2005Explorer

That is one UGLY Jeep car. A Jeep car...wow the old AMC engineers are surely turning in their graves right now.

I like the looks of this vehicle. The style does look nicer then the old one, more aggressive and it actually looks like a new vehicle without all the investment GM put into their new full size SUV's. Interior looks nice. The only thing GM has on Ford now is power. Not that 300HP is enough for most people, it would just be nice if they had a larger engine to offer as an option.

I would agree it almost seems like we are on the same side. Of course I still would never own a GM product. I just have never been a GM person, but I guess if I could not buy a Ford product I would probably look at them. The only thing over on GM Inside News that gets my blood boiling is everytime they try and say that GM is actually in a lot better shape then Ford. I just don't feel this way. Ford has a lot of things to fix and they are doing it. They just announced today they are still making a profit as well.

I love how they always state in every article "the poor selling Explorer" Last I checked it was still one of the best selling SUV's. Over on GMI news they have this same story and they think that the Explorer/Mountaineer/Sport Trac are going to get cancelled because St. Louis is closing. I did not want to mess with getting an account over there, but someone really needs to tell them that most of those models come out of Louisville and I doubt Louisville is going anywhere.

Then go buy a Sonata is that is what your heart desires. I don't understand why you even care since you have no interest in the Fusion and think it is a total piece of crap. You don't see me wasting my time over on GM Inside News bashing the Malibu or the G6, because I have no interest in those cars. You don't like the Fusion, no big deal, go buy another car. If you feel the Sonata is the best car that ever rolled down an assembly line, then by all means you should purchase it or another model you like. You have already made up your mind that you don't like the Fusion, so why even waste your time looking at the thing.

Here is what I suggest. Before you go bashing that new Fusion SEL, maybe you should take it for a drive, a hard drive, see how it runs, drives, brakes, handles, and then compare it to your Kia. I have an idea which car would win that comparison without braking a sweat and I am sorry to say I don't think it would be the Kia.

I can only say this....bring on the new SportTrac! Good bye Honda.

This is good news for the Explorer. It will still offer 7 passenger seating and the Trailblazer or Envoy won't. Oh well, It won't be sad to see those ugly stretched out beasts gone. I also found some info on GMInsidenews that the redesigned Trailblazer/Envoy has been pushed back to 2008 (possibly longer) and that the Rainier and 9-7x will be cancelled in the near future. If Ford continues improvements with the Explorer they should be getting some of those Trailblazer sales. Mercury should be going after the Envoy with the Mountaineer as the GM models become more and more outdated. There is still a good sized market for midsized BOF SUV's if they are packaged well and Ford has always done a good job with that. Now bring on the new SportTrac and we will see how the Explorer is stacking up against the Trailblazer in sales by this time next year!

Well this was not really my thinking. My thoughts were that you push Mazda out to Ford dealerships to fill in for a discontinued car line. Sure many current Ford factories would have to pick up production of Mazda's, but I don't think they care if they are building a car that was engineered in Japan or the US as long as they have a product rolling down the assembly line. Mazda does not compete well with the other larger Japanese brands because they have such a limited dealer network. My thinking is the same with Volvo. There is not even a Volvo dealer in South Dakota and I am sure Volvo dealers are hit and miss all over the country. If Lincoln and Mercury are not selling, why not start to move Volvo's into them? Like I said before, I think Ford does have some very improved products that just came out, but I just think if Ford is limited in resources they might need to make cuts in overlapping product lines to save money. Imagine if all the money that is going around the company right now was focused in these 3 areas...Ford trucks/SUV's, Mazda cars and crossovers, and Volvo luxury vehicles. I just think we could see some awesome things come out of it. If the Japanese are so successful at engineering cars let Mazda take it over the same with Volvo on the luxury side. Last Ford can focus here in the US at what they do best and that is make excellent pickups and BOF SUV's. Sure some overlapping dealers would have to be closed and it would take some time for this to work, but I think in the end the products that we would get would be amazing. Many might disagree and that is fine. I don't think Ford will do this, BUT I think Ford needs to at least shed Jaguar, LR, and AM and (possibly Lincoln/Mercury). Those brands just don't fit into what they need to do. Ford, Mazda and Volvo is where they should be focused. The others take more then what they give back. Mazda and Volvo have been used well and are great resources for platform sharing. The other 3 are just money pits. If someone wants them, I would be selling tomorrow if I was Ford. As far as Lincoln/Mercury goes, if you can make them sell without putting that much into them, fine keep it. If it becomes a money pit then let it go as well. What to do with Lincoln/Mercury dealers if you close the division? Well many of them could be used to expand Volvo and Mazda in this country. I can tell you there is a LOT more value in those name plates then Lincoln and Mercury anymore. Sure some overlapping dealers would have to close, but if GM was able to pull if off with Oldsmobile, Ford could do it with Lincoln/Mercury. There are a lot of ways to trim the fat and offer better products. I am not saying these are the answers, BUT these kinds of re-alignments should be discussed. Company's that are successful re-align their product mix as the market directs them. Sure the auto industry is different from the consumer products industry, but it might be time that Ford gives this stuff a look if they still want the oval driving down the road.

