Mercury Introduces Upscale Trim Level, Names It So It Sounds Vaguely Like A Russian Mail Order Bride

Or at the very least, a guide association based in Vermont.

I mean seriously, VOGA? That's what they came up with? Why is it that the most stupid ideas are the ones that consistently get chosen or are successful (relatively speaking) in life? Case in point- the other day I'm watching an informercial advertising some sort of weight loss belt that apparently vibrates in order to disintegrate fat cells. Yes, you read that right. And the scary thing is, I'm sure the thing has buyers for it.

What does this have to do with VOGA? I have no idea.

Source: Detroit News

Ford Decides to Hold Onto Volvo

It's pretty well known that as part of Ford's continuing review of its brand portfolio (coupled with a relatively urgent need for cash to fund its turnaround efforts), it had considered selling Volvo.

Yesterday, as part of the release of Ford's better-than-expected third quarter financial results, CEO Alan Mulally announced that for the time being, Ford is not going to sell Volvo. Instead, Ford intends to improve Volvo's cost structure and brand positioning. The objective for Volvo in the near term is for it to operate more independently, yet achieve greater efficiency by cooperating with the global Ford organization in purchasing and product development.

Both Volvo and Ford are in difficult positions. Aside from its aforementioned struggles, Ford has depended on Volvo-developed platforms for several of its large cars and crossovers, and an extraction of Volvo from Ford might be difficult while there is so much component sharing. Volvo is struggling with its perception in the marketplace as safe family cars with a touch of luxury, but also of a brand that is a step or so behind the big-name luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi. Also, the fall in value of the US dollar, coupled with the appreciation of the Swedish Kronor, has made Volvos (all of which are produced in Sweden currently) difficult to price competitively in the US. Volvo's options are to reduce the cost structure (possibly at the expense of any premium image), raise prices (possibly at the expense of sales volume), or hold the line on prices (possibly at the expense of profitability). Speaking of profitability, although Ford does not break out Volvo's results individually, but the company did say that Volvo posted an undisclosed loss in the third quarter of 2007. According to Automotive News, sources close to the company have said that it was in excess of $100 million.

Ford said that just because it decided not to sell Volvo in the short term, it doesn't mean that Volvo might not eventually be sold. Down the road, the focus on improving efficiencies in product development and purchasing might make Volvo's financials look better for a potential buyer, and encouraging Volvo to otherwise operate more independently might make it a more attractive purchase for another buyer.

Snap Judgement Tuesday

Now that it has been redone, the Ford Taurus is the best looking full sized car on the market.

Bonus content- want to waste some time? Click here and join.

Jaguar Pulls A Prince

http://www.wheels.ca/newsFeatures/article/31797

The Jaguar name will be dropped from the marque's cars in a few years, says design chief Ian Callum.

Let us now run down the multitude of idiocies that are in the process of being carried out at Jaguar, and by extension Ford.

• An ongoing onslaught of shitty cars that can't compete in their respective segments either because they're just outright horrible, or even worse for a Jaguar, boring.
• An 'all new' design direction that looks like it has cribbed various elements from Lexus, Infiniti and BMW.
• Floundering public perception and a complete lack of direction.
• Being sold to a 3rd rate 3rd world manufacturer named Tata (admittedly not the fault of Jaguar)
  
• And our latest 3 Stooges move- removing the Jaguar name from the vehicle.

Now the question I'm sure some are asking is- why is it a dumb move?

Well, first of all, you have to understand the place of Jaguar in the current marketplace. It HAS no place. It's a lost child. A wandering soul with no home. It prices cars above the established big dogs in the luxury segment based on past performance and recognition that no longer registers with buyers. It designs cars to look like Mini Me Aston Martins (not bad for any other maker, but it's a JAGUAR damn it). Basically, Jaguar is up Shit River without a paddle. Or a functioning toilet. And now, their brilliant move is to erase their name off of vehicles that are supposed to give them a new place in the market- vehicles that are supposed to remove the stale taste of crap they've been offering over the last 20 years.

Unfortunately, no one will know what just passed them now.

Kudos Jaguar.

