Harley Lover

It doesn't surprise me at all. The GM cheerleaders are desperate to demonstrate a parallel between this action and GM/Chrysler's action. As in so often the case these days, they are willing to suspend belief, reality, and facts in order to attempt to make their point.

And: a LOAN is not the same think as EQUITY OWNERSHIP (which is what GM gave the government in return for $$$).

The basic shape of the grill is very similar to the grill shape of the Escape drawing that has been circulating. Perhaps we are seeing the beginning of a global style for Ford's SUV and CUV vehicles.

No, no it doesn't. Neither does the new Focus. And perhaps, neither will the Escape (from the Kuga). The styling of the Explorer is the biggest (potential) hint of the direction for the next Escape's styling.

Yes it does. Does the Fiesta in Europe have a different body? Does the upcoming Focus have a different body? The MKT is not a GLOBAL FORD, is it?

If the Escape story is correct, I think we're missing an important underlying implication as the story is written. The description of the vehicle as the Escape/Kuga implies that both products will indeed wear the same tophat, versus divergent styling as they currently hold. This would mean that the Escape is moving away from its current boxy/SUV styling, and towards the Kuga's style (however it should be characterized). I'm convinced that the new Explorer establishes Ford's "look" for this type of vehicle, so I expect the Escape will feature a look very much in the idiom of the new Explorer. That look would also be appropriate for the Kuga as well.

What does everyone expect Ford to show us at the 2011 NAIAS? Is there any chance we might see something that represents Lincoln's new design direction (if there is one)? I would doubt seeing a Lincoln only because Ford just hired the guy from Cadillac. What should we reasonably expect to see? EDIT: 12.8.2010: Per Automotive News, Ford will show a "near production concept" of the Escape/Kuga at the show. The article mentions that the writer still doesn't know if both names will be retained, or one name will be used. No mention of the Lincoln version.

Borg, I agree with you. I owned my first car with HID's in 2004 (JCW MINI), and I'll never buy another vehicle without them. They are a difference maker in night time driving.

Thanks for the link!

Along with the obligatory notgonnahappen illustration, there are interesting tidbits in this story: http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/11/sources-say-ford-planning-innovative-fuel-efficiency-changes-for-next-f-150.html The use of unibody elements sounds like what Ford did several years back on the Lincoln Town Car; IIRC, they had the body itself analzed and upgraded for stiffness to complement its installation on the panther frame.

IMO: The Lincoln product will have bespoke sheetmetal. In an interview posted just yesterday in Automotive News, Mulally reiiterated that Lincolns will have their own sheetmetal. The new Escape will move in the direction of the Kuga's styling. Take a long look at the new Explorer in the post above, and you'll see elements that will undoubtably appear in the Escape. In the same way that Explorer's styling has moved away from "trucky" and more towards sporty, the Escape will do likewise. Ford has always kept family styling cues between its SUV's, and thus the new Escape will be showing some Explorer in its new design.

Mulally recruited and hired Jim Farley away from Toyota, not Bill Ford. Farley is the one who assembled his Marketing team.

Offer that front bumper cap as a "Blackbird" option on the SHO, I bet it would sell!

Good point, I should have been more specific and written given up on the segment of mid size BOF suv's.

Exactly. Thank you for pointing this out. IMO, the Explorer doesn't have to be a homerun at all. It's an entry into an almost dead segment. GM and Chrysler have already given up on the segment. If the new Explorer sells at the current rate or at a slightly higher rate, it's already accomplished 2 important things: it has allowed Ford to kill another bespoke chassis (like it will do with the panther), and it creates an all new entrant for this segment that will share a high percentage of its parts with existing products (One Ford). I don't see this as a risk at all, since Ford has absolutely nothing to lose compared to the paltry sales of the current model Explorer.

If Ford's commitment to have all Lincolns sporting bespoke sheetmetal is true (after model changes, not mid cycle updates), then it makes sense that there will indeed be 2 tophats, with the Escape having 'traditional' SUV cues, and the Lincoln product carrying different sheetmetal. I wonder if Ford's idea of 'traditional SUV cues' might be changing now that we've seen the Explorer. The new Explorer's style is more in line with the Kuga than the current Escape, so it's made me wonder if the next Escape might be closer in appearance to the Kuga's style, which frankly will keep it aligned visually with the Explorer. That would leave some big questions about funding a bespoke tophat for the Lincoln. I dearly hope Ford doesn't make the Lincoln a grill and taillight job, as such a decision would undermine what Lincoln is supposedly going to become. Regarding FoE and NIH, I'm sure that attitude might exist in some backrooms, but given the lengths to which Mulally went to root out that attitude, I find it hard to believe that such an attitude would be allowed to fester in the open, much less influence business decisions within the company.

