S650 cancelled?

[Coyote Red]

The sky is falling, I'll not buy into hype. But, if the mustang were to go, I'd build an buy many as possible in IRS platform. 3-link or 4 isn't bad either. Just if these S500's are a last run for a while they will be worth a lot. I'll never buy another FWD car period! AWD is great though.

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[Braski]

I don't think the current CEO has the vision needed to make Ford a great automobile company. His last job was running a office cubical manufacturing company. Fireing the engineering team to cut costs is double when your only designing stamped steel that's snaps together in a grid like pattern. I can only imagine what will happen to Ford if this guy is not reighned in a bit.

 

[WaltA]

It's too bad they killed Mercury. I would love to see a Mustang/Cougar pairing sharing the same platform and powertrain, but differing in styling and luxury.

Ditto with a prestige Lincoln on the same platform. Sharing amortization costs just makes sense, and I firmly believe there is a market for a US, RWD, prestige coupe as long as they could keep the pricing under $75,000.

There is a coupe market, but American manufacturers seem to not want to capitalize on it.

But a Mercury Cougar similar to the Mustang? Oh yes. I'm sure that the stylists could have some fun with that.

I, too, would like to see a Lincoln version of the next generation Mustang, possibly called XR7 (a bit of nostalgia mixed with Lincoln's current three character names).

The "luxury" differentiation the Lincoln version should offer, is a wheelbase stretch, with most of the extra used to make the rear seat a bit more usable.

Possibly drop the "premium" version of the Mustang, and for those buyers, point them over to the Lincoln side of the show room. That should help to establish a stronger differentiation. Inexpensive and fast, see Ford. High end, option loaded, luxury, see Lincoln.

 

[WaltA]

I don't think the current CEO has the vision needed to make Ford a great automobile company. His last job was running a office cubical manufacturing company. Fireing the engineering team to cut costs is double when your only designing stamped steel that's snaps together in a grid like pattern. I can only imagine what will happen to Ford if this guy is not reighned in a bit.

The company I work for, has been doing the same thing.

R&D expenses don't generate revenue this quarter, and their expenses only drags the profit down, again, for this quarter. The "goal" is to milk the current product line for everything you can. That's because Wall Street (the people who actually own the company) only cares about the current quarter.

While you might think that's short-sighted way to run a business (I do), that is what's expected today. For the first time, the company isn't tattering on bankruptcy. Matter of fact, our stock is running up and up, with no end in sight.

 

[hlh1]

The company I work for, has been doing the same thing.

R&D expenses don't generate revenue this quarter, and their expenses only drags the profit down, again, for this quarter. The "goal" is to milk the current product line for everything you can. That's because Wall Street (the people who actually own the company) only cares about the current quarter.

While you might think that's short-sighted way to run a business (I do), that is what's expected today. For the first time, the company isn't tattering on bankruptcy. Matter of fact, our stock is running up and up, with no end in sight.

A stock price only business focus can only last for so long... I used to work for Mobil Oil. Enough said.

 

[DickR]

Some other info.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20171003/OEM02/171009909/ford-hackett-strategic-plan-wall-street

On the car side, Ford will focus on higher-revenue sub-segments, such as hatchbacks or performance variants.

Also note the reduction in variants.

It also plans to simplify what vehicles customers can order. Ford said the team has identified a more than 90 percent reduction of orderable combinations in the next-generation Escape. In addition, it's moving from 35,000 combinations in the current Fusion to 96.

"We really offered too many options," Hackett said.

Keep in mind that every version/option requires a bunch of testing by engineers and also complicates the supply chain for manufacturing and replacement parts. It also complicates dealer ordering/stocking of cars. Great for those of us who custom order (my 7th custom order Mustang is waiting to catch a train ride south :-) ) but costly and something most buyers don't care about, at least for cars like the Fusion.

 

[5.0 435]

Mark fields was a car guy and loved the mustang and Ford GT. The new guy probably doesn’t even know the heritage of the GT40 or mustang. Not a great situation for us car freaks.
My second only mustang back in 1980. Nothing like starting @ the top of the food chain. Back in 1980 I bought it for $10K cash. The real deal and all.
Wonder what the new guy thinks of these ? Ford needs engineers that love designing these modern classics. The car guys within Ford have kept the vision alive and we thank you. During the period from 1975 to 2004 ( terminator ok ) the Mustang was a accounting job at best. We don’t need that period again. I lived in the horrible time and ford produced nothing that I would buy. There’s people today that have discovered the mustang and love it. We don’t need ford to drive those people away. I’m not saying ford will cancel the mustang but they could make it boring again.

 

[saf1]

Hopefully the higher-ups at Ford understand the need to invest in product now in order to have something to sell in 5 years.

Regarding EV’s, keep in mind that power use is not constant throughout the day. The grid might be near capacity in the middle of a hot summer day, but electricity use is greatly reduced during the night, which is when a car could be charged.

I agree that hybrid power in a sports car is tough from a weight and packaging standpoint, but it is great in a family car. I just bought a hybrid minivan and it is great so far. Minimal impact to the functionality, but a great increase in fuel economy and silent electrical running for 30+ miles on a full charge. If you go on a road trip you still have the ease of our existing gas infrastructure. I really like the hybrid van, and I think that type of vehicle is great from a consumer perspective. The big trick is packaging the batteries and electric motors without ruining cargo space.

