tbone Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 (edited) Ford’s vehicle planning needs a reboot—Can it win back consumer trust? https://share.google/K5GEGpHOYkBsmunPh I can’t disagree with anything said in this article. I’ve personally lost some faith in Ford. There has not been much to get excited about for the last few years. I personally don’t have much interest at this time in EVs, so other than from a strategic perspective, CE1 doesn’t excite me. I obviously love their trucks but they aren’t giving me much product to consider. I’m just tired of having so little to talk about on this forum other than recalls, decontenting, and delayed refreshes/redesigns. Theres virtually nothing coming for nearly two years. Ford has elevated their participation in various forms of racing, which is cool, and can enhance their vehicle development, but doesn’t lead to many new vehicles to buy. I sure hope they have something coming to be pleasantly surprised about. Edited October 4 by tbone 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 I agree with the sentiment of the article. In too many segments, Ford pulls back when they should push forward. i know we’ll get the usual “dropping X allowed them to make Y”, but that argument only works when they actually bring out “Y”, instead we’re had constant delays of new product. Hopefully it works out long term. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeluxeStang Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 It's rough at the moment, it's so dry when it comes to new products, and even when you hear about awesome products in development, you worry about them being canceled or delayed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dequindre Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 The Bronco and Maverick seem to be the only two things that Ford has gotten right in the past five or so years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpcmotorsports Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 Another agreement here. If a skunk works team can develop a low cost EV platform, why can't they develop a low cost platform to replace the Escape and Corsair and use for some affordable sedans that could turn a profit. Ford Edge is still in demand and Ford walked away from that segment. Why hasn't the Everest been green lit for North America? Why ignore every segment that isn't F150, Bronco or Mustang? Great platforms left to rot like the OG Taurus. What about a modern, RWD Crown Vic and Town Car? So many opportunities to shake up the market! 4 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeluxeStang Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 6 minutes ago, Dequindre said: The Bronco and Maverick seem to be the only two things that Ford has gotten right in the past five or so years. GTD, bronco sport, mach-e. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpcmotorsports Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 59 minutes ago, DeluxeStang said: GTD, bronco sport, mach-e. The BSport is a poor substitute for the Escape IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeluxeStang Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 1 hour ago, mpcmotorsports said: The BSport is a poor substitute for the Escape IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 1 hour ago, mpcmotorsports said: The BSport is a poor substitute for the Escape IMO. BSport is what Escape used to be, before it went all "Uptown Girl" style wise..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 2 hours ago, mpcmotorsports said: The BSport is a poor substitute for the Escape IMO. It’s not a substitute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 4 hours ago, mpcmotorsports said: Why hasn't the Everest been green lit for North America? And build it where? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 4 hours ago, DeluxeStang said: GTD, bronco sport, mach-e. Niche model, Success but not like Maverick was, electric vehicle with limited ceiling due to market preferences. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted October 5 Author Share Posted October 5 9 hours ago, mpcmotorsports said: Another agreement here. If a skunk works team can develop a low cost EV platform, why can't they develop a low cost platform to replace the Escape and Corsair and use for some affordable sedans that could turn a profit. Ford Edge is still in demand and Ford walked away from that segment. Why hasn't the Everest been green lit for North America? Why ignore every segment that isn't F150, Bronco or Mustang? Great platforms left to rot like the OG Taurus. What about a modern, RWD Crown Vic and Town Car? So many opportunities to shake up the market! It’s also irritating that foreign markets have vehicles that I believe would be well received here in their current form or with minor changes to be either new models or replacements, ie Evos/Mondeo Sport, Mondeo, Edge, Bronco Base Camp, Territory/Equator Sport. I’m sure the manufacturing location argument will come up, but they seem to have either under utilized plants, or hey, a brand new plant that will sit idle for who really knows how long. The engineering has been paid for on these vehicles, yet the US, where models are being discontinued, can’t have them. CE1 is supposed to be the savior but ultimately it’s still a gamble, since the EV market is still up in the air. Not to mention, the first models aren’t even Escape replacements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 19 hours ago, mpcmotorsports said: Another agreement here. If a skunk works team can develop a low cost EV platform, why can't they develop a low cost platform to replace the Escape and Corsair and use for some affordable sedans that could turn a profit. Ford Edge is still in demand and Ford walked away from that segment. Why hasn't the Everest been green lit for North America? Why ignore every segment that isn't F150, Bronco or Mustang? Great platforms left to rot like the OG Taurus. What about a modern, RWD Crown Vic and Town Car? So many opportunities to shake up the market! First off the market has almost no demand for sedans and there is nearly no profit on them Quote Sedans claim just one place in the top 10 with the Toyota Camry at 155,330 units sold in America in the first half of 2025. The Honda Civic (128,236) and Toyota Corolla (120,052) follow just outside of the top 10, joined by Tesla’s Model 3 (101,323) in 17th place. Looking at the full top 20 sales by vehicle type, SUVs account for 47% of top-20 sales (1.49 million vehicles), followed by pickup trucks at 37% (1.17 million) and sedans at 16% (505,000). Why would you chase that 16% when Ford is strong in SUV and Pickups with customers? As for the Escape/Corsair-no place to build them unless they are imported from overseas, which is going to mark them up at least 10%. They aren't going to take away from Maverick and Bronco Sport sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 18 hours ago, twintornados said: BSport is what Escape used to be, before it went all "Uptown Girl" style wise..... Now I feel completely demasculated! