focus05

Go back and look at the NA concept. The three-bars actually looked fine there. Don't get your panties all in a knot yet. I still remember when people thought that the 2008 Focus was going to be a 2007 with two bars for the grille.

I expect they will make the D-platform vehicles a stretch of the CD-platform. So, the Taurus will continue to be bigger than the Fusion, but it won't be quite as large on the outside as the current Taurus. However, I do expect it to be as large on the inside. Ford's starting to design for maximized interior space (see Fiesta, and the C-Max concept). And then, yes, you'll have the dedicated 200+ hp starter in the Taurus (like a turbo'ed 4-cyl) and a 160+ hp starter in the Fusion (likely an even smaller turbo'ed 4).

I thought the 2.0 in the next-gen Focus was supposed to be DI and get 40+ mpg highway. I believe it's the same engine, although I could imagine Mazda doing some additional work beyond what Ford was working on. But basically, it is the same engine as the 2.0 Ecoboost without turbo as I understand it. Could be completely wrong. I'm just trying to remember old articles I've read.

Well, they've been planning the MY changeover since Q1 - long before C4C was even put together. The suppliers would have been prepared for changes by then... but if Ford had acted a bit more definitively earlier, they coudl have shored up inventory. But, shifting their MY changeover more than a week or two that late in the game is usually impossible. So, it's a combination of bad luck and slightly poor planning/modeling when the C4C program was gaining some legs.

In all fairness, I imagine a lot of people had vacation plans already set for the week. I do somewhat criticize Ford for this one - they didn't have perfect visibility, but I bet they could have built a better risk model and produced some extra units. The planned downtimes for the Focus and Escape right in the middle of C4C was just really bad luck to some extent. And it's not like all overtime is cancelled. It's just these two days that they had hoped to be up and weren't. Still sucks... but clunkers is almost over, and I guarantee you that demand will fall significantly for the next couple weeks.

The fleet leasing center said Job1 is tentatively set for 2/15.

I'm hoping the 1.0 makes it over here before too long. That car would probably be capable of getting 50 mpg hwy and upper 30s in the city. If Ford sticks DI start-stop into it, I could see the city number climbing to 40-ish (except when I want to have fun).

For trucks, the minimum improvement is 2 mpg. There is no min mpg requirement. So, if you trade in your 2001 SuperCrew F-150 with 4wd and a 5.4, you can trade into a brand spankin new SuperCrew F-150 with a 5.4 and 2wd. If you're trading in a 6.8 V10 Excursion or SuperDuty, you can buy any F-150 currently built.

I think it's the overhangs and the fact that the back isn't as square. In total it's only about 4" longer, I think, but it feels like the overhangs give it an extra-long feel.

New Fusions and new Mustangs are all over Boston this weekend. And not many have been rentals. There have also been several Flexes, some rentals and some retail.

I must be the only person who actually likes the MKX in total. I like the front grille, even chromed, especially in Black or Sangria Red on the body. Don't love it, but it's definitely unique. If I were willing to spend that much money on a car (I'm a cheap bastard ultimately), I would totally go for an MKX.

Never thought there would be so much Ford defending on TTAC: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/point-of-...-federal-money/

They live in Dayton and ended up buying from Hidy Ford, I think.

Bingo... and I suspect that we will see some more consolidation/closing over the next year as dealers with weaker financial positions and competing dealerships in their market succumb to Ford's tightening inventory grip. Of note, I expect Ford's days of inventory to come in under 50 at the end of July.

Interesting... My parents were trying to get a hold of Germain Ford to buy a Focus Coupe through the Cash for Clunkers and were getting 0 responses. They had bought their Mustang there last year and liked them, but couldn't understand why they hadn't heard back. They ended up going to a closer dealer that had about what they were looking for. The local dealer had already done 10 Clash for Clunkers by Saturday mid-day. Inventory around SF will get updated Monday, and I'll be interested to see what it looks like. I've already seen two Escapes and one Focus with dealer tags around, so I suspect Ford is having a good weekend.

