Trader 10

As a Ford enthusiast, this angers me. You announce $4 billion in investment in July and then in April admit that you've overestimated the application? "The applications will be narrow because the problem is so complex"? Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows this. More evidence that idiots are running the company. How does Hackett survive this? They've announced billions in spending reductions to fund autonomous cars, money that is desperately needed to fund new vehicle development that would actually pay off. Oh well, what's $4 billion pissed away?

Mediocre? I don’t know that you could call it mediocre compared to a 76 Pinto. Built on an outdated platform, way underpowered and overpriced. It’s at the bottom of the new car pecking order.

I would think Ford would be ecstatic if the truck and Maverick sales total 150K. That leaves half or more of plant capacity unused.

What models is Ford planning to build at the Fusion plant? If I remember correctly, Fusion sold upwards of 350,000 units annually at its peak popularity. None of the upcoming models I’ve heard of will sell in very large quantities. Seems like it will be harder to make reasonable returns running multiple models in one plant. The assertion you’ve made earlier that Focus will eventually return makes sense as it probably will be necessary to get the plant to capacity (or nearer capacity). JP’s suggest of retaining Fusion/MKZ makes sense - I think Ford could still sell 50 - 75K total annually of theses two models for another five years or more if they would give them the new powerplants, reskin the exteriors and update the interiors. The cost to do this would be modest especially compared with developing entirely new models.

It’s a huge improvement over the current model. Whether or not there will be a need for the third shift will depend on pricing. Hopefully Ford isn’t into price gorging with the new model. Fuel economy will also be key - the current model isn’t even in the same league as RAV 4 CRV and Equinox.

The Escape was Ford’s best selling model in 2018 other than the F series. It’s very disappointing to see Ford eliminate a shift just before the new model is introduced. They may as well make the Maverick along side the Escape. Looks like they’ll have the capacity.

Well, it appears a lot of buyers are going elsewhere - Ford’s 2018 calender year car sales were off 17.7% and SUV sales were up just 0.1%.

How about the Grand Marquis De Sade model they seemed to mention each new model year.

It looks like a big improvement over the MKC. I wish Ford would adopt the dash mounted transmission controls to get rid of the rotary dial on the console.

The dash has a similar theme to the Explorer and is a welcome change from the current model. Let’s hope the engines are a big improvement over the current offerings.

As long as the 7.3 gets similar or better mileage compared to the 6.2 I would think Ford would discontinue the 6.2 in a year or two as the 7.3 has to be considerably cheaper to produce.

I’m guessing Ford would rather keep supplies tight to cut down on incentives and keep from eating into F150 sales.

There wasn’t much science and engineering involved here - just a bad business decision on a questionable at best concept. The mobility business is a big money pit of losses. Ford is foolishly chasing this with funds needed for future product development. One reason investors are concerned about the company.

The Silverado 2.7 I-4 has gotten pretty good reviews. The 2.3 Eco would provide better performance and fuel economy than the 3.3 with similar numbers to the Ranger given the F150 isn’t much heavier.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 2.3 Eco (or maybe a slightly bigger version of it) replace the 3.3 as the base engine in the next generation F150.

I would hope that the new Escape and Corsair are lighter. The 2.0 is overdue for a significant upgrade; hopefully that happens with the 2020 models. A 270 or so hp 2.0 should be enough for an Escape ST model.

I always thought synthetic oil roughly doubles oil life as long as a premium quality filter was used.

Running synthetic oil with a premium filter would mitigate some of the hassle as it should allow 10 to 15,000 miles between changes.

Amen. The 2.0 gives away nothing to the 3.5. Apparently the 3.5 will be discontinued when the Flex and Taurus die.

I can’t see Ford offering this in the U.S. Ford is exiting business they can’t make a good return on and this thing would have to be priced so high to get a decent return that sales would likely be very low. Compared to the Fusion sales would likely be far less and at lower prices.

I wouldn’t think Lincoln would offer anything less than the 2.7 in the Aviator. IMHO the 3.3 and 2.3 aren’t premium enough for this price point. I hope Lincoln offers just the 2 3.0 power plants in all versions.

“Fully competitive”? I suppose as long as you ignore powertrains. The Fusion is roughly 5 mpg less than Camry, Accord, Altima, and Malibu. Other than the limited volume Sport model, and swapping out the 1.6 for the similar 1.5, Ford has done nothing to upgrade the Fusion’s engines since the current car was introduced as a 2013 model and is using the same 6 speed auto. Everyone else is a generation ahead in powertrains.

That’s correct - the CN obtained trackage from Chicago to the Gulf when it acquired the Illinois Central RR in 1998.

Correct. My mistake.

2019 2WD F150 2.7 335 HP/400 Torque. 20/26/22.