MERKURXR4Ti Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 (edited) Why can't we get more pretty engine bays like that? Attention to small details like what the vehicle looks like under the hood are things customers really do notice. The LOOK of the engine bay itself is one of the many things that attracted me to my '97 Cobra. Can't we at least get some nice engine covers on Lincolns? The underhood view on the MKZ is pathetic for a luxury car. It amazes me that people want to look at plastic covers in a sports car though, I want to see a freaking engine. As for a lincoln, might as well make it pretty. Edited February 27, 2008 by MERKURXR4Ti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 I had forgotten about South Africa (and friends) as well as India. Though there is some money in those places, we're not talking about a place that has a significant middle class at the moment. India has a growing one as a result of the outsourcing boom. South Africa's economy is modernizing and developing its own middle class, but, largely, they are still places of the Haves and Have Nots. Either you can barely afford a Nano, or, You can go out and get a Bugatti for your weekend car and still has your Mercedes AMG S63 as your daily junker to suffer through going back and forth to work when you please. Yes, probing these markets will get you a few sales, but, I'm just not sure that either market is developed enough to support a financially advantageous export setup for the Falcon. But, there are people with access to far more data than I have at my disposal that can make much more informed decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 (edited) Truth? we just plum ran out of money to do the LHD version. Ford NA wouldn't cough up the finance Because.......... the panther still sells well in the Middle East. Conflict of interest!!! I would love to be a fly on the wall in the meeting with Bill Osbourne and Derrick Kuzak. The old are blocking the upstart Falcon (and Fairlane). Ford never used to compete with itself but I can see a time coming soon when a decision will be made. Edited February 28, 2008 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Truth? we just plum ran out of money to do the LHD version.Ford NA wouldn't cough up the finance Because.......... the panther still sells well in the Middle East. Conflict of interest!!! I would love to be a fly on the wall in the meeting with Bill Osbourne and Derrick Kuzak. The old are blocking the upstart Falcon (and Fairlane). Ford never used to compete with itself but I can see a time coming soon when a decision will be made. Well, according to the recent interview posted with Alan Mullaly, Ford WILL be getting a new RWD platform in North America. No rumors. Fact. I can't see them NOT developing it with the next gen Falcon with him at the helm. I'm guessing part of the reason LHD was ditched for Orion also had to do with the need for an all-new, more flexible platform that would replace it in a few years' time. No sense developing a dead-end platform. We'd end up with something like DEW-98 that, while great for its particular application, was completely inadequate for expanded use by other parts of the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Well, according to the recent interview posted with Alan Mullaly, Ford WILL be getting a new RWD platform in North America. No rumors. Fact. I can't see them NOT developing it with the next gen Falcon with him at the helm. I'm guessing part of the reason LHD was ditched for Orion also had to do with the need for an all-new, more flexible platform that would replace it in a few years' time. No sense developing a dead-end platform. We'd end up with something like DEW-98 that, while great for its particular application, was completely inadequate for expanded use by other parts of the company. It's definite that both divisions have been in discussions since late 2006. Good article here: FG Falcon: Platform previews global reach A native of Detroit, Michigan, with a background in engineering, Mr Osborne revealed that the FG platform about to be placed into service could “evolve” to the global RWD architecture, which is due to be implemented in the US by early next decade, potentially shortening the new Falcon’s traditional lifecycle by as much as half. “It could be that this (FG) platform evolves to the global rear-wheel drive platform. We just don’t know. But one thing is very certain – we are consolidating platforms, and, ultimately, I believe that whatever platform that we use for rear-wheel drive products will be sold around the world. “Our plans generally call for a 10-year cycle on any given model. Now, that’s not unusual for that to be short-cycle if a new platform comes into play. It’s not unusual for a given platform to grow and develop into further products. It just depends on, really, what happens in our product plans,” he said. Mr Worthington confirmed that Australia was involved in developing the global RWD program and said he was “confident” his team would end up playing “the right” role. “We have a seat at the table with global rear-wheel drive,” he said. “A lot of the pre-planning with ‘bandwidth’ – what size it should be – all of that work is happening, and we are definitely part of that process. “But at the end of the day, we work for a global company and there are skills and experience all around the world … The advantage we’ve got right now is that we have this great car that senior people in the company have driven. “At the end of the day, all those decisions have still got to be made, but I feel pretty confident that we’ll play the right role.