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The Secret behind the Mach-E and Bronco Sport


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A very flattering article by Phoebe Wall Howard on Jim Farley.  In a nutshell, everybody likes him.  Jack Telnack, head of Ford design back in the 80's (think original Taurus) wishes he was back at Ford so he could work with Farley.

 

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2020/12/23/secret-behind-ford-bronco-all-electric-mustang/4006105001/

 

 

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8 minutes ago, AGR said:

So they're saying that the final Mach-E and Bronco Sport were more influenced by Farley and not so much by office furniture guy?  I can buy that. Also, the article implies that Bill Ford Jr. is more than just a figurehead.


Yes and no. It was Hackett that gave the directive to start over. Sounds like Farley took the reigns from there. 

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38 minutes ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

It was Hackett that gave the directive to start over. Sounds like Farley took the reigns from there. 

 

Yes sir. Hackett brought to Ford his "design thinking" philosophy from the work he did at Steelcase, and taught that philosophy to Farley and other executives. Farley then applied what he learned to the Mustang Mach-E and Bronco projects.

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3 hours ago, AGR said:

So they're saying that the final Mach-E and Bronco Sport were more influenced by Farley and not so much by office furniture guy?  I can buy that. Also, the article implies that Bill Ford Jr. is more than just a figurehead.

Fords Chairmen have always been involved.

 

Unless things go south  then the CEO takes the fall.

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17 hours ago, sullynd said:

I wonder, had timing been different, if Ranger wouldn’t have been an F-Series. It fits the idea of “Brand.”

 

Doubtful, Ranger still has a huge name recognition even before its rebirth.

 

Ford has also been on a kick of rebirthing older nameplates in the decade: Custom, Aspire, Territory, etc have all been reborn as well. 

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20 hours ago, sullynd said:

I wonder, had timing been different, if Ranger wouldn’t have been an F-Series. It fits the idea of “Brand.”

 

3 hours ago, ausrutherford said:

 

Doubtful, Ranger still has a huge name recognition even before its rebirth.

 

Ford has also been on a kick of rebirthing older nameplates in the decade: Custom, Aspire, Territory, etc have all been reborn as well. 

 They should bring back the F-100.

 

A small, compact lifestyle/work truck with retro styling.  They don't even have to mess with the design, just straight copy one of the older generations.

 

10928196-1955-ford-f100-std.jpg

 

I personally believe the reason the SSR and the new thunderbird failed was because they were ugly, poor modern interpretations of what inspired them.

Edited by probowler
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On 12/24/2020 at 4:01 AM, T-dubz said:

84fa9b61-c34e-4228-9850-d7924db0f9ef-Mac8f251fdd-d8e6-48b8-8c05-3d2b71733986-Mac

it amazes me that anyone at ford thought either of these was a good idea.

 

Ford's research to product delivery cadence was about seven or eight years,  too slow for changing markets.

In some respects, Fields delaying certain products was an opportunity to correct a few potential "dudes".

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2 hours ago, probowler said:

 

 They should bring back the F-100.

 

A small, compact lifestyle/work truck with retro styling.  They don't even have to mess with the design, just straight copy one of the older generations.

 

10928196-1955-ford-f100-std.jpg

 

I personally believe the reason the SSR and the new thunderbird failed was because they were ugly, poor modern interpretations of what inspired them.

 

Ford is already coming out with a lifestyle truck with the future Bronco truck. 

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5 minutes ago, probowler said:

Is that officially confirmed, unofficially confirmed, or still just a rumor?

 

A bronco PU sounds interesting, but I still think a retro truck would be way cooler.

 

I originally heard about it 2 years ago as Ford wanted to respond to the Gladiator. 

 

It was unofficially confirmed earlier this year. Was suppose to come out year after Ranger for MY24, but Covid and the strong Bronco demand have probably delayed things.

 

 

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7 hours ago, Dequindre said:

Would a Bronco truck even make sense at this point? Gladiator sales have been softer than FCA had hoped, but price probably plays a big role in that. 

Apparently it’s either the 3-4th best selling midsize pickup. I think its doing ok for what it is in that market. 

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8 hours ago, Dequindre said:

Would a Bronco truck even make sense at this point? Gladiator sales have been softer than FCA had hoped, but price probably plays a big role in that. 

 

Though Gladiator sales will never be up there with the Tacoma, Ranger, and Colorado, ATP for it are likely the highest of the four. 

 

Remember, they do not sell Gladiators to fleet customers, so I wouldn't be surprised if the average ATP is over $40k.

 

That is the incentive of a Bronco truck. It will sell less than the Ranger, but the profit per vehicle will be much higher. 

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2 hours ago, HotRunrGuy said:

 

But don't you think that a properly configured next-gen Ranger Raptor would suit the purpose?

 

HRG

 

Well, "Raptors" are technically more geared toward high speed dunes and sand vs. the more rock-crawling oriented target of Gladiators/Wranglers/Broncos, so theoretically you could target a different segment with a Bronco truck, while still offering a Ranger Raptor.

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3 hours ago, rmc523 said:

 

Well, "Raptors" are technically more geared toward high speed dunes and sand vs. the more rock-crawling oriented target of Gladiators/Wranglers/Broncos, so theoretically you could target a different segment with a Bronco truck, while still offering a Ranger Raptor.


I will say this, I've heard some things about NG Ranger that sound awesome and allow for a Bronco pickup to be easily done, however those same things I heard make a Bronco pickup redundant. 

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