China Escort U.S. Bound?

[mackinaw]

From today's Automotive News:

 

BEIJING – Ford Motor Co.’s revived Escort compact sedan, developed especially for the China market, has potential to go global and possibly make it Stateside someday, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said. The car, developed by Ford’s Asia-Pacific r&d team for China, is derived from the Focus platform but features more interior space than the Focus and styling that is distinct from the Focus and Fusion. Mulally said the Escort will likely migrate to other markets. In the United States, where Ford already has a lineup of sedans, ranging from the Fiesta and Focus to the Fusion and Taurus, he said an Escort could someday fill a new price point. “We have a really solid small and medium-sized product line in the United States right now,” he said. “But I think over time this will be another enhanced version of the C-size. “It’s just a matter of when,” he said. “We’re going to be able to provide a C-sized vehicle with different price points.”

http://www.autonews.com/article/20140420/OEM04/140429997/ford-escort-revived-in-china-could-land-in-u-s-mulally-says

 

 

[RichardJensen]

Oh!

 

 

Oh!

 

 

INNOVATOR's DILEMMA!!!!

 

If Ford doesn't commit to an exact day and time when this product will be on the market, everyone in the country will buy something else instead and Ford won't be able to sell anything and will go bankrupt and they'll have to turn their assembly plants into homeless shelters for workers and the sky will fall and Detroit will be taken over by orangutans.

[RichardJensen]

Don't believe me?

 

Here's proof:

 

 

Know what that is? That's an orangutan.

 

Know what he's thinking right now? "Gee, I can't wait for Ford to screw up so I can run Detroit."

 

INNOVATOR'S DILEMMA! People. Trust me. I know what I'm talking about and have never been wrong about anything.

[AlRozzi]

Oh DAMN it all. Apparently I don't even have the intellect of an orangutan.

Edited April 20, 2014 by AlRozzi

[Anthony]

Yeesh. Please don't bring this to the US. You have a nice fleet of good looking cars. Don't break that streak.

[jpd80]

Don't believe me?

 

Here's proof:

 

 

Know what that is? That's an orangutan.

 

Know what he's thinking right now? "Gee, I can't wait for Ford to screw up so I can run Detroit."

 

INNOVATOR'S DILEMMA! People. Trust me. I know what I'm talking about and have never been wrong about anything.

 

LOL, too late Richard, the LWB Corlloa has arrived and will now decimate Focus' global sales..........

[RichardJensen]

Dangit.

 

I knew that if only they'd thrown everything against the wall, something would've stuck.

[Footballfan]

I would wonder where the Escort would fit within the scheme of things. Would it be a fleet-only type of vehicle? I could see it cannibalizing both the Focus and the Fusion.

[LSFan00]

I'd note that he didn't indicate production would migrate to the US.

 

Naturally, the first mass production Chinese built cars to be sold in the US will be A, B, or C class (and probably the cheaper/value models).

 

 

 

 

 

[Hugh]

Don't believe me?

 

Here's proof:

 

 

Know what that is? That's an orangutan.

 

Know what he's thinking right now? "Gee, I can't wait for Ford to screw up so I can run Detroit."

 

INNOVATOR'S DILEMMA! People. Trust me. I know what I'm talking about and have never been wrong about anything.

Is this like the Chewbacca defense?

[Biker16]

From today's Automotive News:

 

BEIJING – Ford Motor Co.’s revived Escort compact sedan, developed especially for the China market, has potential to go global and possibly make it Stateside someday, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said. The car, developed by Ford’s Asia-Pacific r&d team for China, is derived from the Focus platform but features more interior space than the Focus and styling that is distinct from the Focus and Fusion. Mulally said the Escort will likely migrate to other markets. In the United States, where Ford already has a lineup of sedans, ranging from the Fiesta and Focus to the Fusion and Taurus, he said an Escort could someday fill a new price point. “We have a really solid small and medium-sized product line in the United States right now,” he said. “But I think over time this will be another enhanced version of the C-size. “It’s just a matter of when,” he said. “We’re going to be able to provide a C-sized vehicle with different price points.”

http://www.autonews.com/article/20140420/OEM04/140429997/ford-escort-revived-in-china-could-land-in-u-s-mulally-says

 

 

 

so..they want to import the 2008 focus to the USA? That makes perfect sense.

