bzcat

Do you get a lot of customers asking for a big 5 seat SUV? Just curious

You just demonstrated my point why you can't have "P" in the shift continuum if there are no physical gated position for each gear. It's not a logical operation. At different points in time, you either push or pull to engage "R". If you are not going to have physical gated position, you should just eliminate "P" as a possibility. If you eliminate "P" from PRND, then the logic is clear - you always push to get "R" and pull to get "D". It's very intuitive. Notice the similar systems on Audi and BMW... to engage "P" you push a button that is separate from the RND shift continuum. There is no confusion about which directional gear you are in.

I gave plenty of examples before. It's fine if you refuse to acknowledge that segment exists but as long as every car company out there think it exist Ford probably should too. Jeep Compass & Patriot, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Subaru XV, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, Renault Kadjar, Nissan Qashqai, VW Tiguan, Skoda Yeti, Seat Ateca, Peugeot 4008, Suzuki S-Cross, Audi Q3, Mercedes GLA, BMW X1, Infiniti QX30... Do I need to keep going? I haven't even mentioned any of the Chinese car companies or models intended for the emerging markets from established car companies. Ford sells a Focus hatch and a Focus wagon. Why? Because some people like one that is short while others like one that is long. Right now, Ford only sells a long CUV. They are leaving a lot of sales on the table for a short C-segment CUV.

FCA tried to switch to the detent-less shifter but didn't address the inherent conflicting logic it presents. If you are doing detent-list, you can't have a "park" position on the shifting continuum.

At least the British engineers would have heard of IIHS since they sold their cars here before Ford got involved with them. The problem with FCA was Sergio's insistence that Alfa be developed in Italy instead of Detroit where all the FCA expertise for RWD and large vehicles are located. These guys were entrusted with developing the next gen large vehicle platform when most of the expected volume were going to come from Chrysler 300, Dodge whatevers, and Jeep Grand Cherokee. Great plan!

I predicted these 4 last time and I'm sticking by the list: 1. B-segment CUV: not EcoSport, which is too small to be B-segment given how big the other competitors are in this segment. Think EcoSport but longer and wider - around 4.2 meters long. 2. C-segment short CUV: not Escape, which is on the large side of the segment - this car may or may not come to US but is critical missing element in Ford's CUV line up. Think C-Max but with optional AWD and lots more plastic cladding - this will be around 4.4 meters long. 3. Bronco: It won't be Everest with a different name... that's contradicts with the claim that it will be a new segment. This SUV will be more like Wrangler or FJ Cruiser than Everest or 4Runner. 4. Lincoln Explorer: It won't be called Aviator or MKT but something on the CD6 platform that can compete with the likes of Mercedes GLE, BMW X5, Audi Q7, Land Rover RRS, Volvo XC90 etc. This is Ford's CUV/SUV line up now... you can see where the holes are: A-segment/mini compact (under 4 meters): EcoSport B-segment/subcompact (~4.2 meters): nothing C-segment short/compact (~4.4 meters): nothing C-segment long/compact (~4.6 meters): Escape/Kuga D-segment 5 seat/midsize (~4.8 meters): Edge D-segment 7 seat/midsize (~5 meters): Edge E-segment/large (over 5 meters): Explorer Compact-ish offroad SUV: Troller T4 Midsize-ish offroad SUV: nothing (upcoming Bronco) Midsize family SUV: Everest Large family SUV: Expedition B-segment/subcompact luxury SUV: nothing (but I don't really see Lincoln going there, at least not for a while) C-segment/compact luxury SUV: MKC D-segment 5 seat/midsize luxury SUV: MKX D-segment 7 seat/midsize luxury SUV: nothing (but there really isn't much of a market here I think) E-segment/large luxury SUV: nothing unless you think MKT is a thing (upcoming Lincoln Explorer)

The video shows the flaw... if you are in park, you have to pull down to shift in reverse, which is the opposite logic. and if you are in drive, you have to push up to reverse. The alternating logic is what trips people. In BMW, you always push up to reverse and always pull down to drive.

I don't want to interrupt your performance piece But you pull back once to put it in drive when you start the car (or if the transmission is in park). You do need to push forward 3 times to put it in park if the transmission is in drive, which is why FCA failed. With BMW or Audi, you push a button to put the transmission in park, which is a completely different operation than "drive" or "reverse" so people adopt to it without problem.

This is what happens when you give the job to engineers that do not know IIHS crash protection parameters. If this platform was developed in the US instead of Italy, I doubt it will have problem passing crash tests.