Even The Good Moves That Ford Makes Blow Up In Their Faces

Perhaps the salespeople are part of the problem. It seems that nearly twenty percent of Ford’s sales team is trying to sell Ford Five Hundreds to customers instead of the new-for-2008 Taurus. About 60 percent of Ford salespeople are using the correct name some of the time, but still slip in the Five Hundred moniker on occasion.

Source- Winding Road

One can sympathize with the dealers of course, since if you type 'Ford Taurus' into Google image search, you get about 1 picture of the 2008 Taurus for every 23417 pictures of the previous generation Tauri. I think the one major issue with the name change, which all in all I think was a great idea by Ford by the way, was that the refresh of the Taurus nee Five Hundred didn't go nearly far enough to differentiate the models. Yes, there's a slimmed down ass end, and the glitzy chrome front end- but only the legally blind won't look at the new Taurus and not see the Five Hundred with a grille kit. It's probably not helping that every Ford salesperson is probably referencing the Five Hundred in their sales pitch- 'It's just like the Five Hundred but BETTER'. You know, that sort of thing.

Someone needs to punch whoever came up with Five Hundred in the first place right in the balls. Then they need to undertake a more drastic reskinning of the Taurus to send the Five Hundred into the trashbin of history, and make it a rule that it's never to be discussed. Send current Five Hundred owners to Chevy to get their cars serviced.

If You Didn't Already Do It, Now's The Time To Really Say Goodbye To Jaguar

Left Lane News is reporting that the following image is a pretty good look at what to expect from the Jaguar XF- a car that basically needs to be a hit for Jaguar to even think about surviving beyond the Ford years.


Umm, excuse me?

I didn't know the market was clamouring for a car that looks like a Lexus ES. Especially in the mid-range lux segment. And if there WAS such a market, Lexus would have probably made their GS look like it.

So what the hell are they smoking? Are they so bereft of ideas over at Ford/Jaguar that THIS is the best they could come up with? Frankly, I don't give a crap about the interior or the power. What Jaguar is CURRENTLY offering has pretty nice interiors and pretty good power- what they all lack however (including the XK, which I think looks okay) is any type of distinctive Jaguar style (and no, the 30 year old perpetually refreshed XJ isn't the answer). The worst part of it all? That this is the car that supposedly 'inspired' what you see above:

Alan Mulally Is So Wise- He's Like A Miniature Buddha, Covered With Hair

The Freep had this to report from Ford boss Alan Mulally-

Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally created a stir in Traverse City on Wednesday among auto industry leaders and the news media by expressing interest in a 50-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax proposed a day earlier by U.S. Rep. John Dingell.

He then went on to make some vague comments about $9 gas in Europe as a way to let the customer decide on what vehicles they wanted.

All of this is amusing on a number of levels, because it's quite obvious as to what is going on here- Ford is playing a public relations game. Mulally didn't just shoot off randomly here- he is priming the pump so to speak. Exactly what benefit would $9 gas or increased gas taxes have for Ford? About the same as the increased CAFE regulations they and others such as GM are so vehemently again- zero, zilch, nil, nada. The domestic manufacturers, who coincidentally are the sheep bleating the loudest in regards to the proposed CAFE regulations, would be hurt massively by either upgraded CAFE standards OR greatly increased gas taxes.

None of them have any serious pipeline to small cars on the way, and all of them rely on big profit but relatively bad fuel economy trucks for their continued existence.

So how is this a PR move? Well for one, Ford comes out looking like roses by trying to solve the problem- they aren't just shrieking uncontrollably, they're providing options! Furthermore, if there's one thing that Mulally and Ford know, it's that taxes aren't something that the majority of the American electorate are fond of. So they'll tout gas taxes all day long, secure in the fact that the number of politicians who would support $9 gas is about the same as the number of politicians who want to lose their jobs next election. All the while, they can go to the press with the news that Ford is very concerned about the environment and gas consumption, but they did their part and offered up the idea of gas taxes, because CAFE is a horrible idea.

And no one will call their bullshit.

The truth of the matter is, Ford/GM/Chrysler are going to feel the pain either way because either CAFE or high gas taxes are essentially the same thing for them- they don't have the cars necessary for good fleet fuel economy in their pipeline right now to compete with the Toyonissondas of the world if CAFE comes in soon, and consumers would shun their profit drivers (trucks) if gas went up to $9 a gallon. They're screwed either way.

