Trader 10

It’s definitely time for Ford to upgrade/replace its small 4 cylinder motors - the ng Escape will need them to be competitive.

I hope the engine choices include the 2.3 which to me would be a better choice than the 3.3.

The Sport model looked like the 2013 Fusion when it was introduced.

I believe the 2019 model year will be the swan song for the N.A. 3.5. I think the only remaining user of the 3.7 will be Transit Van unless Ford chooses to move it to the 3.3.

The 2019 Explorer will have a short production run. I believe production starts September 10th so about 5 months till CAP goes down.

Looks like Edge will be moving upmarket somewhat.

Just speculation on my part, but I think Nautilus will move to CD 6 and Edge stays FWD on C2.

The rotary gear selector is strange - why have it when it really doesn’t free up space on the console? Lincoln’s dash mounted push buttons are a nice solution. Other than the silly rotary shifter the 8 speed is the only notable change. The 2.0 has been available since the current model’s launch and the changes to the front and rear are slight. The Edge will be hard pressed to avoid double digit % sales losses when the new Explorer and Escape come out next year.

The new Explorer and Escape will no doubt rob a lot of Edge sales till the NG arrives (2022?).

There’s no proof that “cheap” car buyers (and the Fusion is not a cheap car) are any more disloyal than buyers of more expensive vehicles. If they are, then Ford’s in trouble with their strategy of moving buyers upmarket as they will need to attract wealthier customers that are currently buying something else.

Good post jpd, but how many of the Ranger sales will come at the expense of the F150? I’m going to guess about 1/3. I agree that the Ranger is needed but Ranger sales will be less profitable than F150’s. As for the assertion in an earlier post that the CX 430 Utility will sell 300,000 units, I highly doubt it - if it does it will likely steal much of that volume from other Ford utilities.

Im with you on the Edge and Explorer comments. The 8 speed is a nice addition to the 19 Edge but there arent any other major changes. Sales have been good- the refresh should keep them from slipping too much. Im good with the C2 model being evolutionary as long as weight can be cut and fuel economy improved. The big concern to me is the Escape. Sales are down substantially and the competition is brutal. Lets hope the new model is world class.

I have a 2011 2.5 Fusion and 2015 2.0 Edge. The Fusion gets 4 to 6 more more than the Edge (about 4 better city and 6 better on the highway). There’s no way in real world driving (not EPA ratings) that a 2.0 Edge gets within 1 mpg of a 1.5 Fusion. I like the Edge and the 2.0 ecoboost, but gas mileage isn’t a strong suit. Weight likely has something to do with it. The hybrids will add additional cost. I hope they won’t have a CVT.

The sedan announcement went way beyond stupidity - it showed incompetence. It will cost Ford millions the next few years in lost Fusion sales.

I don’t know how you can jump to the assumption that all Ford has to do is discontinue sedans and 350,000 or so former Fusion and Focus buyers will fork over 5 to 10 grand more for one sort of crossover type vehicle. Most won’t - they simply can’t afford to. Ford will have to bring a lot more well heeled buyers into the fold to pull this off. I hope they can but the risk is huge.

The Focus Active looks like a promising vehicle for Ford but the EcoSport simply doesn’t cut it. Ford would of been better off waiting for the next generation before introducing the EcoSport to North America. The reviews have been terrible - the car is overpriced and underpowered with terrible gas mileage. Hopefully the next generation will be miles better.

Where is the proof that Fusion fleet sales are not profitable? To suggest that Ford isn’t making a profit on Mexican made Fusions seems ludicrous.

Before everyone gets too euphoric, a reminder that Escape sales are down 13% YTD.

16 BEV’s should be taken with a pound or two of salt. Ford doesn’t have a good record as far as delivering on promises made by CEO’s. A few years ago it was something like 20 high performance models by 2018 or so and I don’t think we ever got all of them; a few years prior to that it was class leading fuel economy for all new models and that quickly went by the wayside.

What market isn’t very crowded? The SUV/CUV market certainly is just as crowded as the sedan market and the competition will only intensify in coming years. I’d wager that most Fusion sales are the mid level SE model and not the S model. You make a good point about Ford desiring to get an 8% margin which is great if they can do it. Will Ford be able to sell several hundred thousand vehicles a year at $3 to $5000 more than the vehicles being replaced? I don’t think that will be nearly as easy as some here seem to think.

This whole dog and pony show has been an effort by Ford to impress analysts and boost the stock price (nothing necessarily wrong with that if they wouldn’t have shot themselves in the feet). The thing that worries me is the bragging about cutting costs at a time when so many new models are being introduced.

People aren’t buying sedans? What Ford nameplate other than F150 sells as much as Camry or Accord? Sedans are declining but Ford will still sell about 175,000 Fusions this year and the model is long in the tooth. Ford brass is looking like a bunch of idiots the way they have handled the sedan cancelation announcement. Why, other than to impress analysts would Ford announce the cancelation of the Fusion 2 or 3 years before it happens? The announcement insures lots of buyers will look elsewhere. If they truly do have some sort of replacement simiIiar to what they are doing with the Focus, why would you not wait till your ready to announce the new vehicle before announcing the end of the Fusion?