Storm clouds gather over Ford

[dwasson]

From: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060609/AUTO01/606090401/1148

The money quote:

Ford's new product development -- or lack of it -- will haunt Ford for years, certainly through the end of the decade.

[Bigdogjim]

I agree it looks bleak..................

[FiveO]

I'll have my Marauder for several more years...but after that it's probably looking like an import (BMW) or something non-Ford. I can't fit into a Mustang as a regular driver. My 1984 Stang GT is great for the 1000 miles or less a year I put on it....but as a regular daily driver, no way.

Too bad too. Ford had such potential.

[GreekGod]

Looks like Ford management can't figure out promoting family like Elena Ford isn't working. She murdered the Marauder and now her style/type is killing Ford, too.

I went through a Ford dealer's lot Saturday and they didn't have one Crown Vic. Salesmen will say they don't sell. If they advertised they would! Saving money by not advertising is like stopping the clock to save time.

[hitchhiker]

I hope Ford will eventually realise than having one hot car, the Mustang, is not enough to overcome the competition.

Ford has plenty of options "on the shelf" they just fail to execute.

I agree that promoting Elana Ford was a horrible mistake.

I know I'll get flack for this, but women just don't have the same feelings about cars that men do. Killing the Marauder is a perfect example.

Bring on the 427 concept for starters, and add a V8 option for the 500 model line.

Regards,

Dave

:D

[Rob1559]

Gee, do I have to repeat what I stated in the Camaro thread? No imagination at Ford now.

[BillyGman]

I know I'll get flack for this, but women just don't have the same feelings about cars that men do. Killing the Marauder is a perfect example.


Dave

:DThat there^ might be the first thing that you and I agree on. I think there are exceptions to that rule (I mean the one about women and cars) in fact I believe that our own board member here, Kathy is one of them (and perhaps Mary also), but the exceptions are few and far between. Nothing neccessarily wrong with that either, it's just how they are. It's kinda the same as most men not being thrilled about spending a couple hours at "Linens & Things" or at "Bed & bath". There are exceptions to that rule also, but most of us much rather spend a couple hours at a dragstrip, car show, or a giant gun store. So from a business standpoint, it's a bad decision to have a woman calling the shots for a car manufacture since most of them will not be able to relate to their performance car customers (which will be mostly men). But something tells me that Ford just doesn't get that.

[Smokie]

There's an old adage that goes something like this " you can sell a woman a man's car, but you cannot sell a man a woman's car".

There is nothing (in my humble opinion) in Ford's line up that will appeal to a man's passion for driving. The Mustang and the GT is not enough.

When a man reaches a certain age he craves a powerful, comfortable, high performance, 4 door, RWD sedan. A man wants Mustang performance in a full size sedan.

History has shown that a man will spend whatever it takes for his "toys"; Ford wants to sell cars to girls and women. It means a man must look elsewhere.

[BillyGman]

There's an old adage that goes something like this " you can sell a woman a man's car, but you cannot sell a man a woman's car".

I've never heard that before, but it's very true! Again, there are some limp-wrist exceptions to that rule, but for the majority, it holds true.

[marauder307]

There is nothing (in my humble opinion) in Ford's line up that will appeal to a man's passion for driving. The Mustang and the GT is not enough.


I'll add to that the F-150. Ford does great work with the Mustang and F-150; the small SUVs are kinda questionable (Escape/Freestyle), although I do like my wife's Freestyle once in a while. This past week I rode with my in-laws in a brand-new rental Explorer; the door handles are really funky and are guaranteed to induce carpal-tunnel syndrome, and even my father-in-law's NJ-bred right foot, the thing just had zero balls at all.

Digression aside...bottom line here is that one hot sports coupe (Mustang) and one sturdy utility vehicle (F-150) ain't enough to carry a car company. The Fusion/Milan/Zephyr triplets are a joke; you can just go get a Mazda 6, get all the same amenities as a Zephyr (the top-line model) and probably pay about 10g less. I don't know anything about this Elena Ford, but she sounds like a chump.

[Marauder2005]

Ford, its there own damn fault. They had a chance, but they rather save

a dime every opportunity. Guess what, now their loosing a dime every

opportunity. Quality; goes a long way...