I was never a big fan of the hybrids, but after driving the Fusion energi when my GT350 was getting the oil line recall performed, I became a believer. The only downside on that particular car is the lack of cargo space, but I think the concept is excellent.

-T

EV may be the future, say 50 years from now, but not today or tomorrow without heavy government subsidies that companies are getting. Even then the technology isn't there for rapid recharge, distance of commute(s), and above all affordability for the masses. Ignore the sport car segment for a while.

The part that kills me, especially since California is trying to pass a law to ban all gas powered vehicles, is that the electricity still has to be produced. It isn't something magical like fairy or unicorn dust. It is a thing that has to be produced by wind, oil, coal, nuclear, water, solar, or any other thing. Green is in, I get it. I have solar on my house. However, it isn't a net positive generation and the efficiency just isn't there like what they have in low earth orbit.

Oh - then there is that tiered electricity billing thing...yeah - I'll pass.

 

[Spork3245]

I, too, would like to see a Lincoln version of the next generation Mustang, possibly called XR7 (a bit of nostalgia mixed with Lincoln's current three character names).

The "luxury" differentiation the Lincoln version should offer, is a wheelbase stretch, with most of the extra used to make the rear seat a bit more usable.

Possibly drop the "premium" version of the Mustang, and for those buyers, point them over to the Lincoln side of the show room. That should help to establish a stronger differentiation. Inexpensive and fast, see Ford. High end, option loaded, luxury, see Lincoln.

A Lincoln “Mustang” meant to compete with the BMW M5/M6, Audi RS7 (kinda) and Mercedes-AMG E63 Coupe would be epic. :cheers:

 

[jefc73]

The company will never get rid of the mustang....That would kill the company in a way. Mustang is Ford and Ford is Mustang. Also....Bill Ford jr would not let Hackett kill the company. Wont happen. I call BS.

 

[5.0 435]

Ford stock does have a problem. 1.Peak sales of autos is over and people are driving less. 2. Electric cars are here to stay and foreign governments are subsidizing their growth. 3. Fords maket share is on the down slide , China sales isn’t that positive and completion is heating up. The next 5 years most financial people don’t see ford stock increasing... Maybe a hold at best. . Those are some of the facts that ford has to deal with.
Plus the coupe market has way to many players and not enough buyers. Good for us but not for ford chasing those buyers @ the higher end. It’s just not the pony car market anymore.

 

[rick81721]

The next 5 years most financial people don’t see ford stock increasing or a buy. Those are some of the facts that ford has to deal with.

Fact?

http://quotes.wsj.com/F/research-ratings

 

[analogman]

Mark Fields got a raw deal. He was Alan Mulally's hand-picked successor. But, the Ford family never liked him, for various reasons. They only gave him 2 years in the position before they axed him. Unfortunately, I think through no fault of his, Ford's stock price dropped about 30% during his tenure. There's no faster way for a CEO to lose their job than for the stock price to drop (even though in this case, I think Ford's stock price simply got caught up in a downdraft because of the hysteria over Tesla, where short-sighted investors hyped up Tesla's stock at the expense of Ford and GM).

Fields was an engineer like Mulally. He would have continued, you know, actually making cars that people want to buy. But with a declining stock price, and the Ford family pissed off, they didn't want to hear about 'investing'. They just wanted their stock price pumped back up. Greed is infinite. There's never enough for the uber-rich.

It's an interesting question - are car companies in the business of making money, or making cars? Common sense would suggest it's to make cars, but that's not how they think. Even way back in the 1980's, I remember an interview with Roger Smith (then chairman of GM) and Soichiro Toyoda, president of Toyota. They were each asked, "Is your company in business to make money, or to make cars?". Smith answered, 'we're in business to make money, any way we can'. Toyoda answered, 'we are in business to make cars, and by making the best cars we can, we will make money'.

You only have to look at the fortunes of both of those companies over the past 40 years to see which approach was more successful. Unfortunately, Hackett doesn't care about the future (or, apparently, to learn from history), and seems hell-bent on a short-term stock pump-and-dump for the Ford family (and his own bonus).

Almost all companies think this way (including the ones I've worked for). Wall Street demands it. If a CEO doesn't totally focus on short-term stock price pumping, investors pressure the board to replace them.

Hopefully the S550 Mustang will continue to be manufactured for a while. I suspect as long as the marginal profit per unit is still positive, he'll keep it around. But, it will probably end up like the Nissan 370Z - starved of investment, no improvements over time, and become something of a retro-throw back (fine with me, I like 'analog' cars).

 

[SDEcoBoost]

I don't think the current CEO has the vision needed to make Ford a great automobile company. His last job was running a office cubical manufacturing company. Fireing the engineering team to cut costs is double when your only designing stamped steel that's snaps together in a grid like pattern. I can only imagine what will happen to Ford if this guy is not reighned in a bit.

Welcome to Lego Mustang!

 

[Ronp]

Article doesnt make sense on Ford offering such a limited amount of car models in the future. As a shareholder I hope this and the Mustang information is not true.

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