Ford to Launch something new - "corvette killer"

[Schwerin]

^This. I'm a huge Lincoln fan, and was really disappointed they stopped making cars. Too bad Lincoln didn't have an existing platform they could have worked from to produce a new car. Maybe even a replacement for the Mark VIII...

They would have to give that a lot of options unless they want their only car to be like 100K.

Probably start with the 3.0T, then options for 5.0, and 5.2SC.
In every case it would likely need to retune the engines to be smoother/refined. Turn down the power a tiny bit. Could easily see it as 400HP, 490HP, 750. Sacrifice a bit of power for a smoother ride/power curve.

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[SnowFox]

I'd have liked a 2door coupe/convertible based on the last SHO to have been called Thunderbird. Kinda Mustang like but also much more GT than sports car. Kind of more Audi S5 coupe competitor. I also think that Thunderbird fits the Mach-e better than Mustang does.

Totally agree with this.

 

[saleen367]

anyone got any insight on this? I'm hearing Ford will be releasing a car of a higher tier than the Mustang, but I can't confirm the gossip as of yet.

Farley teased a hi-po off road version as a halo "car", not a truck, not long ago on a business news program if I'm not mistaken. I don't see how in the hell they would market such a thing or who their core demographics would be.

I certainly hope this isn't the direction he's taking us down.

 

[broncoboy22]

Farley teased a hi-po off road version as a halo "car", not a truck, not long ago on a business news program if I'm not mistaken. I don't see how in the hell they would market such a thing or who their core demographics would be.

I certainly hope this isn't the direction he's taking us down.

Completely agreed! While it could be a cool vehicle there is absolutely no major market for it. Makes no sense to fund that project and not fund so many other common sense moves

 

[saleen367]

Completely agreed! While it could be a cool vehicle there is absolutely no major market for it. Makes no sense to fund that project and not fund so many other common sense moves

Common sense exited in January 2020.

 

[ShadesOfBloo]

I'd have liked a 2door coupe/convertible based on the last SHO to have been called Thunderbird. Kinda Mustang like but also much more GT than sports car. Kind of more Audi S5 coupe competitor...

The Mustang is already more GT than sportscar. I tolerate the slow, over-boosted steering because I wanted a highway car. You could sell me a 3800 lb car with a lazy-ass steering ratio, but you can't tell me it's a sports car.

 

[ShadesOfBloo]

Ford already has a Corvette killer. It's called a Ford GT.
Sadly, it's priced out of the reach of mere mortals.

I'm not that sad about it.
I was a little sad about not being able to afford the 2005 Ford GT, but the 2017 is a butt-ugly car with no headroom and a "trunk" the size of my Mustang's glovebox.

 

[ShadesOfBloo]

Guys, read up on how the government CAFE mileage requirements work. Sedans get penalized based on their overall footprint so a “decent” sedan that we’d want to drive (think Mercedes E or S Class size) means a manufacturer will have to sell many little cars to offset each bigger car to get their CAFE average up. And since most Americans don’t like tiny cars US manufacturers stopped making them…which means they had nothing to counter the large sedans we WOULD buy. And the silly part of the government regulations was that the same “footprint” fuel economy standards DON’T apply to SUVs or trucks! So manufacturers were stuck. Make SUVs & Trucks or go out of business. Sucks when governments put their fingers on the scale instead of letting the market decide what people want to drive. Gas is already heavily taxed…if you buy a vehicle that doesn’t get good gas mileage you’re already heavily penalized…government didn’t need to get involved.

Not just gas mileage, but also emissions. American manufacturers started pushing SUVs around the late 1980s because anything that could qualify as a "light duty" truck got breaks on CAFE standards and tailpipe emissions.
It helped that the Ford Bronco and Chevy Blazer and Suburban were actually built on truck frames; basically pickup trucks with the cab extended until it consumed the bed. Making a truck into a passenger vehicle was cheap, and convincing people it was more "manly" (fashionable) was apparently pretty easy.

Is Ford now realizing that most of the world doesn't want a fat-ass Explorer?
I got the impression the Mondeo/Fusion was already getting big for most Europeans' taste.

 

[Strokerswild]

Is Ford now realizing that most of the world doesn't want a fat-ass Explorer?

They should be, but I don't know if they're all that sharp anymore...

 

[Vlad Soare]

I'm not that sad about it.
I was a little sad about not being able to afford the 2005 Ford GT, but the 2017 is a butt-ugly car with no headroom and a "trunk" the size of my Mustang's glovebox.

Yes, it has no headroom and no trunk, but in all fairness, that's precisely the kind of car that no one will ever buy for its practicality. You never hear a Lamborghini owner complain about the trunk size, for instance.
Butt-ugly is in the eye of the beholder. To me, it looks absolutely awesome.
If I have one complain about it, that's the engine. A car like that should have an aspirated V8, not a turbocharged V6. Especially at that price. But alas, ecoism is an incurable disease, so all we can do is learn to live with it. Like one eventually learns to live with rheumatism.

 

[Eyesac]

Not just gas mileage, but also emissions. American manufacturers started pushing SUVs around the late 1980s because anything that could qualify as a "light duty" truck got breaks on CAFE standards and tailpipe emissions.
It helped that the Ford Bronco and Chevy Blazer and Suburban were actually built on truck frames; basically pickup trucks with the cab extended until it consumed the bed. Making a truck into a passenger vehicle was cheap, and convincing people it was more "manly" (fashionable) was apparently pretty easy.

Is Ford now realizing that most of the world doesn't want a fat-ass Explorer?
I got the impression the Mondeo/Fusion was already getting big for most Europeans' taste.

That and they're up against Asian automakers that make great cheap compact(ish) cars and suvs and don't have to pay ridiculous United Auto Workers wages and pensions that tack on thousands per vehicle. For US automakers to be competitive they have to attempt to make a comparable quality car for less then Asians, or take thousands out in "quality" just to be competitive. It's all kinda bs... and kinda a miracle that the US can even compete.

 

[13GetThere]

I think the real question now is, can Ford make a comparable sports car that can directly compete with the Corvette at a competitive price. So some where between MSRP of $100,000 to $200,000; give or take.

 

[agmattocks]

Ford already has the corvette killer at a reasonable price. Starting with the dark horse just remove the back seats and replace the removable panels with carbon fiber, and updated the steel suspension components from steel to aluminum. So loose weight and make it comparable in price.

 

[robvas]

Ford already has the corvette killer at a reasonable price. Starting with the dark horse just remove the back seats and replace the removable panels with carbon fiber, and updated the steel suspension components from steel to aluminum. So loose weight and make it comparable in price.

It'd have to perform better than the corvette.

 

[Vlad Soare]

Nah. The 650, be it dark or not, looks like shit and is too committed to practicality and common sense - with a bit of ecoism thrown in for good measure. Barf...
A Corvette killer should be pure lunacy. It should look insanely gorgeous, impossible for you to take your eyes off of, and be insane to drive, it should force you to wrestle it around every corner and be sideways half the time. In other words, it should be everything the 650 isn't and never will be.
The Ford GT, however, is all of those things. But at Lamborghini prices it doesn't stand a chance to kill the Corvette.

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