P71_CrownVic Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Despite the lack of a formal announcement (nor any real surprise), the Detroit News has the inside scoop on Ford's plan to close its Ontario plant after production of the Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car ceases, likely by the end of 2010. The 2.6-million square foot facility currently employs over 2,400 workers and has built a number of models, ranging from the Pinto to the Escort. Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) president, Buzz Hargrove, admitted to the News that, "There's nothing we can do to save St. Thomas," but we think there is. Convince Ford that the livery market is still dependent on the Panther-platform stalwart, despite New York City's vow to make all of its taxis hybrids in the next few years, and revamp the current car to be all things to all cops by fitting a new V8, a custom, police-friendly interior and anything else the boys (and gals) in blue could want. AB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemiman Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) AB WTH? Wixom had best quality @ Ford: Closed. Now STAP has best quality @ Ford: Closing. ????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????? Edited December 10, 2007 by Hemiman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 WTH? Wixom had best quality @ Ford: Closed. Now STAP has best quality @ Ford: Closing. ????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????? STAP and Wixom likely both would have required some of the highest level of investment to keep them modern too. Therein lies the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim kakouris Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 they are closing because they produce a product that is going away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 On the other side of the coin, maybe we get something newer, better and with more fuel economy. Aussie Falcon switches to corporate V6 (and V8) in 2010, V6 mules are already undergoing testing. Ford Aus wouldn't be allowed to spend resources on the V6 conversion if Falcon wasn't continuing..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman100 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 I wonder which product is being discontinued in order to move Panther production to that factory here in the States. I cannot believe Ford would be dumb enough to end production of the Panther, but nothing really surprises the "Bold Moves" of the "New" Ford Motor Company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 I wonder which product is being discontinued in order to move Panther production to that factory here in the States. I cannot believe Ford would be dumb enough to end production of the Panther, but nothing really surprises the "Bold Moves" of the "New" Ford Motor Company. The Panthers are dead. Get over it. It's 2007. Time for something new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SysEng Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 I cannot believe Ford would be dumb enough to end production of the Panther... GMC announce a "writeoff" last month worth more than the entire company. How long do you think GMC can keep that up? In the same vein, I suspect Ford will go Chapter 11 before STAP gets closed. You don't make stupid moves year after year and stay in business for long, even if Uncle Sam is trying to keep you afloat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 they are closing because they produce a product that is going away. And because Buzz bargained away his only selling point to keep work in Canada. The cost savings because of universal healthcare. Now that the Loonie is on par with the dollar, Canada is the most expensive place in the world to produce a vehicle because of the CAW contracts. Will the CAW give concessions like their UAW brethren to keep their plants open? According to Buzz's comments, no they will not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Makes a lot of sense. The Panther replacement should require a completely new physical plant to support all the tooling and robotics, and Ford has a lot of places to start with a clean sheet of paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P71_CrownVic Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 The Panthers are dead. Get over it. It's 2007. Time for something new. Since when did holding 80% of a particular market = dead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P71_CrownVic Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 On the other side of the coin, maybe we get something newer, better and with more fuel economy. We should be getting that anyway...and getting rid of the D3 failures. That being said, Ford can continue to make money even if STAP is a fleet only plant. The TC has the limo market and the CV has the police/taxi/government market. There really is no need for the GMQ...even though it's retail sales outnumber the Sables sales every month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Since when did holding 80% of a particular market = dead? When that segment is unprofitable compared to retail, becoming more competitive, and shrinking. Any profit advantage those cars have will be/would be erased to bring it up to date and more competitive, unless Ford came up with a way to expand retail customers at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) Forgive me while I do a little dance over the Panther's grave. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to see this obsolete fleet dinosaur pass into history. 2010 can't come here soon enough to clean up the shop. Nothing against the workers of course, but the company will die if its forced to keep that car in production any longer. Edited December 10, 2007 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Since when did holding 80% of a particular market = dead? Because Ford anticipates that market will decline significantly by the end of 2010. Competition from Chrysler and GM will only increase in the next two years. By then, Ford will be on a new RWD platform..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P71_CrownVic Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 Forgive me while I do a little dance over the Panther's grave. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to see this obsolete fleet dinosaur pass into history. 2010 can't come here soon enough to clean up the shop. Nothing against the workers of course, but the company will die if its forced to keep that plant open any longer. And what are the D3s doing for the company???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) And what are the D3s doing for the company???? I don't know, making money and selling to real people? Or...improving safety, fuel economy, and overall customer satisfaction (you know, the real kind)? Edited December 10, 2007 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P71_CrownVic Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 Because Ford anticipates that market will decline significantly by the end of 2010. Thats because Ford is run by complete morons. Of course the market will decline if you don't improve your product. The CV is STILL ahead of the Impala and Charger in many key areas...namely space, durability, maintenance costs, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 And what are the D3s doing for the company???? :shrug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P71_CrownVic Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 I don't know, making money and selling to real people? Or...improving safety, fuel economy, and overall customer satisfaction (you know, the real kind)? The GMQ outsells the Sable every month! And thats not including fleet sales. The D3s aren't making money. Ford was still paying for the 1st gen D3s when they redesigned them for 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) The GMQ outsells the Sable every month! And thats not including fleet sales. The D3s aren't making money. Ford was still paying for the 1st gen D3s when they redesigned them for 2008. It's remarkable to me that we have all of these armchair quarterbacks telling Ford what a stupid financial move it is for Ford to kill these cars while the D3 is not making money because Ford is still paying for it. Whaa?!! Ford understands its financial and marketplace position on these products far better than ANYBODY here. Making assumptions about margins is ridiculous. Ford killed the Taurus, its bestselling car because it was bad for the company for MANY reasons. Ford still is shedding its dependency on orphaned rebate/fleet happy products. The Panthers are the last in line after Ranger. Edited December 10, 2007 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblood Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 So where's the Panther replacement??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) So where's the Panther replacement??? Sorry, bad joke (Couldn't help myself) Edited December 10, 2007 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinaw Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 So where's the Panther replacement??? Who says there's going to be a Panther replacement? That very well be one causality of the new, proposed U.S. CAFE standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 So where's the Panther replacement??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.