Trader 10

It will also cannabilize Edge sales.

Excellent point. Rivian is a start-up which I don't believe has sold a single vehicle yet. Their truck platform may be of great use to Ford but also could turn out to be of little or no value. Time will tell.

Excellent points. In many parts of the country all gasoline is blended with 10% ethanol. Ethanol has about 75% of the energy of gasoline, so mileage is less. The blend is not exact -when ethanol is cheaper, relative to gasoline you are probably getting 12 or 13% ethanol which will yield slightly less mileage.

I agree with you - I just don't think Ford is much ahead of GM as far as an all electric pick-up.

We're talking about all electric vehicles - not hybrids.

I doubt that GM is very far behind if at all. They have said that they are working on an electric pick-up and GM has more experience building electric vehicles than does Ford. FCA is probably quite a ways behind both Ford and GM developing electric trucks.

The new Escape looks so bland to me - I wonder if buyers will be turned off by a model that is more expensive and conservatively styled than its predecessor. I know Ford will be counting on Maverick/Scout for those wanting something more exciting, but I'm sure that model will be even more expensive.

I don't think so. Too much competition in this segment, even from Ford (Bronco Scout).

Good points. Thanks.

Even using the optimistic side of sales leaves a lot of unused capacity considering the two plant capacities total roughly what - 700,000 units?

Yes, but Transit Connect and the pick-up will leave a huge amount of excess capacity.

To me the issue is the excess production capacity Ford will have with the 2 Mexican plants and the Edge/Flex plant once Fusion sedan ends. Will one of the plants be shuttered?

What?? Looks to me like Ford will have plenty of excess capacity in the two Mexican plants going forward.

Remember the Venza and Crosstour? That's wheat this rendering looks like to me. Those two are already dead and buried. I'm with Fuzzy - this won't sell well. I don't know why the small pick-up would have any bearing on the Fusion's schedule. It won't sell in any volume either.

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/07/12/2020-ford-bronco-everest-suspension-spy-shots/

Lots of bad publicity (well-deserved) in this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2019/07/11/ford-focus-fiesta-transmission-defect/1701433001/

You're comparing a new generation Escape to the Fusion that's been around 7 years in its current form. The 2019 Escape starts at $24015 and is being offered with a 20% discount just like Fusion. The point is a new Fusion sedan would be able to command higher prices - just like the 2020 Escape vs the 2019 Escape. Plus the cost savings Ford has in building the Fusion in Mexico.No argument that a Baja type model (which I think would be good along with the sedan) would be able to be priced higher - I just don't think sales would reach 50k/year given all the competition just from other Ford CUV's. The sedan market is slowing, but is still a large market and Fusion sales are up this year. It must still be generating a reasonable return, otherwise Ford wouldn't have committed to keeping it to at least 2023.

Amen. An Outback competitor with a Fusion nameplate would be fine, but a C2 or CD6 based sedan (whatever platform the NG Edge uses) would provide the volume Ford needs to cover a lot of the excess production capacity Ford looks like it will have. I believe a new Fusion sedan would be more profitable for Ford than the Escape, small pick-up, or Transit Connect.

That’s for sure! I doubt the four models you mentioned will meet production capacity at one plant, much less two.

I’m guessing that Ford (and all other auto makers) present their cars to testers in the best possible light. I bet the cars made available were broken in and well checked over mechanically before the testers got them.

Good question - especially given the price premium. Car & Driver also grumbled about the hybrid’s lack of refinement.

Autoblog said indicated mileage was 23.1 mpg for the hybrid and said other testers mentioned similiar mileage. Definitely disappointing if that turns out to be representative. It would make the hybrid option very expensive given mileage is similiar to the 2.3. I’m betting the 3.3 isn’t much faster than the 2.3.

Ford's research department is asleep at the switch given the apparent fact that no one opens a hood anymore. Why don't they take advantage of this? There's no need to waste money on prop rods, hinges, and releases. Just weld it shut.This would be package 400A (standard). On the slim chance a buyer would want to gain access to the engine make him/her pay for it. The 410A package would include a working hood with a prop rod for $1250. Those foolish enough to want the dangerous and failure prone gas charged struts would have to fork out $1500 for the 420A package. This of course would enable Ford to make more progress towards its 8% return target.

I agree. In my experience the 2.0 and 2.3 are smoother and quieter than any of the cyclone v-6's. I haven't driven a nano - I'm assuming they are a lot more refined than the Cyclone.

Agreed. And if it's not cheap, why do the Lincoln models have struts?