Ford to eliminate most passenger cars by 2022

Stalker

I removed my teeth on purpose....if you catch my d
In the US Ford will keep only the Mustang and the Focus Active. The focus will be "white space" vehicles, trucks and SUV's. I guess a couple of my immediate questions is A: How do they maintain MGP requirements even if their Eco line gets decent mileage, and B: This seems like a really bad idea with a lot of focus still being on alternate energy vehicles with some countries mandating electric only vehicles in the near future.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...t-pump-fire-risk/ar-AAwjqG7?OCID=ansmsnnews11
 
We are nearing the point where the auto companies have to start stuffing electric cars down peoples throats to meet CAFE targets. It sounds like if you want a Ford car in the future you have to get a Mustang or a hybrid/electric. I think you will see a similar strategy from most auto companies by 2025. I hope they start coming out with some affordable SUV hybrids - I think that will be the best combination of plugging your car in and still being able to haul a family and their stuff.

-Geoff
 
Makes perfect sense to me, a majority of families buy trucks and SUV's. I can't tell you the last time I heard of someone buying a new Taurus or Fusion.

--Joe
 
Just a sign of the times. People want storage space and to be higher up. Besides, many of the Ford cars are global platforms. If the market shifted back towards cars it wouldn't be overly difficult to bring them back to the American market.
 
I would like see a map of sales by state for the fusion or Taurus. I know living in Michigan we see a ton more but I counted 6 fusions on one block.
 
I would like see a map of sales by state for the fusion or Taurus. I know living in Michigan we see a ton more but I counted 6 fusions on one block.

What we see here doesn't represent the country itself very well. You don't see many American sedans outside of the rust belt, most people drive foreign sedans and American trucks from what I've seen.
 
I just worry that if we have a war in the middle east, and gas spikes up to $5 per gallon, that none of the US manufacturers have small cars that get good mileage. Or, when Trump is gone in 2024, we might get a Democrat that is going to change CAFE again making SUV's harder to sell because of mileage too. Nobody knows what President Kanye West will do then!

I just think it is shortsighted. Ford would be better to take a plant and build small cars and small SUV's at it, that way they could shift the build mix based on Market demand. Once you stop making that car, you can't just turn a switch and start building it again. It's gone.

-Geoff
 
Except that they're likely assuming that by 2024, alternative fueled engines will be more mainstream. GM announced what, 21 EV vehicles in full production by 2023? And no gas/diesel vehicles at some point shortly thereafter?

Given how small and unprofitable the US car market is, it probably doesn't make a lot of sense for Tier 1 OEMs to offer more than small hatchback, a full sized sedan.... plus maybe a high performance model.
 
Except that they're likely assuming that by 2024, alternative fueled engines will be more mainstream. GM announced what, 21 EV vehicles in full production by 2023? And no gas/diesel vehicles at some point shortly thereafter?

Given how small and unprofitable the US car market is, it probably doesn't make a lot of sense for Tier 1 OEMs to offer more than small hatchback, a full sized sedan.... plus maybe a high performance model.
That is a whole different issue - who is going to buy all those electric cars that the OEM's are getting mandated to make. And if you are successful at selling them - like only GM, Tesla, and maybe Nissan are - you have a limited quantity of $7500 rebates per OEM. So the early in companies will run out of rebates and have to compete against all the newcomers who still get the $7500 subsidy. It is going to be a mess. Maybe Ford sees the crash of the auto industry coming and is hedging against it. I am hoping to be retired by 2025 (don't tell my wife!).

-Geoff
 
That is a whole different issue - who is going to buy all those electric cars that the OEM's are getting mandated to make. And if you are successful at selling them - like only GM, Tesla, and maybe Nissan are - you have a limited quantity of $7500 rebates per OEM. So the early in companies will run out of rebates and have to compete against all the newcomers who still get the $7500 subsidy. It is going to be a mess. Maybe Ford sees the crash of the auto industry coming and is hedging against it. I am hoping to be retired by 2025 (don't tell my wife!).

-Geoff

Yea, my only point was that CAFE mandates and gas prices will be less meaningful in the small vs. large vehicle discussion once the US adopts more non-petrol-based propulsion. And yes, to your point, new vehicle pricing will continue to climb significantly. I personally feel the $7,500 subsidies should never have existed, but that's another discussion for another day.
 
Good fucking luck replacing the battery on a hybrid...

Battery tech is getting better by the day. There have been tests run on newer production Volts that took them over 300k miles with no discernible difference in vehicle range. I don't know how they tested the vehicle, but one thing I do wonder about is the amount of charge cycles. Batteries only have so many recharges before they begin to peter out, and if electric vehicle owners keep them tethered to the charger like they do cell phones, the battery may last well under that mileage.
 
I'm thinking that this means we should all buy what we want soon, because a few years down the road you won't be able to buy what you want, unless it's used.
 
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