I don't think a lot of people really understand what is going on in Japan. First, you have the issue with kei cars. Suzuki is the only one that wants to keep things the way it is because it is dominate player in that segment. Everyone else thinks the Japanese Govt should amend its tax code so kei cars can evolve to become more like A-segment cars in the rest of the world. So Suzuki is unlikely to be involved in any merger unless it sees that the Japanese Govt is ready to kick its butt to the curb. Second, the car industry in Japan is already aligned in 3 different groups (leaving Suzuki aside for the moment because it doesn't sell many non-kei cars). You have Toyota, which controls Subaru and has a tight leash around Mazda too. You have Renault-Nissan, which essentially keeping Mitsubishi alive. And you have Honda, which will remain independent until the end of the universe. Not a lot of actual Western-style consolidation will take place over in Japan for the foreseeable future because there is no need. You will just see these brands become more specialized as directed by Toyota and Renault. For example, Subaru has already exited subcompact cars and kei cars and will focus on the US market. Mazda will likely see that its room to maneuver greatly limited by Toyota in the next few years. Mitsubishi will likely exit the car business altogether and just focus on SUVs given Nissan's dominance in cars in Japan. Eventually, these companies will end up sharing resources and engineering but I don't see outright takeovers. Suzuki is its own special case. The value of the company is all locked up in India. Suzuki is the leading brand in India and this was the reason why VW wanted a piece of that company. But buying into a Japanese company is generally not thought of as a good business strategy. I can't really envision anyone trying to buy Suzuki and inheriting a dead end kei car business and the bureaucratic Japanese business culture just to get a seat at the Indian market table. So I think the most likely outcome is that Suzuki will eventually enter into some sort of partnership with another company to develop merging market deathtrap* cars - and that company won't be Toyota as these pundits are speculating because Toyota already owns Daihatsu and it does pretty well on its own. * deathtrap car is not literal, just means value engineered to market-specific cost points.

Looks like Explorer Sport but with 2.3 Ecoboost instead

The shifter is nearly identical to the one Audi uses. And also identical in logic to the BMW shifter. But with one major difference... the BMW and Audi shifter doesn't have a "park" position - In BMW or Audi, you push a button to put the car in "park". These shifter work the same where you push forward to "reverse" and pull back to "drive" with "neutral" in between the two directions (so if you are in "drive" and need to reverse, you push forward twice). The shifter returns to a fixed position after you push or pull on it rather than staying in a physical gated position. Looks like where FCA failed is that they tried to applied the old PRND logic on a new form factor (requiring you to push forward 3 times to "park"). With the BMW or Audi shifter, I have to say that once you get use to this setup, it makes a lot of sense... there is really 3 different settings and the logic makes sense if you are transitioning over from driving a manual (which also has no "park"). But it does take a few days to transition from a traditional gated PRND automatic shifter to one of these. Is it change for change sake? Maybe... but the PRND shifter was itself a huge change that people got used to very quickly once they made the transition from other shifter patterns. I think FCA's only went half-way on the change and that's why it is confusion the heck of out people - it's neither here nor there.

Not to mention $84k is pretty typical transaction price for Escalade... this is not a new price limit that Cadillac is probing.

Thanks for the info on Transit Custom. Didn't know it had LWB option. S-Max and Galaxy is too much. I think S-Max survives with Edge. C-Max will be around I think but Ford will need to rethink its purpose and role. Grand C-Max is probably not necessary. A-segment is dead? It's the 3rd largest segment in Europe after B- and C-segment with about 1.5 million units of sales. Opel Karl Opel Adam VW Up! Skoda Citigo Seat Mii Peugeot 108 Citroen C1 Toyota Aygo Fiat Panda Fiat 500 Renault Twingo Smart ForFour Hyundai i10 Kia Picanto Ford Ka

We already have a thread about San Luis Potosi. Do we really need to start a new one? http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?/topic/60701-new-ford-auto-plant-for-mexico/

The spy photos look like the mid cycle facelift for EcoSport. Still don't think Ford will sell this car here in the US. Too small to compete properly with the other B-segment CUVs. I'd guess we will get the next generation, which I hope is being prioritized over Fiesta - there must be a reason why Fiesta is running so late?

It's just the European spec Figo. I speculated in the other thread that Ford will produce this car in Romania for the EU market to replace the expensive Fiat sourced European Ka. Ford makes 3 different versions of this car: 1. Figo (Indian and South African market hatchback) / Ka (South American markets hatchback) 2. Figo Asipire (Indian market "4 meter" sedan with short trunk) 3. Ka+ (south American markets sedan with normal size trunk) My guess is Ford will sell the hatchback in all EU markets and the normal size sedan in selected Eastern European markets.