Don't forget the entire Cadillac line. GM invested billions for what? The marginally decent selling CTS? Everything else was a washout.

I agree with you, but look at what has happened with the Porsche 918 Spyder: they said they needed 1000 orders to consider production, and they have 2000 deposits in hand, and have announced production. I know 2000 units is nothing, but my point is that supercar buyers will go for something like the 918 Spyder. Don't be surprised if BMW announces production plans for their eco supercar as well (can't remember the model name). IMO, this is the arena in which I could envision a Ford "supercar": Ford should kick the hell of out of Porsche (and VW by extension) by introducing a "supercar" that is superior to the Porsche. Such a car would also serve as a reminder to the market (especially in Europe, where Ford's brand image is more upscale than here) that Ford has been, and continues to be, a leader in 'green tech'. Unlike upstart Porsche. Having said that, I'd prefer the funds be used to fund Lincoln product development.

“There will be less than 30, on our way to 20 to 25” Lots of squiggle room between 20 and 30.

I think we might already have an answer in the form of the new Explorer. Its styling seems to be a definitive move away from the boxy traditional styling associated with the Explorers of years past. If you considered the new Escape to be a smaller family member of the Explorer, it's not that hard to envision the new Escape having styling much closer to the Kuga than the current styling of the Escape.

It would seem to make sense that Ford might reveal some sort of design concept for Lincoln at NAIAS 2011. I guess it would depend on just how much things will evolve with Lincoln design as Ford gives it full attention. I would also expect to see the Lincoln Kuga and the Lincoln C car, as it would make sense that both of these products could be coming within a year or so from the beginning of 2011 (based on plant openings for the respective products). I could maybe even envision a bespoke Lincoln body on Falcon mechanicals just to drive us all insane.

There's an article in this week's Automotive News which centers of Ford's and GM's focus on reducing debt. There were some surprising (to me, anyway) figures for GM debt contained in the article, thought I would share this info with you: and So, from these facts, GM has 42.2 billion in liabilities, Ford has 39 billion. And this is debt, not O/E owed to the government. The article does not categorically state that the "debt" attributed to GM is long term (versus short term, revolving line debt), but since the GM debt is mentioned in context with Ford's publicly acknowledged debt load, presumably it's in the same class. Why hasn't this information been put to the public before now? I think this is very significant information - the conventional wisdom about GM has been that since it emerged from BK, it's "debt free" when in fact GM is anything but. In fact, they have MORE DEBT THAN FORD. I'm shocked.

Isn't the next Gen Escape a done deal for Louisville (LAP)? I can't imagine that Ford has a business plan that expects the C-Max (supposedly will drop the Grand moniker over here) to fill that plant. Also, haven't I also read that Louisville might very well be the source of worldwide production for the Escape/Kuga, meaning exports back to Europe?

Richard, you are way, way, way too much overthinking this. From a big picture perspective, Ford have decided to simplify its business yet again. To contiinue to support Mercury would be inconsistent with Mullaly's 'One Ford' strategy, since Mercury would never be taken global. Lincoln, on the other hand, at least has the potential to be taken global at some point in the future. In the meantime, Lincoln branded vehicles are the best choice going forward to supply the dealer base with saleable product, and fill out the volume needs of the plants. At the end of the day, Ford isn't cutting any product from the marketplace, they are realigning the offerings into two distinct categories - Ford and Lincoln. Presuming that Ford continues the policy of giving Lincolns bespoke sheetmetal when there is a true model change (not midcycle updates), then the Lincoln products have the chance to be favorably compared with Audi (fwd/awd), BMW (new compact fwd announced), Acura (fwd), etc. This might also be the impetus for Ford to be able to make a business case for a global rwd chassis that could underpin larger Lincolns as well. There's a lot here about which to be optimtistic.

I had been thinking that the Grand C-Max hybrid was going to be the "white space" vehicle to which Ford have made reference in the past. If they aren't going to bring it to the U.S., what could the "white space" hybrid be? Plug in Focus?