# Ford to sell only two car models in the US



## misterjim (Jan 24, 2009)

I guess this shouldn't be a big surprise:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/25/17282562/ford-focus-mustang-cars-bronco-hybrid-earnings-q1

I know I'm in the minority but I just don't get the whole big SUV/truck thing. :dunno:

At least the mustang lives on (for now)!


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## need4speed (May 26, 2006)

Not too surprising


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## cwsqbm (Aug 4, 2004)

For people that view cars as transportation pods, SUVs are great - they are easier to get in an out of, hold more stuff, and give a greater view of the road. When plodding along in traffic, or waiting outside a school, 0-60 times and cornering limits are irrelevant.

Sad, because I've been considering a Fiesta ST as my next toy.


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## mr_clueless (Nov 13, 2009)

What I find surprising is the claim that they lose money on all the cars they're discontinuing. How is it that every other car manufacturer is making profit selling cars, but Ford cannot? What are they doing wrong?

Very disappointed with where the car industry is headed -- slow death of MT, RWD, cars, ...

I guess self-driving electric SUVs are the future. With Android software tracking every move (this time even with the phone off).


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## wyb (Jul 10, 2008)

pdegene said:


> Bummer. I was hoping the focus RS would turn into something big.


Move to europe - it's a big thing over there.


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## Autoputzer (Mar 16, 2014)

The UAW made wage concessions to the big three during the meltdown. New-hires not start out at about $16/hour, instead of around $28/hour before the meltdown. But, there are a lot of workers and retirees collecting whose pay or pension are based on the old pre-meltdown wage structure. 

The UAW was demanding a return to the pre-meltdown wage structure when the contract comes up for renegotiation. But, at those wages they can't afford to build cheap, low-profit,,, cars in the US in plants. 

Sedans are a hard sell now. Most people who need to carry four people would rather have a mini-van or a crossover SUV. My city's police department buys mostly Ford Explorers with a police package and extended-cab pick-up trucks now. They also buy RWD Dodge Chargers. 

You know you're in Bubbaville when the marked cop cars are pick-up trucks.


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## mr_clueless (Nov 13, 2009)

^ How is it that Honda/Toyota can still build Civics/Corollas in the US?
http://www.businessinsider.com/all-...manufacturing-kentucky-georgetown-kentucky-12


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## mr_clueless (Nov 13, 2009)

I'll give you my theory -- American companies have forgotten how to do engineering. They have replaced their engineers with bean counters that do financial engineering instead. It pays of handsomely, but it guts the very core of the company after a few years. They solved this the first time by using their new found cash to acquire those with technology (Ford Volvo, Daimler Chrysler, etc.). But those acquisitions weren't managed properly and they had to get rid of them. But they were able to use that technology for a while, and now that technology has run its course and they have nowhere to go. 

This is not just limited to autos. Look at IBM, GE, etc. Same with the consolidation in other areas of the economy. There's a recent article Intel has lost it's edge in process technology to TSMC.

There was a time when companies made strategic long-term bets which didn't pay off. Maybe 1 in 10 such projects were successful. There were engineers that worked their entire careers at a big company without a single successful product. That is the cost of true innovation. They stopped doing that ca. 2000 thanks to the dot com bubble where they thought they can be fast movers by acquiring technology startups when it was clear that the technology was going to be successful.

The Chinese have been buying up the innovators in every area of the economy. If Washington wasn't preventing them, they would own ALL of the technology today.

The FAANGs are masters at financial engineering. There is no technology there. Just pure cost cutting and efficiency. They are screwing up the world, at scale!


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## Lennysx5 (Dec 16, 2017)

mr_clueless said:


> I'll give you my theory -- American companies have forgotten how to do engineering. They have replaced their engineers with bean counters that do financial engineering instead. It pays of handsomely, but it guts the very core of the company after a few years. They solved this the first time by using their new found cash to acquire those with technology (Ford Volvo, Daimler Chrysler, etc.). But those acquisitions weren't managed properly and they had to get rid of them. But they were able to use that technology for a while, and now that technology has run its course and they have nowhere to go.
> 
> This is not just limited to autos. Look at IBM, GE, etc. Same with the consolidation in other areas of the economy. There's a recent article Intel has lost it's edge in process technology to TSMC.
> 
> ...


Well stated

Sent from my iPhone using Bimmerfest mobile app


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## Autoputzer (Mar 16, 2014)

mr_clueless said:


> ^ How is it that Honda/Toyota can still build Civics/Corollas in the US?
> http://www.businessinsider.com/all-...manufacturing-kentucky-georgetown-kentucky-12


Part of it is that Civics and Corollas are better than Focuses (Foci) and Cruzes.

The was also true when I bought my Chevy Cobalt eleven years ago. But, with my special deal on GM stuff, I paid about $17k for a $21k car. All I wanted was cheap piece of ****, and I got what I paid for.

There used to be a Bendix factory in my town that made brake pads. A co-worker worked there. She said that before they got a contract with Honda, Honda engineers were swarming their plant doing test production and inspections for weeks, unlike any American or German auto manufacturer they had contracts with.

Oh, and Honda and Toyota factories pay less and aren't infected with the UAW virus. Toyota inherited the final assembly plant in Freemont, CA after NUMMI (partnership between GM and Toyota) dissolved. Their solution to this UAW infected plant was to sell it and build its replacement in UAW-free Texas. The Freemont, CA plant is now where they build Tesla's.


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## BMW 3 (Apr 10, 2018)

This is going to hurt Ford in Europe, which is profitable. With the Ford Fusion not being replaced after its production run ends with the 2020 model year, the Ford Mondeo is not going to have a similar car to spread development costs. In the long run, Ford may become smaller and smaller.

I wouldn't be surprised if GM stops selling cars in the U.S.

I think the solution is to harmonize car regulations of Western Europe and the U.S. so any car built for Europe can be sold in the U.S. No chance of that happening.


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## ol' grouch (Dec 27, 2014)

BMW 3 said:


> This is going to hurt Ford in Europe, which is profitable. With the Ford Fusion not being replaced after its production run ends with the 2020 model year, the Ford Mondeo is not going to have a similar car to spread development costs. In the long run, Ford may become smaller and smaller.
> 
> I wouldn't be surprised if GM stops selling cars in the U.S.
> 
> I think the solution is to harmonize car regulations of Western Europe and the U.S. so any car built for Europe can be sold in the U.S. No chance of that happening.


Ford isn't getting out of making cars. They are just not going to sell them in the U.S. Hot hatches are big time sales in Britain and the EU as well as Asia. The F-150 is a cash cow in the U.S. but doesn't sell well in most of the rest of the world. Mid teen fuel mileage doesn't sell well when a gallon of gasoline runs $8-10 US.


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## mr_clueless (Nov 13, 2009)

ol' grouch said:


> They are just not going to sell them in the U.S.


They are just not going to sell _or make_ them in the U.S.

(Fixed.)


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## ol' grouch (Dec 27, 2014)

mr_clueless said:


> They are just not going to sell _or make_ them in the U.S.
> 
> (Fixed.)


As a result of the economic and political climate, ford moved Focus production the Mexico several months ago.


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