Max

With the eventual conclusion to this year's WRC season, lest we not forget the tragic and untimely death of Colin McRae, just a few short months ago. McRae had some very successful outings whilst driving the focus, during his time with Ford. Colin McRae McRae's career in pictures.

I agree with you nearly 100%, however, I'm not so concerned about the Fiesta name use. If they do use the name, it can pulled off, as long as they have the car to back it up (i.e. quality, style, etc.). Ford needs to put a lot of R&D into the small car effort, just as much if not more than their current truck effort. Will that happen? Probably not because of profitability concerns. All the points you make are good ones. I'm not anti-small car, quite the contrary, it just seems in the United States at least...you have to forego your self-preservation instinct to purchase a small car. Considering the cost cutting that goes into building one, and then there is the factor of what's on the road with you. Other countries, where small cars are prevalent, it's highly doubtful that those drivers have to deal with a complete lineup of Superduties and other heavy duty trucks, that just aren't small car friendly no matter how you build them. While Ford is working on their small car lineup, we now have a F-450 available for purchase by the aloof weekend warrior to tow his toys he thinks he needs...but that's another thread.

It already is a negative. Given the fact that Director of Ford Racing, Dan Davis, gave reasoning of loyalty for Ford's involvement in NASCAR. Last time I checked loyalty does not yield a profit nor is it exciting, and the loyal teams aren't really competative. The Roush-Fenway team is the only real consistent contender with at least one driver in Matt Kenseth. Ford should exlcusively handle the grassroots/driver development style racing series...that's pretty much what they do best. Ford has never been a consistent champion in NASCAR, more like a consistent second place or a top five. Drivers like Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Matt Kenseth, and Kurt Busch are bright spots for Ford...that is when these drivers drove Fords (with the exception of Kenseth). Greg Biffle displayed his racing prowess today when he took out himself and 2 toyotas in one incident...that's Ford talent. It needs to be recognized that Ford is in the midst of a financial crisis along with an identity crisis with it's brands. I've long maintained that Ford has to be more assertive with its brands, but has yet to do so. I find it funny how a company that emphasizes retro-themes and its illustrious 100+ year history(Ford Racing heritage commercial), skips the anti-semitic beliefs of its founder or the company's complicity and profiting with and from the Nazis during WWII. Is it a big deal? Maybe, maybe not, but the man's name is the logo itself. Japan's parliament-PR is having a helluva time with its comfort women used during WWII, it'll be interesting to see if anything else comes back from WWII to haunt someone or some company.

Certainly reads that way from their homepage... The Daily Mail

Ford should go after Jeep and nothing else. Although, right now that seems impracticle but should Ford's manangement become increasingly decisive over the next few years. They would be able to position Jeep appropriately along side Land Rover. I believe Jeep would also serve as a good brand to debut "experimentally" efficient powertrains, whereas you can't do that with Land Rover's premium nor with the transparency of Lincoln and Mercury.

I think you've proved it to yourself. Some grilles look better on some vehicles than they do others...no surprise. This becomes a problem when you try to fit one specific type of grill on every single vehicle. Ford should not be concerned about making an exact replica of the 3-bar grille on every vehicle. That's wrong, and ultimately doesn't set the vehicle apart and actually hinders the overall design significance of the vehicle. I agree with you on the 3-bar grille, but dislike everyone of your photochops...they look like a Ford grille time warp at least 5 years into the past. Kind of reminds me of the lackluster front fascia Nissan is using on their current cars.

A valid point indeed, however, there now is an unprecendented wave of money now hitting the motorsport of NASCAR, partly because of Toyota. Indicated by drivers' moves to other teams for the all mighty dollar, and poll after poll shows that the drivers are what matter to fans. It's only a matter of time before the fans stop connecting their favorite driver to that driver's sponsor. Jackie Stewart was loyal to Ford in F1, but that didn't yield envious results, and ultimately the loyalty to Ford (inadequate financial backing) handicapped the team on the track. Ferrari was spending three times as much as Ford on their team. A similar situation could be brewing in NASCAR with Toyota. Peformance of Ford cars on the tracks in NASCAR is already hit or miss...with Roush Racing really the only team producing results. The Wood Brothers are barely ever competative. As far as pony cars in the Busch series, it sounds great, but I doubt it will be as great as it sounds. A byproduct of oval racing are cars that are very simple in design or sleek. Compare and IRL car to a F1 or ChampCar, the IRL does not have the dynamic curves of a ChampCar let alone a F1 car. Whatever incarnation we will see of the Mustang on the oval, won't look as good as the one on the road coarse.

