Ford Axing all cars except Mustang and Focus Active Crossover in North America

[Zelek]

I can honestly say I wouldn't have considered a Ford sedan, but I have a friend who likes the Focus ST and RS. I can't fit in either one. Look at the bright side, the Mustang survives.

I do really love my Accord sedan though. One hell of a car for someone who has no need for any kind of crossover/SUV.

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[Norm Peterson]

I can honestly say I wouldn't have considered a Ford sedan, but I have a friend who likes the Focus ST and RS. I can't fit in either one. Look at the bright side, the Mustang survives.

I do really love my Accord sedan though. One hell of a car for someone who has no need for any kind of crossover/SUV.

You'd think that Ford's sedan sales could have supported one sedan option even when they can't justify keeping an entry in every segment. You'd hope they'd pick what would be the strongest model, where they'd at least eliminate cannibalism from the others.


Norm

 

[ODucksFan]

In other news, Ford executives are cutting off their legs to save costs on denim and shoes...

Shame as the Focus ST and RS, and Fusion Sport are great options. Ford just was not very good at competing in this segment after the initial Taurus, reliability and dependability is what these buyers are after primarily.

From my understanding, the Focus RS is going away worldwide until the next generation model comes out in a year or two. It would be a pretty damn shame if the North American market doesn't get the new RS in a few years.

 

[Loki-GT]

Two words that should be enough to change your thinking here . . . Jim Hackett


Norm

Exactly, how other execs in Ford can follow this line of thinking is beyond me. They will lose buyers, my wife will not switch to an SUV or crossover so she will look elsewhere.

GM seems able to make a model in every segment yet Ford who is making money hand over fist simply isn't making enough margin, insanity thinking this will fix it. They have never had the margins they enjoy today.

 

[AmericanLegend]

The move will be smart in the sense that Ford has backed themselves into this corner.

They have to drop the revenue sucking products, in which they don't compete very well in right now.

Fiesta: Who in the USA buys a Fiesta?

Focus: ST is nice....BUT, next generation Focus is going to be Chinese built => Focus is dead to me. The Honda Civic, Mazda 3 or Subaru Impreza (WRX) are all better choices.
Focus RS is awesome, but too $$ to be a volume player.

Fusion: versus the new 2019 Honda Accord or 2019 Toyota Camry. I would honestly feel like an idiot if I let my heart (Ford fan) dictate me buying a Fusion over either the Accord or Camry....both the Camry and Accord kick the crap out of the Fusion right now. I like the Fusion Sport, but its too $$ to sell in large numbers.

Ford can 'PLAY and WIN' in the Pony Car, SUV, CUV & Truck segments.

 

[Topnotch]

https://www.at.ford.com/en/homepage...ews/2018/4/jim-farley-message-to-dealers.html

 

[AmericanLegend]

....SUV's are just too bland with less than inspiring handling, braking and driving dynamics. Ford can and should develop a performance variant of the Fusion like they have the Focus - there is still a market for performance sedans. The Norh American market still loves performance vehicles and there is a place for a performance sedan in the line up....

The Edge Sport is actually a pretty fun CUV to drive. The current Edge Sport has 325hp, 350 ft lbs. The new Ford Edge Sport ST will have 335 hp, 380 ft lb with an 8 speed auto.

The Fusion Sport has a great power train...the car is just outdated everywhere else.

Ford stopped investing in their cars years ago (except for Mustang, of course).

 

[Jay-rod427]

Small piece of the big picture. Trucks and SUV's are higher profit, and they have to fund the low profit items(soon to be dropped). Without those money sucking lines the future profit can be used to fund better vehicles that they DO still sell. Maybe a Mustang someday might have cooled seats that actually work!!!

 

[EcoVert]

Greedy Motors will take the sedan sales

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/04/gm-ceo-mary-barra-still-sees-sedans-as-significant/

 

[Vato]

For all of us fossil fuel only mentalities, buy a spare engine now. We will be valuable 20 years from now.

We're definitely going all electric and the new option will be your flavor of mockery engine noises. You want to sound like a Lambo, select the sport package to unlock that sound. This is all going to be like playing XBOX and buying upgrades to unlock stuff. I just hope they're still going to be fun to drive.

 

[Davestic]

Pondering this move by Ford, I wonder what it means for the Ford dealer network and all of the aftermarket shops that specialize in Ford products. I bet there will be a ton of consolidation down stream and the smaller/stand alone dealers won't survive.

 

[Nihil]

Ballpark amount I could dig up from online sources:
2017 Fiesta US sales: 45,000 units
2017 Focus US sales: 175,000 units
2017 Taurus US sales: 45,000 units
2017 Fusion US sales: 200,000 units

So does ford think the customers are going to just start buying SUV/crossovers/trucks instead of these? sounds like they are just going to loose a bunch of sales/profit by nixing these models.

 

[xDUMPWEEDx]

I was really looking forward to the next gen Focus RS. A 400hp hot hatch with the dampening issue fixed. Even the next Focus ST with the 2.3L ecoboost would have been a ton of fun on a budget.

 

[ODucksFan]

Ballpark amount I could dig up from online sources:
2017 Fiesta US sales: 45,000 units
2017 Focus US sales: 175,000 units
2017 Taurus US sales: 45,000 units
2017 Fusion US sales: 200,000 units

So does ford think the customers are going to just start buying SUV/crossovers/trucks instead of these? sounds like they are just going to loose a bunch of sales/profit by nixing these models.

I definitely understand dumping the Taurus and Fiesta, but the Focus and Fusion doesn't make sense to me at all. Not everyone wants a truck or an SUV. I was reading consumer vehicle sales in the USA will be over 70% SUV's and trucks by 2024. Even if that's the case, there still is a good market for cars.

 

[xDUMPWEEDx]

I definitely understand dumping the Taurus and Fiesta, but the Focus and Fusion doesn't make sense to me at all. Not everyone wants a truck or an SUV. I was reading consumer vehicle sales in the USA will be over 70% SUV's and trucks by 2024. Even if that's the case, there still is a good market for cars.

I'm hoping that this is just a short 2nd coming of the SUV fad that we had from about 1997 until the recession. Remember when SUVs kept getting bigger and bigger and selling stupidly well, when Ford finally capped off the stupidity of the situation with the Excursion?

But I'm less hopeful in the fact that the recession killed the SUV because manufacturers didn't have hybrid engines in place along with generally improved MPG like they have now, which means that when gas prices do spike again the SUV might not go away.

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