 

Ford can't find the resources for the EcoSport, S-max, or a RWD sedan, but they can find the resources to bring back the 2008 focus?

Edited April 21, 2014 by Biker16

[NickF1011]

so..they want to import the 2008 focus to the USA? That makes perfect sense.

 

Ford can't find the resources for the EcoSport, S-max, or a RWD sedan, but they can find the resources to bring back the 2008 focus?

"When" could be 10 years from now (when it's a completely different vehicle from this), after all of those other segments have already been addressed. (Well, some of them I don't really think need addressing at all really except to say "we're not doing it despite a small, vocal minority yelling at us for not doing it despite the thin margins such a product would likely bring.")

 

Do you have anyone from Ford on record saying "we're never bringing Ecosport here" or "we're never bringing a version of the S-Max here" or "we're never going to have another RWD car platform ever again"? If not, then they're all on the same level as the statement "it's just a matter of when" regarding the Escort. As in, you can classify all of those products on the same timeline of "eventually...maybe."

Edited April 21, 2014 by NickF1011

[2b2]

Oh DAMN it all. Apparently I don't even have the intellect of an orangutan.

there IS such a thing a being too smart - trust me

 

 

 

& [on topic] of cheapo vehicles for Mer'cans

rephrasing Mr. M.:

so we've almost completed our PLAN of turning Ford into Mercury, so...

[Footballfan]

 

so..they want to import the 2008 focus to the USA? That makes perfect sense.

 

Ford can't find the resources for the EcoSport, S-max, or a RWD sedan, but they can find the resources to bring back the 2008 focus?

Not to metion the Ranger.

 

I agree- where would this car fit? Now there were times when an older model car was kept around a year or two while its replacement was coming on line- the most recent examples are the Chevy Impala/Impala Limited. And of course their is the Chevy Captiva/Equinox, the former being the old Saturn Vue and geared toward fleet. However, bringing in an entirely new car in a segment in which you already saturated does not make a lot of sense.

[Biker16]

It feels like the 1990s all over again.

 

Dump billions of dollars into Light Trucks and sell the cheapest cars possible in US.

 

Why would you even suggest Selling a car designed for the 3rd world in the US unless ford is looking to phase out the Fiesta, Focus or both?

 

VW teases the New Compact CC Four door coupe concept in china

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/04/19/volkswagen-new-midsize-coupe-concept-official-images/

 

 

Ford unveils their re-imagining of the original C-170 platform

 

 

oops! I meant this.

 

[RichardJensen]

Yeah, yeah, innovator's dilemma, orangutan apocalypse. We know.

 

[RichardJensen]

Mulally on Escort:

 

“We have a really solid small and medium-sized product line in the United States right now,” he said. “But I think over time this will be another enhanced version of the C-size. “It’s just a matter of when,” he said. “We’re going to be able to provide a C-sized vehicle with different price points.”

 

 

Mulally on EcoSport:

 

“I think over time, you’ll see even smaller cars in the United States. I think, in time, the Ford EcoSport will be here.”

http://indianautosblog.com/2014/01/ford-ecosport-usa-launch-113321

 

 

Somehow, the first comment proves Ford will be launching the Escort stateside in the near future and cancelling the Focus and Fiesta, and the second comment proves that Ford is never bringing the EcoSport to the US.

 

The answer, of course, is orangutans.

Edited April 21, 2014 by RichardJensen

[RichardJensen]

[Biker16]

Not to metion the Ranger.

 

I agree- where would this car fit? Now there were times when an older model car was kept around a year or two while its replacement was coming on line- the most recent examples are the Chevy Impala/Impala Limited. And of course their is the Chevy Captiva/Equinox, the former being the old Saturn Vue and geared toward fleet. However, bringing in an entirely new car in a segment in which you already saturated does not make a lot of sense.

 

 

I agree that makes little sense.

[Biker16]

"When" could be 10 years from now (when it's a completely different vehicle from this), after all of those other segments have already been addressed. (Well, some of them I don't really think need addressing at all really except to say "we're not doing it despite a small, vocal minority yelling at us for not doing it despite the thin margins such a product would likely bring.")

