ZanatWork

What he said. A company has to start its relationship with a buyer at some point, and scoring points early with young buyers is a great way to keep their business for years.

I guess the undercurrent concern is: what will Ford do for entry-level offerings? It's all well and good to prioritize the higher-profit CUVs and trucks, but what gets the young, first-new-vehicle customers in the door and begins the relationship going forward? For this purpose, the Focus Active and Ecosport have to deliver...with a potential nod to the Ranger as well.

One thing that resonated from both PDL and articles I've seen since Mulally's departure: the long-despised fiefdoms apparently jumped right back into their annoying existences when Fields took over, and are still at it today. That's been a curse for Ford forever, and I don't know that Hackett will have the moxie to unite the company the way Alan did. Similarly, if Farley is as polarizing as he seems to be, he'll be part of the problem, not the solution. That's what concerns me more than the sedan cancellations and the like. If the Focus Active has enough options/versatility to "pull a Subaru" and be many things to many people, everybody wins. If it can start low enough with fwd and the Ecoboost 1.5 to attract entry-level buyers while still offering something sub-models at the top end with AWD and 250+ hp...it could be huge for the Focus line. That said, these appear to be interesting times for the Ford faithful.

Tesla just put up a factory as collateral, so it'll stay open a bit longer...but then what?

If the article is accurate-and I find his stuff to be, more often than not-then I hope Bill read it, and combined its content with information of his own en route to making his next BIG POSITIVE DECISION. I was very much in his corner when he punted Nasser, and seemed determined to shore up quality while looking for a good CEO. He got that in Mulally, though Alan supposedly wanted Lincoln to die off...something I wouldn't agree with. In any case, I hope that Bill can find someone worthy of the job (again), because Hackett has done nothing to build my confidence and it sounds like Farley is a complete nightmare.

Heh...if Ford's product planners have a sense of humor, the "4-door Mustang" would use the "Maverick" moniker, as they shared platforms in the early 70s. All that's old is new again! Hopefully, they'd spare us the Granada and Mustang II flashbacks this time around.

If that's true, then I can only imagine it's a request for tidier packaging vs. the much larger space requirements of OHC heads.

Up here in the Northwest, there's a a ton of various Subaru wagon/CUV vehicles...and similar types by other makes are almost as common. I see a pretty constant collection of Flexes (I have one myself), as well as Freestyles and Taurus Xes. The various "toaster" compacts are also everywhere; my girlfriend drives a Kia Soul that's one of a half-dozen in our apartment building's lot. While typing this, I'm watching traffic in front of my employer's building...and I can see a half-dozen CUVs parked while trucks and CUVs/SUVs are about 80% of the traffic outside. Granted, we have slimy roads a lot of the time, so it's really not all that surprising...but it's hard to deny that Subaru were ahead of their time, and stuck to their beliefs in coming trends.

Sorta, in Taurus X form with the newer powertrain, it could have been pretty important if really marketed. However, it was a stop-gap for both the Explorer and the Flex. The stupid truth in all of this is that Subaru ends up looking like complete geniuses in some regards.

Even with the surge in V6/Ecoboost sales, certain segments still believe that 'there's no replacement for displacement'. Given some big V8s available from the competition, this motor will need to be quite a beast.

I think the real burning question becomes: is Ford giving itself enough resilience to make other changes if this move proves costly? I don't claim to know the answer...but I am having flashbacks of the many years where Ford had so many intriguing vehicles in Europe and Australia while keeping things dumb/obsolete over here....

I have to assume that Ford/Lincoln will end up with something similar to the circa 4.0TT V8 formula that is getting increasingly common across many makes. I'll always admit a lifelong love of Mustangs and other Fords with a "5.0" involved, but for eventual top-shelf Lincolns and other applications, I have to believe that there will be some "Ecobeast"-ish smaller V8.

Considering that electric vehicles aren't yet being built profitably, I'd bet that the iconic V8 still has some life left in it; the Mustang's most popular configuration worldwide is the GT with the 5.0.

The Mustang is also the official NASCAR Cup-level car as of next year, which was maybe the worst-kept secret in motorsports.

It never really has been, until the 2015-up variants. Pony cars in general are parts-bin specials...in the Mustang's case, sharing bits from Falcons, Pintos, Fairmonts (for-freakin'-ever), the LS/TBird (DEW98), and even the current car (S-550) is technically a massive evolution of the '05-'14 variants (IIRC). I guess the next platform'd better be pretty special....

Eh...I'm actually on the fence. The Bronco had V8s (minus the Bronco II, of course), at least as options, and while it's being seen as something of a Wrangler competitor...putting recent "HEMI" motors into Wranglers has been relatively popular. I wonder if Ford would seize the opportunity to offer a V8 when Jeep doesn't..?

I can tell you that the Flex is pretty common on the roads up here in the PNW, and that many reports on the car showed it to have a solid West Coast customer base. I love mine, it actually stands out among all the blob-like CUVs and has a much lower liftover height than my Expedition...a consideration for me, as I regularly am playing music in clubs on any given evening. I also am a big fan of its AWD on the often-slimy roads up here. I know it's basically doomed within the next two years and never was a huge seller, but I would be thrilled if Ford decided to give it one more generation on the upcoming CD6 platform. The huge interior, easy ingress/egress, and solid performance in all variants make it a pretty amazing vehicle.

Umm...but AWD is standard, and Subaru has hung their hat on AWD for decades. I think that both styling and standard AWD contribute to sales.

Y'know... ...granted, this is all my years in parts talking, but that reminds me of the '70s, where a given GM product could offer a multitude of V8 motors, many of which being the same displacement but from different engine families, and then differing states of tune as well. One would think that consolidating several of those would help to minimize variants and the related costs to Ford.

Kinda disappointing, especially with Subaru showing so many months of consistent growth with AWD hatches/wagons. I hope Ford pays attention.

Does the Active get AWD, or is it just some cladding a ride height?

I'm just gonna say it now: the wagon is gorgeous, and I hope they give it a try over here. I know the odds, spare the BS lecturing...just hoping. A Focus ST wagon (or RS, with AWD) would be great for my current lifestyle.

For those of us that long for more wagon choices (and will deeply mourn the Flex's passing; I love mine), having most of the utility without the extra foot of bodywork/weight along with the higher center of gravity is the payoff. Oh, and the Focus ST wagon available overseas makes the C-Max look like a mud fence.

Here's the brutal truth about the CUV market: for many drivers, most of whom aren't actual car enthusiasts, the availability of CUVs that offer better visibility and more interior space than comparably-equipped sedans has led to a logical embrace of the upright blobs that are dominating sales. I don't specifically blame them, because they're just looking for a wheeled conveyance that fits their lives rather than wanting the vehicle to be a real part of their lives. Big coupes are a pain to park, nowadays. Hell, even with the F-series into its 4th decade of sales dominance, too many parking lots seem to be painting their spaces assuming that everyone is switching to Minis, Fiestas, and Fits. Performance cars and "real" trucks/SUVs demand a certain level of involvement, and the typical Escape/Edge/Highlander/CR-V buyers aren't wired that way...any more than the Camry addicts were.

A silly thought occurs, though: the new 7.3 in a "Cobra Jet" drag special, similar to others they've done in recent years. There's a certain percent of Mustang customers that are drag-racing oriented, and that would seem to be a package with some potential...albeit one likely limited to "off road use".