Starting to think Dan Davis, is full of it...or at the very least he's in the wrong position at Ford (nothing new when it comes to placing Ford personnel). Late last year he talked about the unwaivering loyalty Ford has to NASCAR. Well, it's even more evident today that NASCAR is a farce...no relevent street car technology for Ford...people are only loyal to the dollar. All you're paying for in NASCAR are the billboards (the cars) and the drama generated by the personalities of the drivers, nothing relevent to the automotive industry(meaning car brands don't matter). Dropping ChampCar will not help, ChampCar has a promising future especially with the Panoz DP01 chassis...wish I could say the same about Ford Racing. They're paying a hefty price for just keeping the Ford name a buzzword in the world of professional motorsports...I digress.

Agreeing with you, and adding that an ideal "Commander" in my mind at least...would be the size of a Ford Expedition (keeping same design theme) and make use of a retuned Cummins Diesel engine. That would be "commanding" in presence and power, and very unique for Jeep as well as the segment itself.

History is already repeating itself. Without the success of the '05 Mustang would GM or Chrysler really be all that hard pressed to bring back the Camaro and Challenger...no. The Mustang, as it always has been, is a car for everyone who shows interest in it. Judging by the Challenger concept and suspected price points...it will be overdone and overpriced. Not exactly a car for everyone. Just like the SRT-Ram was compared to the Lightning. Those intereseted will be loyalists, enthusiasts, and collectors who have the time, money, and space to garage the car or store it. Not a daily driver like the Mustang. Of course if Chrysler actually learned from history...then they certainly wouldn't be in the financial predicament they are in today...again. Judging by the Camaro concept, it's the same old routine at GM. Will the Camaro be successful...probably. Will one Camaro be able to outperform most Mustangs...probably. Will it be for everyone...no. Camaros seem to be excessively had by gearheads, loyalists, and the Joe Dirts of the world. (No offense to the Joe Dirts) Not exactly the biggest group of car buyers there are. The Mustang, the regular ol' GT, has always had class. Making the car savory to anyone interested in that style of car. My only beef with the current Mustang, is that it's too nostalgic...kind of like something a stamp collector would buy, but thankfully it's been more successful than that.

I wouldn't necessarily say that...what about diesels from Volvo? Has Ford ever explored the possibilities of Volvo Diesels? Ultimately, though, being able to option out the F-250s and up with different diesels would be the best bet. Those who want their Cats, Cummins, etc. can have them then. I would imagine that's a ways away though...but it would make the next Gen Super Duty (redone from the ground up) unbeatable.

Ford is making this harder than it really is, which is symbolic of Ford's lack of assertion in the automotive market and global industry. Basically the more they drag their feet on this, the more money it's going to cost them. Amplified by the amount of brand names they own. Look at the brands that Ford was compared to in the article, Toyota, M-B, and VW. What type of depth do these brands have? How many brand names are controlled by these companies? VW and M-B through Chrysler come close to what Ford has. But even then VW, for instance, while owning a few super high-end brands...they have nowhere near the marketplace presence of any Ford vehicle. Ford needs to go for the throat on this, which they have done well on so far with structural changes. Now it's time for style and definitive style for all brands. Ford needs ONE global definitive style for the bulk of its Ford-branded vehicles so profitability can be had. If there needs to be bold styling...express this notion with a niche vehicle. Take a look at Toyota's line-up, it's pretty comprehensive, some of there vehicles may be bland and have been quite bland in the past. But take a look at all the vehicles they are able to produce with their profitability. Vehicles like the Land Cruiser, FJ Cruiser, Camry Solara would never last long underneath Ford. Yet they are able to stick around and be updated because of the profitability of Toyota. Ford does not need different styles within one nameplate (like they have now with Ford in different regions)...that's why you have Mercury and Lincoln, which have played bitch to Ford's lack of assertion in style for way too long. Like I said, this isn't that hard...this should've been done a decade ago.

I thought that Ford's new BOLD design philosophy, was so that you could easy tell it's a Ford product from a distance or there abouts? Given all the questioning on whether this is a Ford or not...I don't think it is, it's not BOLD. Anytime we've seen the Ford 3-bar in public for testing, it was heavily camo'd, otherwise it would be a dead give away. There is too much Japanese-type design trends on the vehicle to suggest any type of Ford, as others suggested it shares various traits from the Ridgeline with other Honda cues.

An auto magazine and/or website (not sure) a few months back seemed to have strong beliefs that that clay rendering is of the next generation Mustang. Beyond that I don't know.

I have yet to hear anyone mention how the new GMC Sierra looks like it could be a Ford product. Overall impression of the Sierra's exterior for me is that of imitation Ford. In a market like that of full-size trucks...where polarizing designs have been norm for the past decade. The GMC looks way too much like a Ford. Go ahead and take a look....what do you think? 2008 GMC Sierra