Toyota and Nissan each sells a few hundred Landcrusier 70 series and Patrol pickups and vans in Australia a year for rough road use so that's the size of the market. With a diesel F-150 with modern safety and creature comforts and RHD, Ford will takeover that market overnight, plus what's left of the Falcon ute market in the cities and suburbs. But that's really a tiny market for Ford to invest in RHD. Toyota and Nissan can do it because they are selling legacy products that doesn't require any new investments.

There is no way GM will sell the Zeta IP to this company so it can turn around and compete with it. Things were different when GM was in bankruptcy and selling a non-core Kappa platform IP was seen as a good way to raise cash.

Looks like Ford is including the Jiangling Brand (JMC) SUVs an pickup truck in its sales total now (Ford has majority control of Jiangling). The restructuring of Jiangling a couple of years ago spun off the Isuzu operation and the Landwind brand into separate companies owned by the Provincial and local Govt entities, and the JMC brand and Jiangling Ford were folded into the new Jiangling Motors that is majority owned by Ford. So technically, Ford does sell trucks in China

Here is my take on how Ford should update the line up in Europe: Passenger vehicles A-segment: Need to find a way to sell the new Ka and Figo in Europe to replace the expensive Ka that Ford buys from Fiat. The problem is there is not enough production capacity in low cost countries. Potentially, Ford can set up Ka/Figo/EcoSport line in Romania if B-Max bites the dust. B-segment: Need a new B-segment CUV. Also Fiesta is long overdue. C-segment: Replace the 5 seat C-Max with a crossover like Nissan Qashqai or Jeep Compass. Add 7 seat option on the next Escape/Kuga and drop the Grand C-Max. Add a "cross" version of Focus wagon. More Focus (or Focus based) EV and PHEVs. D-segment: Consolidate S-Max and Galaxy into one model. Ford obviously doesn't need two of them but since they are basically Ford Edge with MPV body, keeping one of them around is probably not that expensive. Add Mondel wagon "cross". E-segment: Explorer is a small niche market in EU but probably profitable one if Ford finally put a diesel engine in it. Commercial vehicles B-segment : Transit Courier probably too specialized (i.e. too different from Fiesta). Make the next one just an extended Fiesta. C-segment: Transit Connect seems to be working so not much change here. D-segment: Transit Custom can probably use more investment. Could use a LWB version to fully compete with VW Transporter. And keep in mind VW Transporter is actually 4 different models: VW Kombi (cargo van), VW Shuttle (commercial wagon), VW Caravelle (family wagon), VW Multivan (VIP transport). Right now Ford only competes with VW Kombi and Caravelle (i.e. Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom). Ford should add a Vignale version here to compete with Multivan and Mercedes V-Class. Fullsize: Transit van is already the most dominate fullsize van in Europe so just keeping doing what works. Pickup: Ranger seems to be doing fine in Europe but I suspect there is probably some growth left on the table on some higher end models. Vignale subbrand: Focus, Kuga, Mondeo, Edge, Explorer, Tourneo Custom

The Middle East is probably the only place besides North America where our fullsize trucks can roam free (well, cheaply). Gas is cheap and roads are wide since everything is basically build from scratch from the 1970s on so they've incorporated the form factors of typical American cities with 10 feet wide lanes on the roads and lots of free fullsize parking lots everywhere. Australia probably is another place where fullsize trucks works well but the market is too small for the Big 3 to really focus on (it being RHD and all, involves too much investments). The GCC Countries (Gulf Cooperation Council - Bahrain, Kuwait, Omen, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE) accepts US FMVSS so any US-spec cars can be sold there without expensive modifications.

Let's wait and see how the updated Fusion and new Continental will do to boost the car side of the ledger. Right now, Ford is doing very well on pickup trucks, vans, and SUV,

Lincoln and Ford Mustang and Explorer and probably some left over old Edge. Hard to envision Ford China outselling US without another massive investment to increase production capacity.

You guys should read his other medium posts before piling on Elon. This guy is a professional complainer. I don't necessarily agree that he deserves to have his order cancelled but Tesla likely saved themselves from a long series of unproductive and open ended customer service "requests". And look, by having his order cancelled, he is getting so much more media exposure... so I'm inclined to believe that he was probably being very rude or unreasonable on purpose in his correspondence with Tesla, inclusive of Elon. This is what he wanted... to make a scene.