A more realistic and truthful way of doing things would be admit that their product lineups are tilted too far towards the wrong kind of vehicles, and announce a REAL move towards smaller more fuel efficient rides. And then follow through on it within 2 years. If they worked with the government on the subject of CAFE, there would no doubt be leeway given towards their cause, with a stepped regulation probably being the best thing. Instead, by kicking and screaming every step of the way, some of them end up looking petulant and ignorant, while others look condescending and untrustworthy.

Looks like Detroit is going to have to pick their poison.

On The Moon, Ford Gets Spanked With Moon Rocks

Oh boy, things don't look good.

• Ford Motor Company's all-new and redesigned crossovers were up 40 percent in July; year-to-date sales also up 40 percent.
• Overall sales totaled 195,245, down 19 percent compared with a year ago; daily rental sales were down 57 percent and sales to individual retail customers were down 17 percent.
• Lincoln registers tenth month in a row of higher retail sales.
• All-new Ford Expedition gains for the eleventh month in a row; Lincoln Navigator was up 8 percent.
• Land Rover sales rose 19 percent, reflecting all-new LR2.

---

So after a horrific June, Ford has followed up with a horrific July. At least the Edge is doing well. Up 40 percent over last year.... when they were just rolling off the assembly lines. I do give kudos to Ford for burying the 19 percent down in the second bullet. Bravo spinmasters!

Some more specific ass paddlings:

• The 'new' Taurus and leftover Five Hundred models COMBINED couldn't reach the sales of last years Five Hundred.
• The Fusion has taken a beating for 2 straight months now, almost erasing the sales gains it had made YTD, which are now at a meagre 3.9%.
• The Mustang continues to slide, despite what appears to be 326 different special editions out there- it is not about 12% down for the year.
• F-Series trucks are in deep doo doo.
• The engine enhancements to the MKZ haven't really amounted to much of a sales bump- only 5.5% YTD.
  

On the positive side:

• The Sable is actually doing pretty well.
• The Expedition is actually doing pretty damn well in the face of some serious competition.

Honestly, it's really hard to tell what the hell Ford has to do in order to get this ship righted. The all new Escape has barely had an impact. Good cars like the Fusion just aren't selling in the volumes they need to make a dent. The Taurus/Five Hundred fiasco- nuff said. The trucks are under heavy attack until the next gen F-Series can make a debut. Is something like the Flex really the answer? The company is in a rut, and frankly, I have no idea what they can do to get out of it. They need time more than anything, and they simply don't have it.

Ford sales up 122 percent...

...in Russia.

For all the tears shed, hands wrung, and red ink spilled about Ford's problems in the US market for the past year or two (namely a $12.6 billion-with-a-B loss in 2006 and falling sales and market share), there is at least one part of the world where Ford can literally do almost no wrong: Russia.

Take almost everything that is wrong with Ford in its home market - a truck-heavy lineup, a marginally competitive small car, and unrealistic MSRPs (hence the perpetual $7,000 rebate on Lincoln Town Cars), and Ford does not have any of those issues in Russia. In fact, year to date Ford sales are up in Russia by 122% through June 30, while the overall market was up 70% in 2006.

In Europe, expensive gasoline and a more pragmatic approach to transportation means that few if any non-industrial buyers purchase pickup trucks or full-size SUVs. Although the US market is trending away from these vehicles, they are still very much a part of Ford's US lineup (as well as GM's and Chrysler's). However, as US buyers' tastes shift away from large vehicles, Ford's product plans have not yet caught up to consumer tastes. In Europe, and Russia in particular, the product mix pretty much already matches what buyers want, and are likely to want in coming years. Throw a growing economy flush with oil revenue (wages up 28% in April 2007 versus April 2006) into the mix, and the result is stratospheric sales gains.

Instead of talking about what Ford does wrong in the US, let's look at what they did right in Russia. Part of Ford's success is probably luck, and part can be attributed to good management.

Ford laid the foundation for its success in Russia by becoming the first foreign-owned automotive company to build a production line in Russia, in St. Petersburg, so the company enjoyed a first mover advantage. St. Petersburg has become a "Russian Detroit," as Nissan and Toyota later announced plans to build vehicles there, and other facets of a nascent automotive industry sprang up in the area. Ford currently has capacity to produce 72,000 Focus compacts at its St. Petersburg facility, but just announced plans on July 10 to spend $100 million to expand the plant to produce an additional 28,000 Focuses (100,000 total) plus 25,000 Mondeo midsize cars.