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P71_CrownVic Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 The old are blocking the upstart Falcon (and Fairlane). Ha...the only thing the Panthers are doing is bringing in money for Ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Ha...the only thing the Panthers are doing is bringing in money for Ford. I did use the term upstart Falcon and hey, it's gonna have to be pretty good in the eyes of Ford Middle East to unseat the the appeal of the "Big Americans". There's no left hooker developed so as for that happening soon - no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Ha...the only thing the Panthers are doing is bringing in money for Ford. Ah yes. Nothing like a declining revenue source on which to base the future of your company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P71_CrownVic Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Ah yes. Nothing like a declining revenue source on which to base the future of your company. Better than a non-revenue source...like the Taurus/Sable. What was the HUGE number of Sables they sold in January? Oh thats right...less than 1,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Better than a non-revenue source...like the Taurus/Sable. What was the HUGE number of Sables they sold in January? Oh thats right...less than 1,000. At least D3 has a verified future. And who says the D3 program isn't making money? It's got nowhere to go but up. The has nowhere to go but down...and down it is going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MERKURXR4Ti Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Ha...the only thing the Panthers are doing is bringing in money for Ford. Yeah throw that card again, because we all haven't argued about this in EVERY thread on the board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P71_CrownVic Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 At least D3 has a verified future. And who says the D3 program isn't making money? It's got nowhere to go but up. The has nowhere to go but down...and down it is going. The D3 program probably is making money...because Ford has a million vehicles based on it. I am comparing the Panthers to the cars that were designed to replace them...the Taurus and Sable. And in that case...the Panthers KILL them in sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 The D3 program probably is making money...because Ford has a million vehicles based on it. I am comparing the Panthers to the cars that were designed to replace them...the Taurus and Sable. And in that case...the Panthers KILL them in sales. Why would you limit the scope of the entire platform to just two vehicles? The fact that is uses a flexible platform that can spawn several different vehicles is what makes them the better choice for the long-term, just as a flexible RWD platform to replace the 's would be a better choice than keeping the old dogs around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P71_CrownVic Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Why would you limit the scope of the entire platform to just two vehicles? The fact that is uses a flexible platform that can spawn several different vehicles is what makes them the better choice for the long-term, just as a flexible RWD platform to replace the 's would be a better choice than keeping the old dogs around. I agree...but to say that the Panthers should go away just because they are old...despite making money...does not make sense. There is a market for these cars which I will concede is 95% fleet. But that is not a bad thing...because they still make money. Believe me, there is no one that wants a new, RWD sedan that will compete with cars like the G8. But for the time being...all I have is the Panthers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I agree...but to say that the Panthers should go away just because they are old...despite making money...does not make sense. There is a market for these cars which I will concede is 95% fleet. But that is not a bad thing...because they still make money. Believe me, there is no one that wants a new, RWD sedan that will compete with cars like the G8. But for the time being...all I have is the Panthers. I agree with you mostly as well. The Panthers were great. They did their job. They made a lot of money. But they have reached the limits of their usefulness in today's market. Hopefully Ford has a replacement ready by the time they inevitably lay them to rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P71_CrownVic Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I agree with you mostly as well. The Panthers were great. They did their job. They made a lot of money. But they have reached the limits of their usefulness in today's market. Hopefully Ford has a replacement ready by the time they inevitably lay them to rest. They won't...they will hand over the markets they do have to somebody else on a silver platter...as they have done with virtually every vehicle in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 They won't...they will hand over the markets they do have to somebody else on a silver platter...as they have done with virtually every vehicle in the past. I agree with you mostly as well. The Panthers were great. They did their job. They made a lot of money. But they have reached the limits of their usefulness in today's market. Hopefully Ford has a replacement ready by the time they inevitably lay them to rest. You're both right and both wrong. Things are more advanced that you imagine, the GRWD is not a greenfield project and a lot of the systems and engineering are already in use. It's the pooling of those resources. At the moment, talks centre on selecting the correct parameters to get the most vehicles under the platform. Unlike GM zeta , Ford is not using using GRWD to create new market sectors, it will be used as direct substitution of existing car platforms so there's no big scare as to whether sales will be justified. Further expansion is being catered for now that Ford knows CAFE regs to 2020, unlike GM whos Zeta is being scaled back. 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.