MKII
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Posts posted by MKII
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Seats look better.
Dash makes me think truck
Exterior unbalanced, like the Focus had intercourse with all other brands and this mutt was born.
Tweaked dynamics should be a plus
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Its good to let the public know the Fusion can be had with AWD.
But is it not odd to compare FWD against a AWD car ?
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My interest in cars began when I saw the 1983 TB on the cover of Car & Driver.
The difference is that back in the 1980s there was a ton of low-hanging fruit in terms of product and process improvements, and the Japanese and Germans weren't nearly as strong as they are now.
Back to the OP, I thought that both it and the initial response were well-reasoned. How is this possible? Because there are very compelling arguments on both sides. Unless Ford is willing to replace the entire Mercury lineup in a very short timeframe, they will end up with a confusing mess. And if they do replace it, it will mean giving up pretty much all of the brand's existing customers in exchange for some it does not currently have. To my knowledge, this has never been done. Even Saturn has the advantage of having always been targetted at import owners.
Why would they have to totally switch customer bases? Because the new cars would be much different than the current ones and, more importantly, more expensive. The main reason we don't see more European products here is because they'd have to sell at VW prices. There's a limited market for non-premium-brand cars at VW prices. Just ask VW.
I'm very interested in seeing how Saturn solves this problem.
The Contour is actually a very good example. I owned a 1996 SE V6. Loved that car. From how it was put together and the content Ford clearly had a lot more cost in the car than they could hope to recoup at the prices they could charge in the U.S. They lost a ton of money on it. In later years they tried hard to take cost out, and the resulting car wasn't nearly as appealing.
A better strategy then, I think, would have been to try to sell 100k Contours to enthusiasts rather than 300k to the people currently driving Tempos. But this wouldn't have filled the plant. Same problem this time around. Importing Fords could be successful with the right strategy and realistic volume expectations. But because of the modest volumes, it wouldn't be a company-saving move.
On the Falcon, I haven't driven it, but suspect it isn't nearly as refined as the German cars it would have to compete with. Drive a Pontiac GTO to see what I mean. The car has definite strengths, but many details betray a lack of thorough design. When you're developing a car for a fairly small market, you cannot put nearly as much effort into it as the Germans put into their cars. It's got to be quick and dirty.
Also, Lincoln already offered consumers a 5-Series competitor. They didn't buy it. And, adjusting for the state of the competition, a Falcon-based Lincoln would not be as competitive as the LS was.
Euro Fords will not cost too much to be affordable. Just check the prices in Mexico, The Mondeo is actually cheaper then the Fusion. I took the liberty of converting some models from Mexican Peso to Canadian dollars.
The Mondeo in Mexico starts at MXN195,000 or CAD$20,750.00
The Fusion in Mexico starts from MXN197,600 or CAD$21,025.00
The Focus (MKII) sedan starts from MXN177,500 or CAD$18,886.00
FYI, the Focus ST starts from MXN284,000 or CAD$30,130.00
Fiesta hatch starts from MXN107,700 or CAD$11,459.00
MXN=Mexican Peso
At Ford N.A. cost-cutting and efficiency are the topic of the day. Whereas that topic ought to be how we beat the competition
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1) The reference to a decade of effort refers not to product, but to marketing. Ten years or more to get people to change their mind about Mercury. As I've said before, product is (comparatively) easier.
2) The plants making the most competitive EU vehicles are running at capacity. Ford reduced capacity in Europe a while back. EU was where NA is, about 6 or so years ago. In fact, EU spent much of the 90s as Ford's problem child.
The 'powerpack' assembly approach, where a fully dressed engine/transmission is dropped into the engine bay, or raised into it, is the standard for assembly now. That means that whatever hardware differences there are between EU and US vehicles would have to be taken care of where the powertrains are assembled. Fully dressed US spec engines/transmissions would have to be delivered to EU points of assembly. This makes the question of export to the U.S. a two plant question, not just a one plant. Ditto any possible issues with bumpers (supplied from a different plant), radios (supplied from a different plant), and wiring, in the event that the existing radio can't be reflashed, and the NA radio uses a different wiring harness.