As far as having the proper product mix for the local market, Ford's lineup in Russia is anchored by the Focus. Yes, the Russians get the "good" Focus (on the well-regarded C1 platform, which also underpins the Mazda3, Volvo S40, and others). The Focus starts at just $12,000 and is well within reach of the Russian middle class, particularly with readily available financing. The Focus is so popular in Russia that at its launch, customers had to endure six month waiting lists to buy one. There are still waiting lists, but they're now at three or four months. It's the best selling import brand vehicle in Russia, beating out strong competitors such as Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi.

If Ford only Ford was able to emulate its success in Russia in the US, we might be having very different conversations about Ford's future today. Unfortunately, though the Russian Ford sales are way up, they also represent only a small portion of Ford's global sales (115,985 units out of 6.6 million) so aren't really helping the bottom line at this point. However, analysts believe that in the next few years, Russia could become the largest car market in Europe, and Ford appears to be sitting in a great position to capitalize on that.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Bear with me for a moment, and take a step into your childhood with this excerpt penned by Hans Christian Andersen:

All the people standing by and at the windows cheered and cried, "Oh, how splendid are the Emperor's new clothes. What a magnificent train! How well the clothes fit!" No one dared to admit that he couldn't see anything, for who would want it to be known that he was either stupid or unfit for his post?

None of the Emperor's clothes had ever met with such success.

But among the crowds a little child suddenly gasped out, "But he hasn't got anything on." And the people began to whisper to one another what the child had said. "He hasn't got anything on." "There's a little child saying he hasn't got anything on." Till everyone was saying, "But he hasn't got anything on." The Emperor himself had the uncomfortable feeling that what they were whispering was only too true. "But I will have to go through with the procession," he said to himself.

So he drew himself up and walked boldly on holding his head higher than before, and the courtiers held on to the train that wasn't there at all.

Keeping the above story in mind, I need to get something off my chest.

I don't buy into the hype about the Ford Flex.


It pains me to make that statement, because I really, really want to see Ford pull out of its tailspin and sell some awesome products that resonate with the US buying public. The Fusion has done pretty well in its early life, and the Edge appears to be pleasing its early customers, in spite of a need to diet and some lackluster magazine reviews.

Now Ford wants us to believe that the Flex will be the family hauler for the 21st century, the one that every father and mother has dreamed about as they retch at the thought of commuting in a traditional minivan, and all of the perceived social stigma that accompanies a minivan purchase.

I hope I'm wrong about this, but I think it looks a little too different from the norm. GM's new full-size crossovers (Enclave, Acadia, and Outlook) have similar dimensions to the Flex outside and inside (except height, where the GM vehicles are about five inches taller, apparently mostly in the ride height). The difference is, GM is trying to make their large crossovers look more or less like traditional SUVs, while Ford is trying to make theirs look different. The GM triplets hide some of their length by having a curved, arching roofline, while the Flex has one as flat as Kansas, and you can see every inch of the vehicle's length when viewing the profile. In fact, the orange body and white roof in the press photos make it look even lower and longer than it probably is. People who seem to like the Flex's style compare it to a Range Rover, which has famously squared off edges and a recognizable shape, but the profile and white roof remind many others (me among them) of a double-sized Mini Cooper. The Flex has an innovative interior and lots of space, but I can't get past the idea that it looks a little too much unlike anything else in its class. To me, it just seems too long and low, and I'm just not sure if minivan intenders (or minivan-phobes) are interested in something so different.

Ford has bet big before and hit grand slams (1986 Taurus/Sable, for example), so it's entirely possible they're right on the Flex as well. I'm not going to humor the emperor and say that it's anything but a boxy-shaped crossover, and not the second coming of the minivan. It's just not a great looking vehicle to me, and I'd be dishonest to say otherwise.

Halfway To Zero

The first half of 2007 is behind us, and after some crunching of sales numbers, Automotive News reported today that the market share of the Big Three domestic manufacturers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) has dipped to 50.2% of the US vehicle market in June, thanks in large part to GM's meltdown. Meanwhile, sales of Japanese branded vehicles in the US rose to 37.5%. Since the Domestics' share was 56.0% in June 2006 and the Japanese brands' share was 32.5% in June 2006, this means that almost one for one, every point of market share that Detroit gave up was snapped up by a Japanese brand. European and Korean brands took up the remaining 0.8 percentage points of market share.

