Ford makes major announcement

[samhexum]

Ford is eliminating nearly all of its car models in North America as it reinvents itself as a utility vehicle-focused brand in an effort to improve its operating efficiency and profit margin.

 

The Taurus, Fusion, Fiesta and C-Max will be discontinued, leaving only the Mustang and a new crossover-style compact called the Focus Active in showrooms alongside its growing lineup of SUVs.

 

The move comes just a few weeks after the automaker announced plans to have eight utility vehicles on sale by 2020, including a new Bronco and an all-electric performance model codename Mach 1. The Focus Active is not counted among these.

 

Ford didn’t reveal the fate of the sedans that are currently in Lincoln’s lineup, but said the luxury division as a whole is not in jeopardy despite it being a low performing area in the company.

 

Sedans and hatchbacks will continue to be offered in other markets around the world.

[Walker1]

Are they trying to go out of business?

[rvwnsd]

Are they trying to go out of business?

I think they are trying to keep from going out of business. Most of their sales and profits come from vehicles that are not sedans. I've only owned one sedan, the rest were hatchbacks and crossovers, and I'd never buy one again.

[+ bigjoey]

The consumer votes with his/her dollar. The consumer is voting sedans off the island. A profitable company can not make a product that consumers do not want; think: typewriters and other products of our youth that have vanished.

[+ quoththeraven]

Hyundai seems to be doing fine with sedans like Sonata. (I own a 2003.) Maybe, just maybe it's Ford, not sedans in general.

[Chuckball]

I rarely see a Ford commercial on TV- except for trucks. I just bought a Toyota CH-R. No American product could match the features. Consumers vote with their dollars. My dad always was loyal to Ford and I owned a Taurus once. That experience left me wanting ( another brand).

[Walker1]

The consumer votes with his/her dollar. The consumer is voting sedans off the island. A profitable company can not make a product that consumers do not want; think: typewriters and other products of our youth that have vanished.

Camry, Accord, Civic, Corolla are doing just fine. I drive an Asian car with 160k+ miles on it-no payments, just regular periodic service. Tomorrow if the Asian makers enter the pickup market in full strength -what will Ford do?

 

It looks like gas prices are going up again.

[+ ArVaGuy]

Ford likely has an eye to the future in making this decision. In ten to fifteen years the market for privately owned vehicles will diminish almost entirely. Huge fleets of autonomous vehicles will become the primary transportation operation in developed countries. These fleets will be owned by investor groups, the automakers, and some private entrepreneurs. The investor groups are already forming and making plans to enter the marketplace right now.

 

An SUV is going to offer greater flexibility in passenger accommodation than sedans. A sedan can comfortably accommodate four passengers including the driver. A small SUV, such as an Escape, can accommodate five passengers. The full sized SUV can handle seven to nine and way more luggage as well.

 

Time will tell if Ford is making the right bet on the car market of the future. The key indicator will be if the competition follows suit and eliminates sedans from their product lines. I can foresee Toyota, BMW, and GM making similar decisions or certainly projecting future trends and determining strategies for that future automobile market.

[BgMstr4u]

I think the line between sedans and SUVs has been blurred for a long time. Having driven Priuses for years, I wonder sometimes which they are. Technically an SUV, I suppose, since there is air where the panel behind the rear seat would be. But it certainly does not feel like an enclosed four door pickup either. That kind of “SUV” has dominated the market here in California for years.

[+ E.T.Bass]

I was weighing whether to by another Fusion. Probably won't now.

[EZEtoGRU]

Time will tell if Ford is making the right bet on the car market of the future. The key indicator will be if the competition follows suit and eliminates sedans from their product lines. I can foresee Toyota, BMW, and GM making similar decisions or certainly projecting future trends and determining strategies for that future automobile market.

 

Chrysler already made this decision over a year ago. It eliminated it's last remaining smaller car (the Chrysler 200). The North American branch of Fiat Chrysler (which is Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep) now focuses on vans, pick-ups, SUV's, Jeeps, plus two cars: The Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Charger. American car makers seem to be unable to make sufficient profit with small car production. Perhaps they don't sell sufficient volume to get economies of scale.

 

There may be some political fallout for Ford and/or Trump with this announcement. Remember Ford's stated intent to move some car production to Mexico about a year ago? They were chastised by Trump for moving production of some vehicles from the US to Mexico. Ford later decided to cancel the move. Trump declared a "win" as I recall. Now it seems many US jobs will go now anyway. How many jobs will be lost and from which states?

[+ tassojunior]

So much for urbanism and urban cars.