Well Richard...I hope you are right. It is nice to have someone like you on here, you seem to make everything about Ford seem more positive. It is a great Company that I hope will be around for years to come. Hopefully you are right and better days are ahead in a few years as long as we can get through the next year or two. Ford has some good products right now and they are priced right, I hope people start to see that there is more value in a Ford then some of the asian brands. I don't know if many will, but maybe as their pocket books get tighter they will see there is no reason to spend that extra money for a Toyota when a new Ford like the Fusion is just as good.

I don't know, I guess we will see. I will give Ford credit on the Fusion, Milan and Zephyr however. They are pretty attractive cars that seem to perform well, are built pretty well and priced right. The same can be said about the Five-Hundred and Montego. Of course, the Mustang is successful and so is the F-Series. SUV wise the Escape/Mariner are still doing pretty well. Explorer would still be at the top of it's game if fuel was still a $1.50 a gallon, but that is not the case anymore. The rest of their line-up needs help...a lot of it. But, I will give them credit for what they have done in the last couple of years. It is more then GM is doing. Oh yeah...and get the Edge and it's siblings and the new Sport Trac out...like yesterday!!! Ford usually has a lot more success in the SUV and SUT area then it does in the passenger car game. If any magazine or newspaper rates the Honda Ridgeline over the all new 2007 Explorer Sport Trac V8 when it comes out I think I will puke.

If there was no F-series there would be no Ford. I don't think many people would even miss Ford cars anymore. I know I would and I would take it pretty hard, but I suppose in the end when it came time to replace my vehicle, I would just have to do what everyone else is doing and buy a Toyota. The US might blink for a second or two if Ford and GM went out of business, but not for very long. The Asians would just buy up most of what was left as far as facilities go and expand their production. Just like you said, brands like "Ford" don't sell anymore. If you are building something that does not sell what is the point? I am a firm believer that Ford could build something hands down that was the best and no one would even give it a look anymore. The younger generation has really turned against domestic automobiles in general. I was reading a piece that was written in the media about Ford's November sales and they have already declared the Fusion to be a flop and of course we all know what kind of a flop they have called the Five-Hundred and it's siblings. Those are pretty good cars, could they be a little better? Sure, if Ford had billions more to plow into them, but in the end they would loose even more money, because even if they were better, they still would not sell.

Well I am just trying to come up with ideas for Ford to improve their automobile sales. No one wants a domestic automobile anymore and I don't think that will ever change. The domestics marketshare will just keep eroding no matter what they try. Ford could be building the same exact car as this 2007 Camry, same everything and once they slap the blue oval on it, it would be a dud. No one would want it. I have already seen media reports that so far initally the Fusion looks to be a major flop. That's not me saying it, that is the media. Maybe replacing the Ford car brand with Mazda is not the answer, but they should look into slowly over time expanding Mazda. Everyone says if Ford builds a better product people will come running. I just don't see it anymore. Go ask anyone under 35 years old what they would rather drive and my guess is 75% will tell you Toyota or Honda. These people are getting older and the younger generation is getting more and more wild about Japanese cars. Ford can build the best product they want, but it is just not trendy to drive a Ford anymore. You don't know how many jokes I have to suffer through from my buddies for driving a domestic vehicle. They like my Explorer just fine, but they tell me how uncool Ford is and how much better the Pathfinder and 4Runner are. That is just the trend and it is only getting worse and worse. You can do everything you want, but Japan has pretty much totally took over the automobile industry. The midwest is the only area that has held out on the move to Japanese vehicles, but my guess is that it will slowly more toward an import direction. We sit here and can debate this all day. I do believe that Ford has some good products out. World class in some cases (ie...F150), but in the end, it is just not the right thing to do anymore. The bandwagon hoppers are in full force and they are jumping left and right on the Toyota bandwagon. Futhermore, most claim that Toyotas will never break down and when people are running around preaching how reliable they are, people buy right up. Once they leave, you will NEVER get them back. Sure I have seen a few here and there come back to domestics after a Toyota, Nissan or Honda, but that is getting to be less and less. Sometimes I worry myself that even though I really like my Explorer, built by the good folks in Louisville that I am missing out on something. It seems there is so much passion in the owners of Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Last, who wants to be uncool? I mean are we at the point where Ford are for nerds? I don't know, but I am 29 and I have friends who are my age or a little younger and all they can talk is Asian cars. There is NO WAY you will ever get them to look at a domestic. There is one positive in all of this...of all the domestics, most Japanese auto lovers seem to be most likely to at least give Ford a look where most have completely written off GM. These people I know have said real positive things about the Fusion, but in the end they will never buy one because it says Ford on it and that makes it the unpopular thing to do.

