ZanatWork

Honestly...the new system(s) had better be fairly impressive, due to all of the press Ford sought over their future electrification efforts.

I have to give unlikely kudos, on the cheeseburger front: the "fresh beef" Quarter Pounder is a massive improvement...and I'm very skeptical about anything from fast food chains.

Al-u-min-i-um.

What this confirms, however, is that Ford is able to hedge its bets with the C2 architecture. If the same set of "bones" can be re-set to accommodate cars and CUVs across a wide range, Ford should have reasonable ability to react to potential market changes more efficiently...including the capacity to re-introduce a sedan or two if the market moves that way.

I think the wagon-ish qualities of the "Active" could be very attractive to potential buyers of Subarus, and would allow Ford to challenge much of that brand's model lineup...if done properly.

GM truck fans had to endure their share of recalls, plus the serious issues that plagued the "Vortech" engines...no company is immune.

The main reason that I enjoy manual transmissions is the direct engagement, which is lacking in every "flappy paddle" car I've driven. I'm well aware that those transmissions are a bit faster, but they don't give me the same satisfaction...so it's hard to justify spending thousands on those vehicles.

I know that I've been able to change the plugs on my 1998 Expedition 5.4 without incident for quite some time, now...because I, y'know, paid attention to service instructions....

..aaaaand you know this about the as-yet-unseen CD6 Explorer how, exactly?

Here's something for all the "get over it" people: the Mustang was going to be a fwd coupe going into the 90's, too...and the writing was supposedly on the wall, nothing we can do, etc etc etc. The Mustang faithful disagreed, and got Ford to re-think the iconic pony car while GM temporarily gave up on the Camaro (and killed the Firebird). While many of us will remember that the next decade and a half involved further evolution to the ol' Fox platform, it was a ton better than what would become the short-lived Probe (though I admit a fondness for the later V6/5-speed GT models). If we seriously want a manual option in the car, we make a ton of noise and/or vote with our dollars...so no, we don't simply have to "accept", "get over it", or "move on".

Only if they were truly shopping for a sedan and their minds were made up... ...oh, and that'd be at least 2-3 years in the future, because the Fusion will be on sale that long.

That era was just plain tragic, the Troutman/Nasser combination seemed to be to limit Ford to trucks/SUVs completely by making the car offerings completely forgettable.

...or the fact that Toyota and Honda were the recall kings for 5 straight years before GM's ignition switch fiasco, FCA's transmission issues and diesel defeat scandals, etc etc etc. If people held serious grudges over stuff like that, no automaker would break even, much less make profits.

Look at the sales reports over the last few years, for Ford and every other full-line carmaker in our market. CUVs are replacing the typical car at a ridiculous rate. The Nissan Juke, the Honda HR-V, and that little crouton of a Toyota baby CUV are just the latest responses to the market...as is the Ecosport. The numbers are easily found, and the headlines at auto sites have been telling this story for years, now...so I don't know how you possibly missed all the evidence.

Its styling got rave reviews, but it was also knocked for being kinda heavy, for limited rear-seat headroom, and for the typical complaints about underwhelming Ecoboost fuel economy.

While the other "drivers" let computer nannies do most of the work...?

Given that sedans-not just Ford sedans-had been on the decline for some time and the auto news sites have spent the last few years with "Crossovers hot, sedans falling" headlines...I'm admittedly not sure that the panic over the car situation is all that sensible. Yes, I think that the steps taken are extreme and also that Ford's PR department is pathetic at their job(s)...but it's hard to defend the Fusion too vigorously. It's very attractive, but the only way it leads any segment is the horsepower of the Sport model...and even that car got very milquetoast reviews. It's a bunch of motor wrapped in a car whose chassis dynamics are mid-pack. In a shrinking sedan market, how can many resources be justified for its continuation? I hope that Ford has allowed itself the resilience to respond if the car market bounces back, but I'm also reminding myself that the "plan" is largely revealing itself over the next year or so...and that my information is limited.

The lower lift-in height on the Flex made it preferable to my old Expy when it came to loading amplifiers/guitars/etc on a regular basis. As it has typical car ride height, I imagine that advantage would continue vs. the Explorer and/or other CUVs. It's fairly unique in a very conformist market.

See: Mercury.

The way I see it: the "flappy paddle" transmission makes the best lap times, and thus the best numbers for ads and what-not. That said, if Porsche can re-introduce manuals into their 911 GT3 monsters to attract certain customers, Ford can add it as an alternative relatively quickly.

Simply by transferring the name to one of the "White Space" vehicles as a bait-and-switch.

Congrats on joining the club, cookies and punch on the back table! I have to say that my Flex has been the best, most usable, most overall-satisfying vehicle that I've ever owned. Yes, I'll always have some performance-oriented Ford product getting my attention (and money), but my Flex hauls my musical gear, hauls fellow musicians/family members, is very nearly as commodious as my Expedition while returning far better MPG, and has been a joy to own. Given how distinctive it is while surrounded by the modern "melted soap bar" CUVs everywhere, I'd be overjoyed if Ford found the capacity for a new Flex to be one of the "white space" models coming in the future. The West Coast really does seem to love the Flex, I see them constantly.

The coverage went after the big headline, which anyone over the age of 10 would likely expect. The actual news was clumsy and ill-considered; it stands as a lesson regarding caving to Wall Street babble. Ford's PR has been truly unfortunate for some time, now.

Yep, because nothing props up a position like speaking for huge numbers of complete strangers! Oh, wait... ...actually, practically anything is better for that. Silly me.

The Ecosport is a belated trigger-pull into a quickly growing market. In Ford's defense, it's hard to believe that anyone foresaw something as visually repugnant as the Nissan Juke being some kind of trend-setter. Why would people want tiny "faux-by-four" CUVs that were basically subcompacts with additional weight and lower mpg? Yeah, well, I still have no concept of the desire for SUVs redone as "coupes", basically trading away some of their utility for a swoopier roofline. Obviously, I'm not getting the trendy memos.