But here lies the issue-the development work might be "free" but you still need to make new tooling, subassembly production (power plants, interiors) and whatever else to put it into production and then make a profit off it.
If it was that simple and profitable to do it, I think Ford would be doing it already.
Plus I'd venture to say that nearly every non luxury sedan has some sort of sub leaned financing and discounts on top of a lower MSRP (vs a CUV) to make money off it.
A CE1 based car form factor would be perfect for flat rock, or a new mustang body style like a sedan or mid-engine model. Something that generates a healthy profit, but sells in lower volumes than a traditional crossover or truck would be very beneficial for flat rock. But it doesn't appear to be in the cards.
We can talk about profitability and consumer demand all day long. But the fact of the matter is, making a new sedan, or some other car at flat rock seems to make way more sense financially than leaving that plant underutilized for the foreseeable future. C2 was almost instant profitable I bet, whatever sedan program they do based on it could be done for almost nothing. Hell, they literally have a c2 fusion as we speak, a competitive product that they refuse to bring here because "Oh it won't sell 300k units a year at 100 thousand dollars" it's just maddening.
I see more new broncos, bronco sports, and mavericks where I live than I do new Camry or civics. But to each their own. Everyone in my neighborhood is buying mavericks right now, it's almost comical how many bronco sport and mavericks are parked in our neighborhood. We're at 5 and counting.
Who says you can’t do both? I understand production capacity needs to be taken into account, but we also know ford has at least 2 plants in North America that aren’t at full capacity (Flat Rock and Louisville). Hell, ship it over from China if you must, at this point I don’t care.
PS.. Love my MKZ 3.0. A "best kept secret" that Ford refused to market. I was looking to replace my SHO that hit 100,000 trouble free miles with a CPO SHO with little luck-unless I wanted to go to Michigan, when I believe somone here (TT?) suggested I look for a Fusion Sport or a 3.0 MKZ. I started searching You Tube and found all sorts of glowing endorsements for the 3.0 MKZ.
Another example of Ford spending money and not capitalizing on what they created
IMO
hmnn..are we horse back or afoot? Did I just not read that Farley was talking about the possibility of a sedan? I guess it is a good thing that he is keeping his eye on changing trends.
I drive through a parking lot and what do I see..new Accords, Camrys, Corollas, etc.
Again, Honda and Toyota must have the worst product planners
Why do that if you build vehicles that sell on their own instead? Maverick and Bronco Sport are even more effective at bringing in new customers and they’re far more profitable.