kyle

Not a chance in hell would I take that bet. People think the Ranger is going to sell in any measurable quantity is mistaken. The sales figures for the n txt 18 months I would wager will be down. Everyone else in the industry has new product. Ram is going to push Ford into getting aggressive as them and GM both try to get the old models off their lots.

Well one of the points of his plan is "get in shape, lose some weight, run a 10k or some bullshit like that".....the guy has said nothing to reassure the market, the company or the public that he can turn things around quickly-IMO....and now every time you hear one of their executives talk they are using the same phrase about "getting in shape, or whatever it is." This industry is about winners and losers and the cool thing is that your vunerabilities/strengths are shown in results.

Thanks....

Well that may explain the US market---but what about China? I never saw any forecasts for a downturn in the market until 2017/18.

I remember a few years ago the Miami show had some debuts and it looked like they were starting to become more relevant. I worked that show for Subaru of America in the late 90's and the only thing I remember was it stayed open so damn late and was a long show-10 days?

So I've seen comment after comment indicate Fields cancelled this and that.....but I really never saw anything in Automotive News or WSJ and I'm wondering where you guys are getting this info? Every downturn is being blamed on Fields and I'm not sure I entirely buy into this. The guy was no idiot and knows that fresh product sells better with less incentives so how did they get to where they are now? With China being starved for products and the lack of investment in this market and others for new products is just crazy. And when they do roll something out, it is so damn hard to see any noticeable differences. My issue is more around the fact that the board, including Bill Ford, would certainly be aware of all these decisions and maybe even sign off on some of this stuff. I'm a Ford guy thru and thru but keep my eyes pretty wide open but this makes me ask....WTF happened?

Glad to see they finally ditched their center IP configuration.....that was so dated. Looks way fresher than the current version and they only changed a few things....

This works both ways since Ford has had their own share of problems.....but I get your point. Totally agree with you that Ford allowed that to happen and mentioned that in my initial post. Ford and anyone would gladly switch positions and own the volume, repeat customers, parts and service revenue, etc. any day over Ford or whoever. No doubt the rear seating sucks but it has not hurt them owning this market. Is their product great-no, but it is pretty damn good. I've rented a bunch of Tahoe's and Yukons-their interiors are pretty damn good, styling is great and I love the cylinder deactivation any day over the auto/start/stop. I rented a Yukon two weeks ago and had to go to their menu to even notice that the vehicle was running on 4 cylinders. Glad to see Ford and Lincoln swing for the fences on this and come up big-it is about time. Now they need to do that across the board with all of their upcoming products...

Ummm not buying this. They have upgraded this product way more than Ford and you cannot disagree with the sales volume GM leads by. They have killed Ford the past 10 plus years in this segment, allowing them to generate so much more money. Ford or anyone would gladly switch the numbers around and finish 3rd in a MT comparison while they have stockpiled probably billions in additional profit because Ford allowed them to. I agree the Expedition today is the better product but that may change in 24 months. In the meantime Ford is barely ramped up on this product.

While he may not of told you what you wanted to hear, hate the comment about firing his ass. For what? Im sure you have a great track record and have never misspoken or had your words taken out of context.

Looks like a pantie dropper......

Straight off Hacket's playbook.....these guys learn talking points quick!!!! All kidding aside, this should be a great addition to the Ranger and the entire segment.

Thought this was an Edge discussion........

I like the upgrades to the exterior and was already mostly impressed with this vehicle. I only wish they would do something with the IP and steering wheel. Hate the IP-just so friggin boring and cheap looking.

I have a very good friend who is a VP for a vendor on that project and we spoke the other day. He didn't say anything about it being delayed, but just said he was very disappointed in the looks. Said it is very boring-and he has seen it in person. Apparently much of the engineering work is being handled both in Australia and Thailand.

Well in the article it says.....that he is going to share some details---I thought when he was first hired he indicated that he would lay out plans after his first 100 days???? I'm just pointing out that they are getting pushed by wall street and this guy is clearly not pleased with the way info is being shared. Hackett said it won’t be long. He told Jonas and others on the call that he couldn’t provide his plans to those outside the company before laying things out internally. “You just have to stand in line. You have to wait until our people know,” Hackett said. “I’m really happy with the things that we’ve laid, the pipe we’ve kind of laid. I’m not happy at all that we’re not proving to you what that’s going to yield, and (I’m) really confident that you will be happy with us as we bring that forth.”

www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2018/01/24/ford-annual-earnings/109777880/ Read this in the Detroit News yesterday regarding their profits (not sure how to copy hyperlinks) and only copied a small section-but investors are clearly not happy (and I get the point-they are never happy!) and getting impatient on hearing some specifics of what Hackett's plan is. I don't want to keep beating this guy up but i've not seen one thing that he has done-oh besides the Chicago anti-harassment plant issue!! I sure hope I'm wrong but my instincts are certainly telling me differently........ But Hackett did not detail exactly how he plans to do that, outside of giving six bullet points — things like accountability, efficiency and simplicity — the company will focus on in a “fitness redesign.” The patience of some investors is wearing thin. “This is the time,” Adam Jonas, a Morgan Stanley automotive analyst, told Hackett during an earnings call Wednesday evening. “It’s a fair question to ask when are we going to know these six (fitness redesign initiatives). You’re clearly not wanting to talk about them. That’s a problem, Jim. When are we going to be very clear and transparent about this so that investors and your associates at Ford can kind of rally around the mission? How long do we have to wait?”

While I don't disagree with much of what you guys are saying I just find this guys rhetoric sounding like someone either in over his head or just has this perspective of where the market is going to be in 10 years be hell or high water. Go to automotive news and read the main article I mentioned. I don't know what the hell he is saying......

I was thinking the same thing-this is serious money and not just a spin on facts-they think this is where the world is headed in the next 4 years as people buy 800,000 F150's today-WTF. If you are a Ford dealer you might want to get out now. Would be interesting how much bluesky there is in a Ford dealer today?

I read the same article and one on Automotive News that compared his vision to GM's and it was frickin scary. Worth checking out-I'm not sure what the hell this guy is doing. He's talking like a college philosophy professor who just dropped acid. While over at GM they have a very clear vision and are executing and providing results. Sure they have some challenges but it is night/day versus Ford. When they promoted him out of the autonomous division that alone kind of scared me. Going to forcefeed products that consumers really don't want or are read for and see where this ends up. The infrastructure does not even support or has even been developed and this is where they want to be in a few years? And your right-we will see the Ranger in 11 months or so......how pathetic.

Sorry if this has been covered previously in the 11 pages....watching youtube and seeing some noted details on the new Ranger....they are talking about frame mounted front bumper instead of fascia's.....what is the difference? Sounds like this means something to the off road crowd....which I'm sure the upcoming Bronco is meant for.

I am renting cars almost weekly with a heavy travel this past year. My unofficial take is along those lines, minus the trucks-but if there is a rental truck it will be a F150 or Ram (though I did rent a new Titan truck in Texas). I see a lot of Fusions, Altima's, Grand Cherokee's and Rogues. Very little Chevy product until more recently-seeing more Tahoe's and Impalla's on the lots. Personally, I think it is a double edge sword because it certainly hurts residuals and margins but also allows the product to be out in the market and many times gets sold to the OEM dealer for resale.

I like the front of the new F150 way better than the 15-17 model years but not the side profile-not sure why-it just looks a bit off. Both the GM and new Ram look great as well. Good for the market-and will push Ford even more.