Job1 was June 15. It was originally 5/4, but the economic slow-down pushed Fusion production out and Ford would have had two overlapping launches for two cars that may share customers.

We know the Explorer is getting it. Ford's been talking about a "30 mpg Explorer" for over a year now. I would suspect that the Edge, Fusion, Taurus and their siblings (MKX, MKZ, MKS) will get it too - possibly all by early 2011. There probably is a point, though, when the returns of the engine are outweighed, literally by the size of the vehicle - I couldn't see this in an MKT, for example, without premium fuel and 250-260-ish torq minimum. I actually don't see this in the base Mustang until at least the new Ranger debuts and assuming the new Ranger carries the 2.0. They'd have to realign the engine for RWD applications. They've done that for the 3.5 because of the F-150, so the Mustang can get it relatively easily, but there is no other RWD applications right now for the 2.0, and I doubt Ford would spend a lot of time on just the Mustang.

I'm actually wondering with the positive adjustments that Ford will be able to book for their debt retirement and other special items if they'll have an accounting profit for Q2 (not operational of course). I can't see how Q3 and Q4 will be anything other than loss quarters operationally - but Ford has surprised before. I expect the first operationally positive quarter to be Q2 or Q3 next year - but that depends on a lot of factors like industry size, currency, commodity pricing, etc.

The 1.6 is Q4 in Europe, yes.

A while back, production of the 2.0L was supposed to begin in Q4 this year. I'm sure it's been delayed, but I'm sure we'll see it when the Explorer debuts - we might even see it before in the Fusion, Edge, MKZ or MKX.

I have seen a ton of '10 Mustangs around the bay area. About half have been rentals, half retail. You can tell when it's a GT just by sound - it's pretty amazing. I think the rear-end actually looks good, and the car itself looks pretty fit - like it went to the gym. Camaro better get its sales in now, because Ford's going to clobber them next year if the 3.7 and 5.0 are everything they've been hyped to be.

I think the distinction between job1 in late-June/early-July and late-August/early-September is "still on schedule" in Ford's world. If I understand things, we're talking about a minor delay, which probably won't affect the debut show (NAIAS?), the model year or significantly hinder profitability. So, yeah, they won't hit their early summer Job1, but they'll hit late summer Job1.

There has recently been lots of talk about "continual improvement." And, I am happy to say that one bright spot has convinced that maybe, just maybe, Ford has completely left its ways of the past. The Edge/MKX fuel economy ratings for 2010 are nice improvements (even if they aren't substantial, they are visually pleasing) over 2009. FWD: 18/25 (20) v 17/24 (19) AWD: 17/23 (19) v 15/22 (18) I find it interesting that Ford is now basically back to its pre-2008 re-rating mileage figures when the Edge launched with ratings of 18/25 and 17/24, I believe. That's about a 5%-ish improvement since launch, which never would have happened outside of a refresh or new major drivetrain component in the past, and it gives the Edge one final card to play in its last 6-9 months of production before the new models come out for 2011.

The official target was 75k. Had been the entire run-up to the launch. Farley came in and said at a press conference in NY, I believe, that he could see the vehicle hitting 100k in the right market. Well, the Flex launched in the middle of the worst market - high gas prices and then collapse of the financial industry. 75k in a 15-16M market is about equal to 50k in a 10-11M market. The Flex will probably move 40-45k, so they aren't far off their mark. Just bad timing.

I still kind of wish they'd bring the 4.0 I-6 from Australia over for the F-150. I think that could be an excellent base engine. I think the real question is: is there room in the line-up for much under the 5.0? If the 5.0 is going to be rated 15/20 or 15/21, what's the best mileage - short of an Ecoboost - Ford can get out of the pickup? 16/21, maybe 16/22. Would a 3.7 or any 6-cyl be worth that small gain? It seems like any 6-cyl or low-end V8 is simply a cost play on Ford's part - not a mileage play.