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pcsario

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  1. This wouldn't necessarily have to be a rebadged product coming from a competitor's plant. More like splitting R&D costs for a low profit vehicle.
  2. Yup, this would be my take as well. A partnership with FCA, Nissan, or VW could do wonders for emerging markets. South America is --and will continue to be-- a mess, unless Ford broadens their lineup at the lower end over there.
  3. Cuautitlan's current output might be ~120k a year, but it was declared a 320k plant during its inaugural ceremony. Why did they never use CUAP at its fullest? Dunno... I remember them toying with the idea of building a small coupe and SUV in addition to Fiesta. Perhaps growth in the b segment didn't turn out to be as big as Ford thought.
  4. South America has different production standards/needs, that's why it's rare to see a Brazilian import in the US. Most products are built with a regional business case in mind, and others follow global standards because they also reach 1st world markets and so on. When it comes to Ford, SA also tends to work on a different schedule. IIRC, they were just getting the MK2 Euro Focus in ~2010. The current gen/look just started production last year, their Kinetic Fiesta arrived almost two years later than ours (which was already late compared to Europe) and so on. Ford Brazil unfortunately centers a lot on cost cutting and their input is one of the main reasons why the EcoSport ended up being panned everywhere. It had to be designed around their budget. Too much, IMO. Yes, there was a trade deficit issue with Brazil. It wasn't limited to Ford, though. Still, with the exception of Brazil, most Ford plants in SA are low volume. Judging by the Fiesta, it seems Ford wants to consolidate production plants. So again, we end up where we began. 325k (Cuautitlan) + 350k (New plant) = 675k. We know the Focus platform is involved, we know the Ranger and four new SUVs are coming, so... if it isn't that, how would you fill that production capacity? Almost 700k Focus and EcoSports a year, with most of them going to the US?
  5. LMAO... sorry I've sigs turned off, wouldn't have remembered otherwise. Let me see if I can disable it for that post as well. Anyway, Argentina is a small volume plant. This could be a way to consolidate production. Between this new plant and Cuautitlan, we're talking about, what? 650k units of capacity? That's why I think we're talking about Ford's C and Ranger platforms.
  6. Whatever is sent there, should also make sense to be sold locally and exported to LA as well. Other than C-class vehicles --and perhaps the EcoSport-- the next most obvious candidate for Mexico is the Ranger platform. That would be my guess from a cost-risk-benefit POV.
  7. Whoa... good job Aussie Ford! JPD, these are definitely the first legit spy shots of it. Remember, just like the new Focus, this is a new design spreaded over similar hardpoints.
  8. Eh? The sig is months old. You want to talk about taking things too far, I wasn't the one moderating with a personal agenda. Anyway, take care y'all. I've moved on to higher grounds. :beerchug:
  9. See sig. I was even asked to stay by some very powerful people, but I politely declined because I just don't see the point anymore, RJ already killed the forum. A lot of members... they won't say it outright, but their actions speak for themselves... Igor, Wescoent, etc. also find this place extremely boring now, and spend most of their time on GMI. I don't blame them, people are leaving in droves. Someone made a terrible choice with RJ's promotion. Traffic has gone downhill ever since he took over. The active community has been reduced to 2 or 5 folks replying to themselves over and over and over again. He killed any life this forum had for years with his crap. It's sad how a GM forum, which used to pale in comparison to BON before, became the best place to discuss Ford and the industry. It would be great if Deanh and you would join us.
  10. A grill is not the same thing as a face. Look at the shapes used for the headlights. And yes, I know they aren't technnically the same in all Lincolns, but still... the look doesn't allow for much flexibility. Look at the MKT concept Vs. reality. This language doesn't translate that well in production sheetmetal. (I've been within inches of both, btw) Almost all the cues are there, but it doesn't gel like it did in the concept. The same thing would've probably happened to a production MKR. The kind of precision shown in that sheetmetal is simply not found presently on any production car I know of. I wouldn't be surprised if the grille is the first thing to be modified by Callum, they will probably keep the idea, but refine its execution and use different proportions that flow better on production sheetmetal, and also allow greater flexibility in design.
