ford just announced they're killing all cars except for the mustang and the semi-crossover Focus Active
http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/25/autos/ford-cars-north-america/index.html
be sure to thank your neighborhood Stacy for killing the car market, soon it'll just be fucking crossovers
They aren’t killing the Fiesta or Focus; just no longer selling them in North America. Same with the Fusion (called the Mondeo in every other market).
well, im speaking exclusively about the NA market
i couldn't give less of a shit about the international markets honestly
tbh i like this
ford's obviously been putting way more work into the crossover/SUV lineup in terms of design and care
they haven't introduced anything new to sedan in a while, whereas they just introduced ecosport, edge ST coming soon, explorer ST coming after edge ST
I drove a brand new 2016 Ford Fusion for a few months, it was leaps and bounds better than the other cars in the company fleet (stock Toyota Corollas and Subaru Legacies).
That being said, I'll probably never personally own a Ford vehicle but it was certainly nice in comparison.
The only Ford's I'd ever care to own are the F-150, Mustang, and GT. The new Expedition seems really nice, too. Brother has a Fiesta but personally I'm just not really into little cars. It seems pretty clear the US market has higher demands for trucks and SUV's which ford already does well in. Makes no sense to stay in a market you are weak at.
Guess this gives new meaning to the old "Found On the Road, Dead" joke
North America isn’t the only car market in the world, you know. When I read that Ford was going to stop selling the Fiesta and Focus I was quite shocked, until I read that it would apply to North America only; they are very popular cars here and in Europe. It would have been better to have had the North America part highlighted, for the sake of other international members here.
It's really odd hearing that they aren't selling many sedans and hatchbacks here, I commute 300 miles a week and still see a good many of them in and around LA.
This sounds like it's going to bite them in the ass, hard, if there's another gas spike like back in 2009-2010
I hate the modern 'truck' market. CUVs are just hatchbacks / wagons with worse handling and fuel efficiency, for more money.
Pickup trucks have turned into monstrous Canyero-tier hummer dingers; the "small" Chevrolet Colorado is the size of a full-size pickup truck from the 1990s.
I mean modern fullsize trucks are huge yeah, but as big as my RAM is it's barely big enough to haul what I need it to. I can't imagine trying to move a pool table in a smaller truck.
From a cost perspective, I can see why they’re doing it. If Fiestas or Focuses aren’t selling in America, then it makes sense for Ford to not sell them. Everywhere in the world, except North America, has a unified set of rules for brand new cars (safety, emissions etc). So a car built in Europe can easily be sold in Japan or Australia, or a Japanese car can be sold without worry in Australia or Europe. But to sell a car in North America, the car has to pass a completely different set of standards which means more costs for automakers, car has to pass a completely different set of environmental regulations, and has to involve another series of costly crash testing etc. Because yeah, ‘Murca and American exceptionalism.
So if a model from Europe isn’t selling awfully well, it might not be worth it to also export its successor model to North America, given the costs involved in just approving it for sale. And yeah, if the market doesn’t want the car, then it just makes sense to clear up the capacity which can then be used for selling models which Americans actually want, like oversized utility vehicles.
When the starting price of a Fiesta is $16,580 and the starting price of a Focus, which is a larger car and therefore provides more utility, is $15,678, why would I ever buy a Fiesta? Hell, if I want a sub-compact car, and I can get a Chevy Spark, Mitsubishi Mirage, or Nissan Micra for just over $10K starting, why would I ever buy a Fiesta?
Frankly, when I went to the Toronto auto show Ford was thoroughly disappointing. Their interiors looked and felt cheap, and they seemed to cost much more to get the same kinds of features you could get out of cars from their competitors. The big deal was, of course, the new Ranger, but they had it up on a pedestal and you couldn't go inside, which seemed kind of silly to me. It also made me concerned that the low-cost, lightweight alternative to the F-150 wasn't going to be so low-cost this time around. Just before they were discontinued, Rangers started at about $15,000, and frankly if they were that same price upon reintroduction I'd get one, bit for some reason I really doubt they will be.
Considering Chrysler/Dodge did the same thing after Fiat acquired them, I think largely because the things they sell the most of are the Grand Caravan, Jeep, and RAM trucks, this makes sense. And from what I saw of Ford's lineup, the only thing that I think is really that unfortunate about this is that it doesn't seem like Ford's going ot make any exceptions for its Electric/Hybrid fleet, which granted isn't all that big or that popular either.
gotta make more way for fucking SHIT crossovers ;)
I wonder how American Ford's X line is going to look like.
TBH the Mirage and Nissan Versa are also spartan as fuck. I wouldn't touch the Spark knowing GM's track record with small cars:
Take GM Korea (aka Daewoo) car -> Brand as Chevrolet -> It's shit -> Retire after 6 years -> Repeat with a different name after everyone forgets how bad it is.
Frankly I just don't want such a small car because my rifles would never fit in it, no matter who it's by, but the Chevy Cruze seems to be getting good reviews, and it's got me interested.
Focus RS is such a nice car though, they sound great too. It's pretty popular in Aus, I'd rather own a Focus RS over a mustang any day
Crossovers are great because they continually find ways to cram even shittier and tinier engines in them while also increasiing the size of the exterior but not the interior because the walls get thicker to comprensate for the newly had space.
Nice and here I was just thinking "I don't see enough Mustangs".
That makes you one of the only people that actually use their pickup for actual hauling.
I don’t think that many people who would have got a Fiesta or Focus would instead go for a Mustang, if they couldn’t get either of the former. It’s not like in Australia where they were phasing out the I6/V8 RWD Falcon while they were phasing in the V8 RWD Mustang.
I just see it as the smaller their catalog the higher the likelihood people will buy it. I really hope not, but who actually knows if they'll sell anymore than they already do after this.
The people who would buy a Focus or Fusion/Mondeo aren't going to buy a Mustang. They're going to buy an Edge or Explorer.
I've been a long time buyer of Ford sedan's and I'm probably just gonna get a Honda or Dodge
Well, the Ranger is only getting one powertrain option(2.3L EcoBoost w/10-speed auto) and only coming in ext. cab and crew cab.
hopefully they keep production costs low with that, less options to configure less retooling to be done. They can pump more out and make them cheaper.
The Bronco is supposedly making a return in 2020, but will it be enough to keep Ford relevant in the US is the question.
As long as the F-150, F-Super Duty and Explorer exist they will remain relevant.
Maybe only to skilled laborers, soccer dads, soccer moms, and police departments,--but they will remain.
Late bump I know, but what’s the point of a utility if you can’t have it with a turbodiesel engine and manual gearbox? Those are the norm in almost every single utility vehicle sold in Australia, including the Ford Ranger which is currently sold here. In fact, the Ranger here can only be had with turbodiesel engines.
because thanks to volksgate no one wants diesel anymore in north america
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