I was just looking around the web for awhile today and I noticed something. Mazda sells very few B-series trucks, but don't you think they would sell a lot more??? I mean if you want a Ranger you can go down to your Mazda dealer and get the same thing, with slightly different styling for about the same price and you will get a 4 year 50,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty over the Ranger's 3 year 36,000 mile warranty. My Dad got a Ranger this summer and he did get a good buy with the Family Plan, but why don't more people buy the Mazda?

I just said this in another thread, but it seems to me, if Japanese cars have became so popular and that is all people really want to buy anymore, why does Ford even try to produce cars? Why don't they just build pickups and SUV's and take all that money they have been spending in car engineering and send it over the ocean to Mazda. Mazda would do A LOT more with that cash then the US engineers can. Sell the divisions like Jaguar that are not making any money and take that money to buy a bigger stake in Mazda. Cancel Lincoln and give those dealers Volvo and again whatever money is being spent on Lincoln/Mercury can now be spent on Volvo. In the end you would have Ford trucks and SUV's, Mazda cars and crossovers, and Volvo luxury vehicles. In the future this might make a lot more business sense then to keep putting a blue oval on a car when nobody will buy it no matter how good it is. If you can't beat the Japanese why not join them? Mazda given those kinds of resources and a much larger dealer network would take off like wildfire. They would give Toyota, Honda and Nissan a run for their money. Ford might still be a good brand name on a pickup or a BOF SUV, but most people just won't consider a Ford for a passenger car anymore. Also, the media would welcome a much stronger Mazda to take on the other big Japanese brands, where a good Ford car like the Fusion won't even get a second look. The Ford brand just does not sell well anymore. Oh and the Mustang. Well the Mustang could be marketed as a Mustang at the Ford-Mazda dealers. Everyone knows what it is. It is a brand name in it's own.

If everyone wants Japanese cars anymore why doesn't Ford just drop their car line and plow all of their resources into Mazda. The dealer network then could market Mazda cars and crossovers and Ford Trucks and BOF SUV's. I bet if Mazda's dealer network was expanded like that and Ford sent a lot more money over to the engineers in Japan, they could compete a LOT better with Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Even if you took the same exact car and applied both names to it, one Ford and the other Mazda, the Mazda would be seen as a better car not only by many people, but by the press as well.

I'd take a Mazda 3 over a Civic anyday.

First of all a lot can happen in 15 years so it is hard to predict where Ford Motor Company will be in the year 2020. They could become a very strong company again. We can't write them off yet. I do think however GM is on the crash course right to bankruptcy. Ford has many of the same issues, but less of them and it is a smaller company. GM is just a huge brute that has so many issues I don't see how they will ever get better before they file. Of course, I am one that believes bankruptcy would be the final nail in the coffin for GM. Who wants to buy a car from a company that you are not sure will be around in a year or two? If GM goes down there would be some backlash that might help Ford over the imports, but there are so many people in the US now cheering for Ford and GM to both go broke who knows? Everyone is so in love with Toyota that it might not matter anymore. A possible merger? Maybe, but I can promise the Ford family won't let that happen easily. Bill will do about everything before that. You can't tell me that there is not a lot of pride in having your name on millions of vehicles. I don't see where a merger would benefit any of the Japanese brands except for Honda. They would love to get the F-series and rebrand it the H-series. My guess if there was a merger the combined companies would go by Honda because everyone wants a Honda anymore. If it was a Honda H-150 it would probably sell better even if it was the same pickup. That is how sad people have became. Toyota does not want anything to do with Ford or GM. The only paring that I could see is Honda-Ford, but I don't know if Honda really wants to try and beat Toyota or not. A Ford buyout would give them a huge dealer network and a good line of trucks and BOF SUV's. They and Toyota would then be in battle for number 1 and 2. Last, one thing that is never discussed is GM trying to merge with Ford. I know it sounds crazy and Ford would never accept that deal because it would only make them a weaker company, but I could see them come to them in a year or two and hope that with a combined company they would have more resources to tackle Toyota. I think whatever happens in 15 years it is safe to assume that Toyota will be far and away the largest builder of vehicles. I will be positive and say that there is a 60% chance that FoMoCo will still be independent in 15 years. I think Bill Ford is very passionate about his company. Watch Bill speak about Ford Motor Company and then watch Rick Wagoner speak about GM. I can promise there are not a lot of CEO's out there with the exception of Steve Jobs with Apple that would come on stage and say, "I love this Company" and really mean it.