By citing the stereo headunits (Ford does not share any headunits between EU and US), I'm using a single tiny example of a potential production hitch, point being that there are probably several of these, IPs (with large numbers in MPH, not Km/h) are another detail item, etc. Exporting to the U.S. would involve adjustments at maybe a dozen or more plants, and bear in mind that my belief is that this would be the EASY part of the process.
3) "I believe the product will speak for itself, much louder than the badge on the hood. The product will define the brand, the brand does not define the product."
I strongly disagree. Only over several years, will the product redefine the brand. Reflect that Jaguar still carries a stigma for poor quality, despite routinely outperforming almost all luxury brands on JD Power surveys.
In the immediate short term, the brand defines the product: Why else would the Corolla be so popular, and the Chevy Prizm be such a failure?
Look, it would be nice if the buying public at large was interested in product, and not what brands stand for, but that just isn't how the world works. Would equivalent products sell for equivalent prices at both Macy's and K-Mart? No. Brand matters. Even with cars, brand matters.
4) If you are going to bring over cars from Europe, you will need to anticipate comparisons with BMW and VW, and you will need to realize that those comparisons will likely be unfavorable, reflecting the negative associations of this brand, vis a vis VW and BMW.
With the Milan, Mercury has obtained a pretty nice number of conquest sales from VW, not because the Milan is perceived as being as European, or more European, than VW, but because it provides something that the VW's don't. A certain hint of sophistication, perhaps, or a better value proposition.
Also, the Mini was not an established brand. Building a brand from scratch is much easier than dealing with the now 67 years of Mercury history.
Finally, when a patient arrives at the ER near death, with a potentially paralyzing spinal injury, is the best response one that says, "Well, this guy's a goner--I've got a pet theory on how we can get him to walk again--of course it's never succeeded before, but I think it'll work"? Or is the best response one that addresses the immediate problems, leaving long-term recovery to tried and true methods (PT, etc.)?
A brand like Mercury that is on the razor's edge should not be gambled with. Anything that diverges from strategies that are proven, that have worked in the past, is an unacceptable gamble, IMO.
There's a tiny possibility that Mercury could be resurrected as a European brand, with a lineup of cars lifted from Europe, I wouldn't state outright that it's impossible (although I am fond of exaggerating to the point of impossibility).
However the odds of success are remote, compared to carefully rebuilding the brand through incremental improvement, and through product changes that do not represent startling departures from the immediate past.
Mercury, such as it is, is sustainable for the short-medium term. Shuttering it right now is cost prohibitive, and it would undoubtedly affect Lincoln, if Mercury were closed. But this should not be construed as a license to gamble with the brand.
Sustainability would be severely compromised, if Ford were to dramatically decrease gross margin through cancellation of the brand's two highest margin vehicles--the Mountaineer and GM, and settle for comparable volume from lower margin vehicles imported from Europe--if comparable volume could be obtained.
Keep the Mountaineer and the GM, and you have a bifurcated showroom and an incredibly difficult message to communicate to consumers, as to why this European division has this big ol' BOF grandpa-mobile.
You're stuck either slashing the gross profit of the division, or keeping it and having a confused (at best) message to consumers that can be reached only by a crystal clear message consistently delivered.
1st post.
Brand does matter, hence the reason I think Ford N.A. "should" replace the line up with the best product which are the better built,more efficient,more refined Euro Fords. Ford N.A. has an opportunity to clear the slate (current bad brand image, same as Jaguar) and wow the competition and consumer with very fresh and exciting designed Fords. Do not rebage as Mercury, Ford North America NEEDS all the help it can get as far as changing consumers perception first and foremost, not Mercury. Mercury selling 150,000 yearly,at the most is not going to help Ford N.A overall nose dive.
Euro Fords will not cost too much to be affordable. Just check the prices in Mexico, The Mondeo is actually cheaper then the Fusion. I took the liberty of converting some models from Mexican Peso to Canadian dollars.
