Harley Lover

The Fusion is available with a manual: http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2011/09/ford-fusion-aging-gracefully/ So, if Ford maintains that offering with the new car, it's at least possible we'll see such a product when the new Fusion bows.

I wondered how long it would take him, after the GM agreement was announced, to negotiate through the press. Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110919/OEM01/110919841/1489#ixzz1YR7wHLrr

On the bumperless photo, is that an intercooler below the front 'bumper'?

2 things in the article: 1) the engine will debut in the European Focus, B-Max and C-Max and 2) Ford will bring the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine to North America "quickly after the European application" with the quote attributed to Derrick Kuzak. The article does not speculate which N.A. product will get the engine, but might it not make sense it would be the Focus or one of its chassis mates? Only because the engine is debuting in Focus-based products in Europe? I would have guessed the Fiesta until I saw the initial product lineup for the engine in Europe. Article: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110912/OEM04/110909865/1489

Is this a national ad or a regional ad? The distinction makes all the difference in the world - the regional ads are not necessarily a reflection of Ford policy, but that of the regional Ford dealers buying and paying for the ad.

The plant in India has nothing to do with the U.S. market - the output of that plant is destined for India, which is becoming a significant market for Ford in its own right. Most of Ford's new plants are being built in India and China, because that is where the growth is (right now), and where Ford is furthest behind its compeititon in terms of capacity.

There has been a rumor for a while in Europe that Ford would bring a '4 door coupe' to market to compete with the VW CC. Not sure if that rumor is still active, but I've read it more than once.

This is a tough situation for both parties. I don't think labor has a leg on which to stand when it compares its pay to white collar pay (I'm thinking primarily of engineers). The reality is that the barriers to replacing the hourly labor (in terms of skill set) are significantly lower than replacing engineers. The U.S. has a coming demographic problem late this decade into the middle of the next decade - our population will age, and the availability of skilled workers such as engineers will diminish even moreso. Germany is a preview of what we face: Audi/BMW/VW etc. all are having problems hiring in enough engineers due to this issue, because the graying of their population is ahead of us. The upshot for Ford is that they need to be very careful about increasing fixed costs in this coming scenario. Add to this the fact that Ford still carries siginificant debt which they need to continuously retire to enhance their financial capabilities. I agree with the premise of building more participation in profits for the labor workforce - they should get their fair share (however that is measured) of profits. At the same time, Ford needs to hold the line on additional fixed costs, as those costs stay in place when times are tough and losses loom. Some of the comments in the linked article are inciteful, and certainly push my buttons. I despise the entitlement mentality represented in some of the quotes. I hope Ford does right by its labor, but not at the cost of retaining its ability to grow its profit rate, reduce debt, and grow its business worldwide. Based on the quotes in the article, I'm not sure the rank and file will follow the lead of its elected leaders. I guess we'll see if the people interviewed represent the majority view within the union or not.

My favorite low res shot, showing the beauty of the sheet metal; the tail lamp graphic is really cool and well done:

I didn't want to post this in the monster thread and have it get lost in the shuffle. Of particular interest are the high res photos; they show that this concept has much more to its styling than is first apparent from the low res pics that were released. Enjoy: http://evosconcept.fordmedia.eu/

There is no way Ford will drop the Fusion and Escape names in the U.S.. The names are well known, have a lot of brand equity, and are continuing successes in the U.S.. Mulally already brought back the Taurus name - is there anyone in Ford who wants to drop one of these performing names in that context?

You really need to pay attention to what I write. I did not say full time electric - I said PIH. Did you even read the press release? Here's a quote: "Ford says that the Evos is powered by the same plug-in hybrid drivetrain found in the C-Max Energi. That means that a set of lithium-ion batteries store and release electricity to allow the vehicle to operate primarily as an electric vehicle." Now we all know that a PIH will only have an electric range of 15 miles or so (depending on the size of the battery pack), so this is not an electric, it's a hybrid, and, as I wrote, it is Ford's current state of the art hybrid chassis. Therefore, it's Ford's technical showhorse versus GM's, which is the Volt. Thus my original point. I'd love to see Ford position this (with 4 conventional doors) directly against the Volt. It would not have the Volt's electric range, but it probably would have a similar total miles capability, and again, SLAY the Volt on looks. Whatever the C-Max Energi will have in terms of capability, the Evos would have (since they share the same chassis), but with all the killer looks of the Evos. This would be Ford using the C-Max Energi chassis in the same way that GM plans to use the Volt chassis for the "Caddy Volt". In fact, maybe Ford should make this a Lincoln coupe, and position it against the upcoming Caddy.

No it doesn't. The C-Max is more in the neighborhood (loosely) of the PRius in terms of style. The Evos as a sedan with 4 doors directly addresses the tepid Volt. No question these design cues could be applied to more sporting aspirations - but this vehicle (minus the concept doors) slays the Volt in terms of style.

This will never happen, but in the interest of staying on topic, and not having the thread degenerate into the usual pissing contest: If this car were to be built as it appears (sans the show car doors), it's not a Capri, or a Mustang, or a Fusion. This car would be Ford's answer to the tepid Volt! The Evos already sits on Ford's most current PIH chassis - why not position this car against the Volt (assuming it would have a large enough Lion battery pack for its range)? It appears from the way it has been given a fairly high rear section that it could be given a substantial battery pack for electric range. If the Volt is supposed to represent GM technology/style, then the Evos represents Ford technology in terms of its PIH drivetrain. And it KILLS the Volt in terms of style. Why not? Wouldn't it be great?

If I had put "2011 F-150 w/Ecoboost " or "2011 Silverado with the 6.2L" in the title, that would be misleading. As it stands, the title states exactly what is in the link, Ford versus Chevy truck pull. Sorry.

Quotes from Gary Walkowicz, the guy who King defeated for president of the union, and the guy who led the effort to vote down the additional concessions that would have given Ford the same concessions as GM and Chrysler: Don't kid yourself, there is a definite mentality within parts of the union that Ford "took" the concessions, not that the union "gave" them. This bozo might not represent the majority of the union, but he represents too many member's point of view.

Could you please explain how the ISG you envision would differ from GM's dual mode tranny for its trucks?

Just in time for the weekend, video that could be used for a Ford advertisement, or Darwin awards: http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblogpost.aspx?post=0d0933c6-2446-4bcc-8866-44da07b027f2

This. jpd80 FTW.

Take a look at Ford's recent history with concepts: the Verve. It was shown as a concept, yet it's probably 90% accurate in predicting the Fiesta. We won't know for sure until we see the production Escape, but it's not unreasonable to think the Vertrek is a good prediction of the Escape. Given the above, I'm not concerned that the MKZ will be shown as a concept. It might very well be that the "concept" will be presented as a representative on Lincoln's future design cues, when in fact the concept will be riding on the CD chassis, thus the MKZ connection.

http://us.sunpowercorp.com/homes/ford-focus-electric/

One interesting quote in the Autoline video - "Look for a big, and I mean BIG, jump in fuel economy." Will be interesting to watch this play out.

That's certainly the case with all its platform mates.

One additional thought: wouldn't it be a blast if a revised Start concept = new ka?

The most likely outcome will be products on the C global chassis (or its derivatives). I guess it's possible that Ford could debut a GRWD chassis product at Frankfurt, but it would make much more sense to debut that product in its current home market(s) - US and Australia.