akirby Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 1 hour ago, theoldwizard said: No, they cut cars because they were not profitable. I think Fusion/MKZ were probably eeking out a small profit especially since they're basically unchanged since 2013. But they need to change Hermosillo over to C2 and they definitely needed to divert those resources to new vehicles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 1 hour ago, akirby said: I think Fusion/MKZ were probably eeking out a small profit especially since they're basically unchanged since 2013. But they need to change Hermosillo over to C2 and they definitely needed to divert those resources to new vehicles. I think it boils down to that cars aren’t going to make an 8% profit like a CUV would. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 2 minutes ago, silvrsvt said: I think it boils down to that cars aren’t going to make an 8% profit like a CUV would. Bingo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 6 hours ago, silvrsvt said: I think it boils down to that cars aren’t going to make an 8% profit like a CUV would. The cars that GM and Ford were definitely won't, anything that survives the great cull will have to be exceptional, there's absolutely no point in making cars to fill volume in plants no longer needed. Lots of changes coming. People need to focus less on what's being lost and and look forward to what's coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 As the CUV market gets more crowded, will that CUV/ SUV profitability remain? The Koreans jump in and right away they get all kinds of good press. Or is that my imagination. Forget about the guys who drink blue Kool-Aid-myself included. It is not 1990 when Explorer had no significant competition. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 5 minutes ago, Bob Rosadini said: As the CUV market gets more crowded, will that CUV/ SUV profitability remain? The Koreans jump in and right away they get all kinds of good press. Or is that my imagination. Forget about the guys who drink blue Kool-Aid-myself included. It is not 1990 when Explorer had no significant competition. I think the opportunity is there but it will be a much smaller piece of the pie due to all the competition, especially on the lower end. That's why Ford is trying to invest in unique products like Bronco, Baby Bronco and special editions; Explorer and Edge ST; and hybrids and PHEVs. These will have far less direct competition and higher ATPs and profit margins. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 1 minute ago, akirby said: I think the opportunity is there but it will be a much smaller piece of the pie due to all the competition, especially on the lower end. That's why Ford is trying to invest in unique products like Bronco, Baby Bronco and special editions; Explorer and Edge ST; and hybrids and PHEVs. These will have far less direct competition and higher ATPs and profit margins. No argument there. I just think Hackett is pushing the case that cars as we know them are dead. As the population ages "high ATP's" are going to be a consideration as not everyone in that population is going to be worried about..."gee that RMD time again-how am I going to spend that money". Every time I see a Focus/ Fiesta, I try to notice the drivers- seems to me I see a young person or an elderly person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 1 hour ago, Bob Rosadini said: No argument there. I just think Hackett is pushing the case that cars as we know them are dead. As the population ages "high ATP's" are going to be a consideration as not everyone in that population is going to be worried about..."gee that RMD time again-how am I going to spend that money". Every time I see a Focus/ Fiesta, I try to notice the drivers- seems to me I see a young person or an elderly person. Cars aren’t dead they’re just commoditized and Ford has better things to build and sell with limited resources. And high ATPs doesn’t mean super expensive. It just means selling more $30k escapes and less $30k edges. It can still be done with lower price points given the right products. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, akirby said: Cars aren’t dead they’re just commoditized and Ford has better things to build and sell with limited resources. And high ATPs doesn’t mean super expensive. It just means selling more $30k escapes and less $30k edges. It can still be done with lower price points given the right products. I'd love to see Puma in there instead of Ecosport to cover more of the +$18k sales that Focus used to cover, a better use of the reconfigured "Fiesta" than as a $13k car. Edited February 7, 2020 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelyD Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 Joe Heinrichs just announced his retirement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMSA-XJR9 Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 22 minutes ago, SteelyD said: Joe Heinrichs just announced his retirement. https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2020/02/07/ford-jim-farley-joe-hinrichs-retires-president/4689155002/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 20 minutes ago, SteelyD said: Joe Heinrichs just announced his retirement. Yep, Hinrichs is gone and Jim Farley becomes the new COO, second in line to Jim Hackett. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickp Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 I like Farley. I think this is only a good thing. Ford said 2-3 years ago that these changes were going to hurt, I just think people underestimated just how much. I think they’re going to benefit greatly in the next 2-3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Nickp said: 7 minutes ago, Nickp said: I like Farley. I think this is only a good thing. Ford said 2-3 years ago that these changes were going to hurt, I just think people underestimated just how much. I think they’re going to benefit greatly in the next 2-3 years. I wonder if Hinrichs has been an ongoing problem, overseeing bad product launches like forever at Ford Edited February 7, 2020 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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