for the scat pack.

The Fusion Sport performs somewhere between the two.

You want Ford to ditch a piece of it's FWD lineup that sells incredibly well so that it can fill a niche RWD sedan market that barely exists. It would be interesting to see, but it's unlikely to happen as Ford and Dodge are playing at two very different games here.

Rampant · Oct 8, 2017

Bravo said:
Go on...

The Taurus is a heavy (4100) lb sedan that launches to 60 in 5s flat.

The Charger is a heavier (4300) lb sedan that launches to 60 somewhere in the 4s if you dish out for the scat pack.

The Fusion Sport performs somewhere between the two.

You want Ford to ditch a piece of it's FWD lineup that sells incredibly well so that it can fill a niche RWD sedan market that barely exists. It would be interesting to see, but it's unlikely to happen as Ford and Dodge are playing at two very different games here.

Who said anything about ditching the Fusion???

There is FAR more to a car than 0-60 times. The Taurus has no fun at all behind the wheel. On top of that, the interior is more cramped than a Fusion and it looks bland, boring and out dated.

And no FWD car will be as fun as a RWD car -- no matter what the stat sheet says. The Fusion would never be on my shopping list because of that. But that car isn't for someone who enjoys driving -- that is to battle the Camry/Accords or the world.

Also, the Charger sells for $1k more than the Challenger -- hardly noticeable in terms of price difference, and certainly no where near Audi territory (the 2.0t A5 starts in the mid 40's).
Speaking of Audi, the A5 4 door is $200 cheaper than the two door, so your price objection when adding doors is completely unfounded.

FYI, Dodge sold 97k Chargers last year.
That is 151% the sales of the Challengers at 64k.

Or, in other words, the same car in a 4 door sold 50% more than the 2 door equivalent.

Furthermore, if you take the Challenger and the Charger combined, they sold 50% more than the Mustang sold at 105k.

Also, year-to-date, the Charger sold 67k vs. 62k for the Mustang. This is arguably before the new model year hype started to sag sales. So it is already outselling the Mustang this year.

The numbers show there is a market for a 4 door V8. Even more so than the Mustang itself.

The platform is there so it would take minimal development time/expense.
Ford could do it if they wanted to.

Bravo · Oct 8, 2017

Nobody said anything about ditching the Fusion.

You're completely missing my point - Ford could do what Dodge is doing if they wanted to, but they won't because it doesn't make sense fiscally. The fact is that Ford let that ship sail years ago when they went all in with the current design of their sedan lineup and let the Crown Vic platform die put. Their intentions have been made clear.

With that said, if Ford decides to go all in and compete directly with the Charger, they'll wait and do so with the Taurus redesign in 2022.

I completely agree that the Taurus interior is awful (though Dodge doesn't exactly win at interior design). The handling without the SHO and performance pack is also poor, but that is currently Ford's competition to the Charger, like it or not.

But as I said - a 4dr rwd sedan won't come from Ford - the V8 will be phased out long before any design would hit the road.

Rampant · Oct 8, 2017

I'm sure you're right, but it is fun to play with Photoshop and hope.

Bravo · Oct 8, 2017

Rampant - you mention that a platform currently exists... What platform are you thinking?

This would be more than just adding a couple of doors to a Mustang. Whatever we're going to call this thing would likely require an entirely new chassis.

Zodiac · Oct 8, 2017

Rampant said:
Who said anything about ditching the Fusion???

There is FAR more to a car than 0-60 times. The Taurus has no fun at all behind the wheel. On top of that, the interior is more cramped than a Fusion and it looks bland, boring and out dated.

And no FWD car will be as fun as a RWD car -- no matter what the stat sheet says. The Fusion would never be on my shopping list because of that. But that car isn't for someone who enjoys driving -- that is to battle the Camry/Accords or the world.

Also, the Charger sells for $1k more than the Challenger -- hardly noticeable in terms of price difference, and certainly no where near Audi territory (the 2.0t A5 starts in the mid 40's).
Speaking of Audi, the A5 4 door is $200 cheaper than the two door, so your price objection when adding doors is completely unfounded.

FYI, Dodge sold 97k Chargers last year.
That is 151% the sales of the Challengers at 64k.

Or, in other words, the same car in a 4 door sold 50% more than the 2 door equivalent.

Furthermore, if you take the Challenger and the Charger combined, they sold 50% more than the Mustang sold at 105k.

Also, year-to-date, the Charger sold 67k vs. 62k for the Mustang. This is arguably before the new model year hype started to sag sales. So it is already outselling the Mustang this year.

The numbers show there is a market for a 4 door V8. Even more so than the Mustang itself.

The platform is there so it would take minimal development time/expense.
Ford could do it if they wanted to.

I guess I don't have to add much since you hit the nail on the head. Also not necessarily showing that there is a market for 4 door v8. Don't forget the volume leader will be the v6.

The Taurus is a terrible car. I wanted to like the SHO, considered one for the wife. Such a big car with a terribly small, cramped interior. It was a terrible numb drive as well.

Ford will never make a RWD V8 Sedan in the US. I've unfortunately given up on that dream.

Dear Ford, For Your Consideration

Rampant

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TNcoupe

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Rampant

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Zodiac

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Kinjirra

I R Slow

Bravo

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PJR202

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Zodiac

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Kinjirra

I R Slow

Bravo

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Rampant

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Bravo

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Rampant

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Bravo

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Zodiac

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