What does this mean? Well, unlike an era a generation or two ago, when GM alone held more than 50% of the US auto market, three US-based companies together are likely to not be able to hold onto that share even together. GM has already said that they will not sit idly by while Ford, Chrysler, and even Toyota outspend them on incentives, so expect possibly a slight bump in July in domestic sales, but the long term writing has been on the wall for a while.

Not only has the US auto market become more fragmented - with more models, more brands, and even more countries of origin than ever before - but the domestic brands falling asleep at the wheel for a decade or two in the 1970s and 1980s certainly has harmed their current situation. For decades, their import competition steadily chugged along, improving their products in terms of comfort and reliability with each generation, convincing one buyer after another to switch brands, Detroit didn't do much about it. Now that this ship has left the harbor, and foreign competition has raised expectations and created a generation or two of satisfied customers, Detroit needs to come up with products and marketing that will convince satisfied import owners - or at least current domestic owners thinking of switching to the import side, that their products are worth buying. To do that, they'll need not only superior products, but substantially superior products. They need to look better (and in some cases, the domestic models actually do look better than their import competition), but also have better reliability, better fuel economy, a nicer interior, and be priced competitively. It's a tough hill to climb, and it pains me to say it, but I don't think we'll see Detroit at 50% market share again, ever.

By the way, the title of this post is not intended to imply that Detroit is on its way to zero market share (although the trend line does move in that direction). At some point, it will level off, but who knows when that will happen? The glass is definitely half empty at this point.

Ford's Future Powertrain Direction

While many auto manufacturers are scratching their heads trying to decide how to meet likely new EPA fuel economy standards in the next few years, Ford thinks it has an answer. They also hope that answer will address the power shortages that some of their engines have relative to the competition (particularly their V8s, in a world where the competition has 400 and 500 horsepower, with the same or better fuel economy of Ford's current engine lineup).

Ford's solution is called Twin-Force, and it means twin turbos coupled with gasoline direct injection. Starting with the 2008 Lincoln MKS sedan, Ford intends to apply twin turbos to I4, V6, and V8 engines over the next several years, and rumor is that engine sizes and power outputs will be:

• 260 horsepower for the 2.5 liter I4 (likely to appear in the 2009 Fusion sedan)
• 350-420 horsepower for the 3.5 liter V6 (likely to appear in the Mustang and F150 later in 2009)
• 400 horsepower for the possible 5.0 liter V8
• 650 lb-ft of torque for the 6.2 liter V8 (likely to land in the F150 and Super Duty as a diesel alternative).

If the power figures appear as rumored, I'll be very impressed. Even more impressive is that Ford expects fuel efficency to be on par with contemporary diesels of similar size, but expects diesel-like fuel economy, at a lower cost because the expensive emission equipment will not be needed.

Finally, the last part of Ford's powertrain future is called a Powershift gearbox, which is similar in concept to Volkswagen's much-loved twin clutch DSG gearbox. DSGs promise less driveline loss than a conventional torque converter-equipped automatic (so better fuel economy) and faster, more direct shifts.

Giving Ford the benefit of the doubt that they actually can meet these rumored horsepower and fuel economy numbers, plus rolling out a DSG, all they'll need to get in order is a more interesting, engaging styling direction. They have the ideas (the Ford Interceptor would be a nice start), but need to actually implement them.

I was someone who questioned Ford's strategy of going with a twin turbo V6 in the upcoming Lincoln MKS rather than the Volvo-sourced V8 in the original concept car, but if a Twin-Force V6 exceeds the V8's fuel economy, and with potentially 400+ horsepower (versus about 311 for the V8), it's hard to argue with the results. The photo at the top of this post is of the Twin-Force V6 in the Lincoln MKR concept car, which was first shown at the NAIAS in Detroit in January 2007.

I wish them luck. Now let's see these engines and transmissions actually installed in production vehicles.

Further Idiocy From Ford

Courtesy of Bloomberg -

Ford Motor Co. thinks it finally has a chance to crack the small-car market, and not a moment too soon.