  11. The ad wasn't aimed at Ford fans. I've said this before, but Toyohonda buyers look at Ford --and its fans-- in the same way you would look at Kia and their customers. I believe you're talking about ad. - It paints new/current Ford customers as trendy people, who know the score, and actually researched before buying. Their research concluded with them going with a Ford, not because it was cheaper, but because it was the superior move (in most cases anyway), and are proud to boast about it. - It shows Ford has made tremendous gains in quality, engineering, and thanks to Fields and Mulally's leadership, far more attention paid to interiors and exteriors, for new products anyway. It's an ad full of confidence, PROVING visually what's being told with words. There's simply no way a V6 Accord or Camry buyer will look at that ad, and not realize they got an inferior product, Vs. the Taurus' anyway. They weren't. There's a difference between being competitive, and on par with the most desired. Irrelevant, plus it would do Ford more harm than good, as not all of their products are made in America. The ad was the first ad I've seen from Ford, aimed at real people, and not just to domestic lovers looking for a "feel good" story. Then there's the MKS ads, and the new ad for the MKZ. Trendy, cool, and NOT aimed at the people who would buy a Ford by default anyway. The Lincoln ads, for example, are brilliant. The average Lincoln buyer already knows how those cars look in & out, they know how a Lincoln dealership smells and so on, but to the average person, it shows them Lincoln is no longer the morgue's parking lot. And the Thunderbird was a massive bomb, need I say more? A lot of people consider the "flying Corvette" ad to be the best car ad in years, yet it did nothing to improve Corvette's sales or GM's image. The "Then & now" Bold Moves ad was cool too, but ultimately failed to tell anyone why they should pick a Ford over the competition. I think, once again, only Ford fans valued it. Now Ford is telling/showing EVERYONE the facts without any BS in 30 secs. and the ads make a very compelling case of why that's one car you should research and not automatically dismiss "because it's a domestic and I won't even go to a dealership to verify these claims".
  12. That's odd. Someone was stating for a fact he was banned at autoblog. Guess it was another clueless statement, as usual. Anyway, nice to see plans for an EB V8.
  13. The RS is usually a "farewell" model for the outgoing generation, and more of an Evo-X competitor. This sounds more like testing the waters for a really agressive looking, next-gen Focus ST, with similar HP.
  14. A little slow are we? I couldn't care less about being banned, I'm even dissapointed about the lack of veredict right now. Nick is free to answer whatever he wants to the higher ups. Let me be perfectly clear about this: I don't feel scared or threatened at all, I've been LAUGHING at RJ ever since he lost it over this, it's always the same thing and shows how just fragile his little word is. The perfect example of someone who likes to dish it out (mhlm, diesels, Lutz, etc.), but can't take anything himself. HE does want to kick me out, and has for a while, because he realizes that's the only recourse he has to somehow "get back at me" and feel better about his miserable life. Can't do shit about "One Ford", can't also do shit to fix his life. All he has is his this place. His self-steem is based around this place, around being a mod in a little internet forum, which he uses like a child as his personal sandbox and buddy-buddy chatroom. He's a 30+ year old balding virgin who gets zero action outside, as explained by his daily 24/7 presence, who got owned by those he hates most, by life, and by the own company he claims to love, but hasn't supported in over 10 years. - He was owned by Mulally. - He was owned by Fields. - He was owned by Kuzak. - He was owned by Mays. No one in FNA is siding with his vision of what Ford should be. The future is kinetic, the future will be based on FOE-inspired looks for the next 10 years. He was wrong about everything he minimized others for. There's no 11.5k Fiesta coming, nor was Horbury replaced with another Horbury... duh. So yeah, can see where his rage is coming from. I guess I would also attempt to cover the sun with a finger. From now on, no matter what he attempts to do, if he succeeds or not against me, I already won. I'm not P71. I don't own a Panther. The Mondeo will live. CD3 will die. Red white and bold is dead. Next? Maybe I will buy the FOE-inspired kinetic Taurus, or the FOE-inspired kinetic Fusion, maybe the FOE-inspired kinetic Kuga or Fiesta. Haven't made up my mind. We're easily talking about a 10 year lifecycle for "One Ford" when everything is said and done, which I'll enjoy --tremendously-- outside, as a the true Ford fan that I am. Long after I'm gone, voluntarily "or not", I'll finally be enjoying the Ford I enviosioned long ago. Others? Well... they'll continue to lie to themselves about having "fixed" reality with my departure, just like they're doing with P71's, while elsewhere --and almost daily now-- someone is continuing his usual meltdowns every time something related to One Ford is discussed. So, everyone who doesn't like it, talk or do whatever you want, I'm already putting this as my sig. Just be fully aware I'll enjoy the ride, and it will last far more than the time it takes to write a post, or pushing a red button. BTW, FordBuyer, no. I'm not a GM fanboy. I registered ~7 years ago because I'm a Ford fan, stockholder, and proud owner of 2 Fords (04, 06 MY). Due to my direct input, Ford has sold over 20 vehicles over the last 5 years among my family. Ford has seen more money out of me than they've got from RJ in over a decade (but he likes to think of himself as Ford's biggest supporter here... LMAO). I've a vested interest in Ford which explains my constant frustration, pre-Mulally's and Fields Ford, about implementing the necessary actions that several people --obviously including myself-- demanded for years, and finally got, and will be getting, in a big way. I'm just not a fanboy who bashes everything not done by "my team", and yes no matter how many times you guys want to ignore it, I've praised the F150, Mustang and even the interior of the Flex several times. Now I do praise the kinetic Taurus. Notice how you don't have to "convince" anyone to like something that shows a lot of effort was put behind it, and notice how the difference is usually night and day... a little strange when someone kept insisting things "were good enough" before the official BON grouches took over.
  15. There's a LWB Mondeo and we all know about Volvo's recent LWB S80, so it's a safe stretch. Yes it could be done, just not this gen. BTW Austin or someone else said the Edge has it's own platform, it's not really CD3.
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