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 9 hours ago, Sherminator98 said: As for the Escape/Corsair-no place to build them unless they are imported from overseas, which is going to mark them up at least 10%. They aren't going to take away from Maverick and Bronco Sport sales. Since Cuaulitilan builds only Mach E which is basically a C2 based (albeit heavily modified) model, I would presume it is a plant in need of more product lines. What would it take to move the tooling from Louisville to restart production there? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted October 6 Author Share Posted October 6 11 hours ago, Sherminator98 said: First off the market has almost no demand for sedans and there is nearly no profit on them Why would you chase that 16% when Ford is strong in SUV and Pickups with customers? As for the Escape/Corsair-no place to build them unless they are imported from overseas, which is going to mark them up at least 10%. They aren't going to take away from Maverick and Bronco Sport sales. Only one of those models I mentioned was a sedan. I was referring to all of their solid overseas products. What is your argument for all the other models? Regarding your other argument, they have a brand new plant that is empty. They have the tooling, update the models, making them class leading, and move them there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeluxeStang Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 On 10/4/2025 at 1:30 PM, mpcmotorsports said: Another agreement here. If a skunk works team can develop a low cost EV platform, why can't they develop a low cost platform to replace the Escape and Corsair and use for some affordable sedans that could turn a profit. Ford Edge is still in demand and Ford walked away from that segment. Why hasn't the Everest been green lit for North America? Why ignore every segment that isn't F150, Bronco or Mustang? Great platforms left to rot like the OG Taurus. What about a modern, RWD Crown Vic and Town Car? So many opportunities to shake up the market! I wouldn't be surprised if that's the plan. According to several of our insider friends, as captivating as the CE1 products themselves are, the really impressive thing is this new manufacturing method, apparently not all, but a lot of this can be applied to future hybrid/ICE products. So if this new manufacturing method works, and by that I mean it actually significantly reduces costs, but also improves quality, and doesn't harm safety or performance capabilities, I can see this being applied to a lot of future Ford ICE models. Things like mustang for instance which is starting to become a niche model, this new manufacturing method could enable Ford to invest in lower volume models like that for years to come, while also maybe even bringing the cost back down gradually depending on how much money they save. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 On 10/4/2025 at 3:30 PM, mpcmotorsports said: ..... Great platforms left to rot like the OG Taurus. What about a modern, RWD Crown Vic and Town Car? So many opportunities to shake up the market! Once again, that market is shrinking and will be non-existent soon....might as well wish for a Torino wagon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 8 hours ago, tbone said: Regarding your other argument, they have a brand new plant that is empty. They have the tooling, update the models, making them class leading, and move them there. That plant is currently earmarked to build the T3 pick up and prototypes will be going down the line in 18 months or so. Mass production will start in 2028. Makes no sense to spend even more money to retool it to do something else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 2 hours ago, Sherminator98 said: That plant is currently earmarked to build the T3 pick up and prototypes will be going down the line in 18 months or so. Mass production will start in 2028*. Makes no sense to spend even more money to retool it to do something else. *until the next push back to 2032. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 I truly hope it all works out. It just sucks that Ford always runs so lean with production that they back themselves into a corner multiple times and is forced to cancel or extend old products past their shelf life while they figure out their next move, only to pause those plans and start over, and round and round they go. Meanwhile, they then use the "look sales for model ____ are falling, we can just cancel it" mantra....well yeah, when you leave the product largely the same for 8+ years with increased decontenting as time goes, naturally sales will dwindle.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfeg Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 2 hours ago, twintornados said: Once again, that market is shrinking and will be non-existent soon....might as well wish for a Torino wagon. I am waiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 6 minutes ago, rmc523 said: *until the next push back to 2032. IMO I don't think Ford wants repeat what they did at Oakville and waste billons of dollars and repivot the plant. Worst case scenario as I see it is that the plant limps along with just the T3 for a few years and then in the early 2030s, EVs from Hermosillo and the low cost EVs get moved there? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 7 minutes ago, Sherminator98 said: IMO I don't think Ford wants repeat what they did at Oakville and waste billons of dollars and repivot the plant. Worst case scenario as I see it is that the plant limps along with just the T3 for a few years and then in the early 2030s, EVs from Hermosillo and the low cost EVs get moved there? I still think that these plans should've been done: 1a) Oakville should've stuck with Edge/Nautilus, kept Louisville as C2 Escape/Corsair (with new top hats), and put CE1 at the underutilized BOC until further EV demand is warranted for a wind down of ICE products 1b) Oakville gets Super Duty (as it is), keep Louisville as C2 Escape/Corsair (with new top hats) and ADD Edge/Nautilus, and put CE1 at the underutilized BOC until further EV demand is warranted for a wind down of ICE products 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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