This fall Ford will begin selling the second generation of the Focus, a compact that hasn't fared well against some of the stiffest competition in the auto world. The new model, available with an optional interactive speech-recognition system developed with Microsoft Corp. and called Sync, will have to offer young shoppers a clear advantage over a Honda or Toyota, aside from a discounted price.

I swear, my head is about to explode Scanners style if I have to read any more shit like this from retarded automakers.

'A chance to crack the small-car market' ??? How idiotic is that statement? Ford CRACKED the small-car market back in 2000 with the original Ford Focus. It was class leading, it looked great for the time, it hit all the right buttons, it was a quantum leap over the Escort/Contour that it replaced in the lineup. It was an honest to goodness valid and in a lot of cases, BETTER alternative to the Civic, Corolla, Sentra, et al. And they shit the bed by not updating it significantly for almost EIGHT YEARS. Absolutely shit the bed. No ifs, ands, or buts. And now they're touting this new Focus as some sort of 'chance' vehicle for them.

The best part about all this? It's still not an all new Ford Focus! It's still riding the same platform, while the Mazda 3 gets all the latest goodies.

Incredible.

Mr. Lutz, Your Tin Foil Hat Is Ready

From The Detroit News

"This whole thing has nothing to do with energy policy, CO2 or the environment," General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told The Detroit News on Friday. "This is purely punitive; the 'big business haters' finally giving us our due for decades of 'colluding with oil companies' and 'forcing the U.S. public to buy big SUVs.'

"Make no mistake: these people hate us and want to inflict pain."

So it's come to this. the Vice Chairman of GM is complaining about black helicopters in the sky and a grand conspiracy against the domestic automakers, all because the government, who are looking after their own asses and ensuring that gas prices stay low and the trees all don't die, have decided to make CAFE have a bit more teeth.

Now, forget the arguments about CAFE, and whether it's a good thing or a bad thing for a minute.

CAFE has been around for a long time. And domestic manufacturers openly flouted the loopholes built into CAFE by spending most of their advertising and new product development dollars on trucks and SUVs, both classes of vehicles not affected by CAFE. They did this ON PURPOSE. There was no ignorance involved. They gave up markets with less margins where imports were making headway in order to take the easy road lined with SUV gold. And now that the farmer has figured out that he let the wolf take care of the chicken coop, they're pleading innocence and naivety. If it wasn't so funny, it would be disgusting.

The big problem in all of this is that the domestic manufacturers are now caught in their own endgame. No one takes them seriously anymore as purveyors of vehicles with good fuel economy, but they'll now be forced to market them. Just as the imports start taking aim at their lucrative truck market, and just as the money tree in their own backyard has started turning up rotten fruit. With less R&D money than the competition to develop new car platforms, and the competition going after the truck jugular, what next?

The obvious answer? Appeal to patriotism.

Chrysler Vice President Jason Vines, in an appearance on Mitch Albom's radio show Friday, lamented that America seems to be the only country where the government doesn't care about and protect its domestic auto industry. He said it was time to "give a damn" about an industry that creates jobs and wealth for hundreds of thousands of people.

Good sir- the government has given a 'damn' too many times in the past already. You dug your graves. Now pull yourselves out of them.

Ford : Home Of The Original Styling Cue

See that Lexus up there? In the US, it was sold as the Lexus IS300, the Lexus answer to the BMW 3 Series. In Japan it was sold as the Toyota Altezza. Sales started in 1998. It had some issues- namely, it didn't have that big of an engine, and the interior really wasn't all that Lexussy. It was a case of Lexus trying to be BMW a bit too hard. It even had an inline 6. What it DID have going for it was its looks- it's a handsome car from all angles, and even managed to look good in wagon form- a rarity. Notice those tail lamps? The IS300/Altezza started a trend in 98- 'Altezza' lights, which are basically clear casings with lots of chrome bits showing through. A more common sighting of Altezza lights would be Nissan, which cribbed the idea to an extreme in 2002 with the Altima (now in extra large versions with the current gen).

