Trader 10

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?

Is the 7X going to be in production in time for the 2019 model?

Bronco/Ranger probably 175K best case scenario and probably half of those sales would otherwise go to another Ford product. It’s ridiculous for Ford to infer they cant make a reasonable return on Fusion making it in Mexico. I bet Ford makes more money on Fusion than it does Escape.

If this article is accurate, it looks like Edge ands Nautilus will soon part ways. It describes the CD6 architecture as “unibody rear wheel drive car”. Hopefully we will get several cars from that platform and not just crossovers. It also mentions a new truck/SUV architecture. Wonder if the next F150 (2021?) will be on the new platform.

How the powers that be could have allowed this fiasco to continue for seven years is next to unbelievable.

All these studies need to be taken with a grain of salt as the authors are often biased. The lowest income households would be below the poverty level and many cannot afford a car at all. The environmental and safety regulations have brought benefits but the high cost of the regulations have put new car ownership out of the picture for more and more Americans.

I agree that today’s crossovers are fine vehicles but I would much prefer driving my 2010 Fusion to my 2015 Edge. The Edge feels ponderous compared to the Fusion and there’s no denying that crossover fuel efficiency is less than similar sized sedans. My 2.0 Edge average about 24 MPG while the 2.5 Fusion is about 30 MPG.

$60+ oil is encouraging lots of increased U S production (fracking) which will limit further price moves higher and probably push the market lower in coming months.

The article said ‘up to 110 lbs. lighter, depending on specification’.

The upgrades i was referring to would include the 8 speed and improvements to the 1.5/2.5 engines to make them competitive to the class leaders regarding fuel economy.

The lack of any powertrain upgrades is especially disappointing.

I don’t think there’s enough demand for diesels in anything other than trucks or commercial vans to make them worthwhile to be offered in cars or SUV’s. GM cant seem to move diesel Cruze or Equinox models.

My 2 cents - if its all about simplification and cost cutting, dropping the 1.5 would be a good move - it makes similar power compared to the 2.5 which you know is a lot cheaper to produce than the turbo. Make the 2.5 the engine for the S and SE models with the 2.0 used for SEL and Titanium.

Ford’s press release mentions nothing about upgraded 4 cylinder engines or the 8 speed which is what the car really needs. No mention of how much prices will increase with the added safety features.

Silvrsvt, you’re right - there is a lot of competition in the mid-size car market, but there’s just as much in the SUV/CUV arena. Ford last month sold about 17,000 Fusions which is a 200,000 /year pace despite its neglect. Ford would be downright stupid to throw that away. The Fusion should be making more profits than most of the competition due to cheap labor. The mid-size mkt may be shrinking, but its still huge.

I hope we find out there will be an MKZ replacement as well as a NG Fusion.

I was referring to the non HD truck line-up. I wonder if an enhanced 6.2 for the F250/350 is part of the 7x development.

I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of a v-8 in any car or SUV - Ford or Lincoln - other than the Mustang from here forward. I don’t see any new V-8’s being developed either. - just more improvements to the Coyote for the Mustang/F 150.

My 2011 2.5 Fusion, which I purchased new, has 201,000 miles with no repairs save a new battery 3 years ago. The 2.5 is an excellent engine that Ford has left unchanged since its introduction 8 years ago. As I’ve mentioned before, there’s no reason it couldn’t be updated into a class leading engine that would be a great base engine going forward for the Fusion, Escape, Transit Connect, and maybe Ranger. It’s got to be cheaper to build than the ecoboost 4 cylinders.

The Handler" Yup. I just looked at the new Expeditions and nearly had a heart attack. A whopping $52k for a base XLT. The slightly cheaper Yukon SLE I looked at had a far nicer interior. How did you feel when you looked in the back and saw the ridiculous load height and lack of room? It’s amazing GM can sell so many of these flawed SUV’s with the space robbing solid axle.

You’re right. And the new regime thinks the answer is more of the same.

Hard to see why Ford did so little on the 2017 MCE after the success enjoyed following the 2010 MCE that upgraded engines, transmissions, front & rear ends, and instrument panel.