[EZEtoGRU]

I was weighing whether to by another Fusion. Probably won't now.

I wouldn't make a decision on that yet. Ford may end up offering fire sale prices on discontinued models in order to get them out of dealerships.

[escortrod]

This isn’t a huge surprise. Most companies are watching traditional sedan sales fall (with the notable exception of the Nissan Maxima which has seen strong growth from a low base). I have never understood why somebody would prefer a sedan over a hatchback or wagon. There used to be a meaningful improvement in torsional rigidity, but that hasn’t been relevant for decades. It’s just a shame that sedans are giving way to less efficient CUVs and SUVs instead of hatchbacks and wagons.

[escortrod]

I think the line between sedans and SUVs has been blurred for a long time. Having driven Priuses for years, I wonder sometimes which they are. Technically an SUV, I suppose, since there is air where the panel behind the rear seat would be. But it certainly does not feel like an enclosed four door pickup either. That kind of “SUV” has dominated the market here in California for years.

Priuses are compact hatchbacks. SUVs have at least a pretention towards off-road ability. The Rav 4 is an SUV.

[+ bashful]

Ford is reacting to the current US market. If sedans come back into favor, they will have existing products sold outside the US that can be easily be sold in the US when, or if the pendulum swings back. US has an aging population, Gets more difficult to get in/out of a sedan the older you get. Notice it is the compact crossover market that has skyrocketed in just the last few years. Same gas mileage as most sedans, yet easy to enter/exit, versatile space, and with the proliferation of other SUVs on the road, a SUV allows driver to have better visibility in traffic. I've driven coupes/sedans all my life, but am now shopping crossovers.

[+ Charlie]

The last Ford sedan I bought was a 1966 model. It was such a lemon that I got rid of it after only three months. The last full-size sedan I bought was a 1995 Mercedes E-class. Sedans have been declining as a percentage of all vehicles sold for years, and the majority of passenger cars sold now are SUVs, crossovers or compacts. American manufacturers have been dealing with the issue for decades by eliminating entire brands: Ford stopped making Mercurys, GM stopped the Saturn, Oldsmobile and Pontiac, and Chrysler eliminated DeSoto, Plymouth, and the short-lived Eagle. The trend seems obvious. When the Camry and Accord reach a critical number, Toyota and Honda will go the same way.

[Electra225]

I've owned many Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln automobiles over the years. It is sad to see the car lines go. However, in recent years these cars have not kept up with styling trends and look old and out of date. I've switched to GM cars over the past few years and will stay with GM for the foreseeable future. I want to buy American whenever I can to support our economy.

[+ Avalon]

FORD means

 

FIX OR REPAIR DAILY

 

FOUND ON ROAD DEAD

[+ bashful]

FORD means

 

FIX OR REPAIR DAILY

 

FOUND ON ROAD DEAD

 

FIRST ON RACE DAY

[+ bashful]

I've owned many Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln automobiles over the years. It is sad to see the car lines go. However, in recent years these cars have not kept up with styling trends and look old and out of date. I've switched to GM cars over the past few years and will stay with GM for the foreseeable future. I want to buy American whenever I can to support our economy.

 

Most of my cars have been GM. 2 Pontiacs, 1 Olds, 5 Buicks, 2 Caddys. Only 3 Fords, 3 Chrysler, and 1 AMC (I'm dating myself). I get bored with some cars, and others, I kept for 6+ years.

[+ Avalon]

FIRST ON RACE DAY

 

In a one horse race ;-)))

[+ bashful]

In a one horse race ;-)))

 

Ohhhh. A buddy of mine (owner of 5 Mustangs) would consider those fighting words.

[+ pdxleo]

The Fusion is the only line being discontinued which has sales volume in the top 20 here. The Focus has a restyle coming in a few months that the rest of the world will see as a 2019 model, and it was originally engineered for NHTSA regs. So,when gas hits $4.50 again, it can easily be imported from Ford's China factories. The other lines being discontinued are very low volume, Ford sells 25 Explorers for every one Taurus retail delivery- C-Max was a joke, and Fiesta is just too damn small for the US- its a top seller in Europe, with its parking hassles and $8/ gallon fuel. A damn shame to abandon the family sedan market, but the profits are in SUV and truck sales here, and the pressure is on to be profitable here to boost the share price. At least the Mustang will still be our flagbearer, and maybe the future will hold more stylish and dependable choices.

[+ E.T.Bass]

My younger self would have laughed if told that someday I would own a Ford, but my Ford Fusion Hybrid has been the best car I've owned. The rest were Japanese, and they had their assortment of quality issues.