[mcb26]

In a related development Ms Ford dumped the entire 2006 advertising budget into World Cup Soccer and the NHL:rolleyes:

[MikesMerc]

Nothing new in this news blurb. Ford's rating decline has been in the making for months.

Ford isn't going to go away, its just going to get smaller. If they can get their manufacturing footprint properly sized to their market share, they will easily make money. Unfortunately, corporate politics, family politics, and labor issues are making it tough to get the decisions made. Mark Fields has balls though, and he's been given sweeping power over the Americas. I think we'll see improvement by next summer. They have enough cornerstone product to live on (Mustang, F-150, Escape are market leaders, and the fusion, milan, and zephyr are doing very well).

That fat lady hasn't even begun warming up yet.

[Breadfan]

I'll add to that the F-150. Ford does great work with the Mustang and F-150; the small SUVs are kinda questionable (Escape/Freestyle), although I do like my wife's Freestyle once in a while. This past week I rode with my in-laws in a brand-new rental Explorer; the door handles are really funky and are guaranteed to induce carpal-tunnel syndrome, and even my father-in-law's NJ-bred right foot, the thing just had zero balls at all.

Digression aside...bottom line here is that one hot sports coupe (Mustang) and one sturdy utility vehicle (F-150) ain't enough to carry a car company. The Fusion/Milan/Zephyr triplets are a joke; you can just go get a Mazda 6, get all the same amenities as a Zephyr (the top-line model) and probably pay about 10g less. I don't know anything about this Elena Ford, but she sounds like a chump.
I may look at a Milan a few years down the road for a commuter car. Not new, used. I figure they'll suffer from some fairly high depreciation which means I'll get a heck of a deal for a nice midsize FWD car.

I sure like getting good deals, but it's a shame I'll be riding on Ford's lack of market research for it...but until they hire me and pay me lots of money to give them better direction that's all I can do... :D

Seriously though, the state they're in will carry into the used market which will probably ripple BACK into their new car sales. A surprisingly large number of people won't buy a car knowing they can't sell it for much 2 years later.

[GreekGod]

quote:
"a nice midsize FWD car"

Oxymoron:

noun: conjoining contradictory terms (as in `deafening silence')
----------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps I'm being a little over-critical. I'm told the 500 is a very good car. Of course, it isn't a mid-size. But look at the rapid "failure" of the snomobile transmission they offered in the damn thing! I'm told it was dis-continued shortly after they started selling it. Total lack of leadership and foresight.

Ford is a rudderless ship, adrift in a sea of killer whales, and soon to become the truck division of Honda Motor Company.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were "merged" (taken over) like Chrysler was. Elena might sell out for a few million $$ and a yearly free mini van for life.

[dwasson]

History has shown that a man will spend whatever it takes for his "toys"; Ford wants to sell cars to girls and women. It means a man must look elsewhere.

My wife says that a woman will spend $50 on a $100 item she doesn't need and a man will spend $200 on a $100 item that he wants.

[dwasson]

I sure like getting good deals, but it's a shame I'll be riding on Ford's lack of market research for it...but until they hire me and pay me lots of money to give them better direction that's all I can do... :D



I'll give Elena a freebie. It was discussed in another thread. Make me a modern 67 Cougar. Look at what Dodge is doing with the Challenger. Start wiith the Mustang platform, but give it all new sheetmetal. Price from $22K stripped with a V6 to $40K with 500 HP monster motor. Make it a few inches longer so that there is a halfway usable back seat. Have it ride a little softer than the Mustang. Give it a trunk, for grown up looks and decreased road noise. I'll be there.

[Bluerauder]

My wife says that a woman will spend $50 on a $100 item she doesn't need and a man will spend $200 on a $100 item that he wants.
Maybe $120 or $130 tops. :rolleyes: OK, $140 but that's my last offer. :rofl:

[chuckled]

History proves that the automobile assembly business in cyclical in nature. Ford and GM will be back strong. You just can't perform very well on an uneven playing field. Ford and GM cannot sell to off shore markets because unfair high tariffs drive the purchase price out of the range of ordinary buyers while the U.S.'s low tariffs make off shore products more affordable for the masses. Personally, I don't see anything exciting from Japan or Germany that I can afford either. Hell if I had 70 grand to spend on a car, I would buy a Corvette. My '03 blue MM will have to do for now.