The Mondeo in Mexico starts at MXN195,000 or CAD$20,750.00
The Fusion in Mexico starts from MXN197,600 or CAD$21,025.00
The Focus (MKII) sedan starts from MXN177,500 or CAD$18,886.00
FYI, the Focus ST starts from MXN284,000 or CAD$30,130.00
Fiesta hatch starts from MXN107,700 or CAD$11,459.00
MXN=Mexican Peso
Amd for Mr.Jensen, a great write up about "Brand Matters"
By CHARLIE HUGHES and WILLIAM JEANES
September 12, 2006; Page A20
Welcome to Ford and the car business, Alan Mulally. You have already called Ford an American icon, and you were right. Ford is the home team -- and most Americans are rooting for you to turn it around. But the cutthroat nature of the business ensures that your task will be difficult. Most of the cutthroats work for the competition; some of the people who want to cut your throat work for you. But you know that.
In the next few weeks, you will receive a lifetime supply of free advice. We limit our suggestions to three.
• Make the Ford brand the most successful brand in the world. Toyota is your new Airbus and you must beat them, world-wide. The creation of a dominant Ford brand is Job No. 1. As recently as 2000, four of the Top 10 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. were Fords. Today there is one, the F-series pickup. The Ford brand has always been the fountain of cash for the Ford empire. It provided the funds which allowed Ford to embark on its strange odyssey to purchase a collection of companies that ranged from Volvo to Land Rover to quick-lube companies to junkyards.
• Reduce the Ford Motor Company to three brands. Again, world-wide. It will require that level of focus to take on Toyota. In a world awash with brands, the brands winning the war have pathological focus. Toyota has basically sold one brand world-wide, and even if you count Lexus and Scion, it has only three. Tiny Porsche's focus on its brand allowed it to generate enough financial strength to buy 20% of Volkswagen -- which spent the last 20 years buying up every stray brand in Europe.
The three brands we recommend keeping are Ford, Volvo and Jaguar. Sell Land Rover, Aston Martin and Mazda. Shut down Mercury and Lincoln because it's unlikely that anyone would buy them. The three remaining brands all stand for something, are global brands and have no overlap.
You have been told that Jaguar is a lost cause hemorrhaging money. You need to ask why. We say it's a product lineup that relies principally on Ford platforms. Its one technically brilliant platform is dressed like an old lady. The other is stablemate brands that stifle Jaguar. Having Aston Martin prevents Jaguar from building the world's finest sports cars, and Land Rover precludes its building stylish crossovers. Though difficult, these problems are fixable, and Jaguar can once again be a viable alternative to a BMW, something Lincoln will never be.
The main reason for paring down to three brands is to return the Ford brand to global greatness. Will it be easy? No, and shutting down Mercury and Lincoln will be ungodly expensive. But why is it smart to reduce a workforce by 30,000 workers and shut 14 plants but not clear out weak or valueless brands?
• You must build a new culture at Ford. Even in the good years, Ford was a careerist culture in which stars changed jobs every 18 months. Executive progress took on the aspects of a fantasy football league. Ford has been losing share for five years. Cost-cutting and efficiency are the topic of the day. That topic ought to be how we beat the competition. The troops are demoralized by four years of relentless cost reductions and sacrifice. Toiling for low rewards under the constant threat of separation is hardly inspiring. And you need inspired colleagues.
Decentralize the company by its three brands. Put a strong person in charge of each and put them on the board. In an oversupplied market -- oversupplied by 24 million units the last we heard -- revenue is king. Encourage each brand to have its own culture, one that best attracts target customers. Keep the integrity of the brands intact and resist the temptation to parachute Ford experts into Volvo and Jaguar to tell them how to run their business.
Finally, permit us one more thought. Even a worried workforce will respond to a noble cause. One such crusade is returning Ford to the position of dominance it once enjoyed and can again.
Mr. Hughes is former CEO of Land Rover and Mazda. Mr. Jeanes is former editor in chief of Car and Driver
2008 Ford Focus Unveiled
in Focus Forum
Posted
If the silly buggars had of named this car something other then Focus, it would have been more acceptable. Focus is known as a euro styled car. Now this reskinned car is some kind of cross bred American/Korean looking vehicle.
I find it brutal that this car will wear the Focus name. Hopefully it does not make a mess for the 2010 C2 Focus, as far as consumers perception of what Ford Focus is/was.