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Originally Posted by Martinjlm
I think it is a very smart play on Ford’s part. Unlike FCA, who has done the same thing already, Ford has a built in contingency plan. They will still have Fiesta, Focus, and Fusion / Mondeo produced and available in Europe and China. Both those markets are larger than the US market and their cars are selling well there. Should the US market rapidly switch back to a sedan market (doubt it) they can divert product from Europe and/or China while they bring the US manufacturing capacity back on line. Sell what sells, the rest go to hell.
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I get they can bring it back quickly, isn't that essentially what's happening with the ranger? It's the global ranger and now its coming here. I am sure in in automotive timelines that's moving fairly quickly, but consumer wise I don't think it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DGthe3
Problem with that is designing to US spec costs money, which they won't be recovering if they don't sell the cars in the US. The whole idea of dropping out of segments is to cut development costs.
Paring down the passenger car offerings makes sense. But only offering the Mustang & a version of the Focus that will be trying to disguise itself as a crossover is going too far, in my opinion. There should still be a midsizer in the lineup. Maybe make it a 'midsize +' so that its acceptable to the remnants of the full-size market who don't want a crossover.
And the small car should be a small car. Anyone who actually wants a small crossover can buy one. But the ones that want a car ... want a fricken car! I bet half the Bolt's sales problem is because its a car pretending to be a crossover, and as a result its body style appeals to approximately nobody.
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This ^