 

 

how could it be a completely different vehicle? they sell the focus in China, and the escort along with the fiesta? The escort fills a niche that i don't think exsist in the US. that niche would be currently filled by the Fiesta price wise, it is reminiscent of the old Taurus and the previous Impala a large car priced like a mid-sized car.

[RichardJensen]

where would this car fit

 

a segment in which you already saturated

 

The answer, of course, is that times change.

 

There was no market for the EcoSport fifteen years ago. There was minimal market for it ten years ago. There was minimal market for it five years ago (viz. Kia Rondo).

 

Projecting the C segment forward and speculating that it and segments smaller than it will continue to grow does not seem to be a ridiculous concept. In fact, a resident gloom-and-doomer has been trumpeting the growth of the C and Sub-C segment for years now.

 

To turn around and say that being prepared to fill new niches in this expanding segment is evidence of wrong-thinking is just----it's entirely beyond me.

Edited April 21, 2014 by RichardJensen

[Biker16]

The answer, of course, is that times change.

 

There was no market for the EcoSport fifteen years ago. There was minimal market for it ten years ago. There was minimal market for it five years ago (viz. Kia Rondo).

 

BTW the KIA Rondo = the C-max not the EcoSport. I thought you knew that?

 

Projecting the C segment forward and speculating that it and segments smaller than it will continue to grow does not seem to be a ridiculous concept. In fact, a resident gloom-and-doomer has been trumpeting the growth of the C and Sub-C segment for years now.

 

To turn around and say that being prepared to fill new niches in this expanding segment is evidence of wrong-thinking is just----it's entirely beyond me.

 

 

It is to say that ford will become the company that sells really cheap cars.

 

Everything about this car screams cheap, SRA, last-gen focus sheet metal.

 

Is the future of the C-car market going to be absurdly cheap Chinese cars? maybe, but that doesn't bode well for any automaker.

[RichardJensen]

Did Mulally say the Escort would replace the Focus?

 

Of course he didn't.

 

Your imaginative interpretations of on-the-record quotes fascinate.

[jpd80]

 

The answer, of course, is that times change.

 

There was no market for the EcoSport fifteen years ago. There was minimal market for it ten years ago. There was minimal market for it five years ago (viz. Kia Rondo).

 

Projecting the C segment forward and speculating that it and segments smaller than it will continue to grow does not seem to be a ridiculous concept. In fact, a resident gloom-and-doomer has been trumpeting the growth of the C and Sub-C segment for years now.

 

To turn around and say that being prepared to fill new niches in this expanding segment is evidence of wrong-thinking is just----it's entirely beyond me.

Not siding with Biker here but I wonder about this and the creeping growth in all vehicle sizes,

Remember how the Explorer was in the 1990s was so much smaller compared to what it became,

similarly the Toyota RAV4 started out with a wheelbase and length not unlike the Ecosport....

 

Maybe we're at that point where bracket creep has altered perception of vehicles today,

we seem to be revisiting sizes of the past but calling them smaller vehicles...

 

 

 

 

It is to say that ford will become the company that sells really cheap cars.

 

Everything about this car screams cheap, SRA, last-gen focus sheet metal.

 

Is the future of the C-car market going to be absurdly cheap Chinese cars? maybe, but that doesn't bode well for any automaker.

That's drawing a really long bow, FAPA designed Escort specifically for Chinese needs and price point

just as Figo was a reconfigure of superseded Euro "Fusion"/ B-Max as a vehicle with higher canopy and head room,

a feature that Indian buyers value..

 

I think is beguiling here is the fact that Toyota has surged with a LWB Corolla, just under the limits for a mid sized car,

again, I think carmakers are rediscovering rewarding niches with new enlarged smaller vehicles to give the perception

that no, this is not a mid sized car, you're still buying a Corolla.... Well two can play at that game, a LWB Focus on the

first class platform will no doubt please US buyers but open up room below for a better proportioned Fiesta.......

Edited April 22, 2014 by jpd80

[atomcat68]

Maybe the USA Escort will be a hybrid like our version of the CMax. Starting off with a cheaper to build car may make give the hybrid a price closer to a regular Focus. Plenty of hybrid owners generally like no frills cars like Prius anyway.