Well driving around this morning, it struck me just how hard the American makes are trying to make the rear ends of their vehicles look like Altezzas. It's quite funny actually. Especially in light of all the brouhaha they make about 'traditional American style' being the key area where they can trump the Japanese. The entire Saturn lineup is starting to look like Nissans from behind now... but the biggest offender is Ford. Who are methodically turning the front of their cars into Mach 3 razor blade replacement cartridges, and the rear of their cars into 1998 Toyota Altezzas. From the Fusion (which started it) to the yet to be released Focus, all the new Ford coming out are cribbing this styling element. Without grace or style I might add. Even moreso than the Altima, which was a shameless offender in previous gen guise in terms of a 'tacked on look' to the tails, the current Ford products look like 2 different designers had a go at the car- one at the front and one at the back.

Bear witness:






All of them with ultra glitzy rear ends for no other purpose than to copy the Japanese. Who would have thought the day would come where American style would be influenced by the Japanese? Well, it's here.

The Ford Fusion 'Challenge'

When is a comparison a sham?

When is a comparison a joke?

When does advertising blur the line between honesty and dishonesty?

I present to you the latest of the 'Bold Moves'- the Fusion ad campaign which you may have seen on TV lately. The Ford Fusion Challenge. No longer content with just touting the features of their own vehicles, Ford has pulled a page out of 1985 and has decided to do the 'head to head to head' thing in a number of commercials.

The vehicles in question? A Ford Fusion SEL AWD. A Honda Accord EX-V6. A Toyota Camry V6. Hum the song to yourself- one of these things just doesn't belong here, one of these things just isn't the same...

Yes, the AWD Fusion is priced comparably to the Accord and Camry V6 models- but pitting an AWD model against FWD models is dishonest, sneaky, and suggests that the FWD model just isn't up to the task.

The most hilarious part of all the spots is the post-ad selling screen- $0 down, 0% financing, $0 due at signing... all for $249 a month. Great deal huh? Oh wait, what's that in the small print- it's for a Ford Fusion SE I4. So if someone WAS moved enough by this dungpiece of a commercial to actually visit a Ford dealership to check out this deal, they'll be quickly smacked upside their face when they realize that the Fusion that won the 'comparison' isn't even the one being advertised in the ads.

Par for the course when it comes to advertising? Probably. But still a Bold Deception.

Failed Platform: DEW 98

When the Ford Motor Company introduced its new global midsize RWD platform in 1999 underneath the 2000 Lincoln LS, it was met with great fanfare by the automotive press. The LS garnered Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award and was nominated for North American Car of the Year. With such jazzy features as rear-wheel drive, a manual transmission (V6 only) and an available V8, the LS seemed like a great mix of attainable luxury and unpretentious sportiness.

How did the marketplace react? In 1999, it sold 26,368 copies. Its first full calendar year, 2000, saw sales hit 51,039. Ford had a mini-hit. How did mother-Ford nurture its nascent sedan? They starved it. It was treated to one update (in 2003) before becoming a V8-only $45,000 has-been. Anyone remember seeing an LS ad anytime between 2004 and 2006? I don’t. Sales collapsed to 19,000 by 2005 and less than 9,000 found [ostensibly] willing buyers in 2006 before the axe fell.

Soon after the LS hit the streets, Jaguar twisted the DEW architecture into the base for the retro-fabulous S-type. Its 2000 CY sales were 24,507—by far the most popular Jaguar that year. Of course, being the cheapest one in the lineup probably helped the S-type attain the sales crown. Over the years Jag tried to keep buyers engaged with a refresh or two and a supercharger, but that wasn’t enough to stave off the grim reaper: just 5,875 customers gave this cat a home in 2006. The S-type is to be taken under in 2007.


Where did Ford take this globe-trotting platform next? Well, back to the ‘50s of course. The 2002 Ford Thunderbird took the DEW98, added some ‘50s styling clichés and removed all of that era’s intrinsic automotive design charm and served it up with a weak power plant and a high base price. The car sold well for about five months. Then Ford decided that it needed to upgrade it for the ’03 MY. This decision, however, came a little late in the planning process. As such, Ford had to extend the ’02 MY well into what should have been the ’03 MY. Compounding the problem was the fact that dealers were now fully stocked up on left-over, convertible, RWD cars with winter sneezing on their doorsteps. Consumers wisely stayed away. The Thunderbird never regained its momentum. Sales fell from 19,000 in 2002 to just 9,500 in 2005 when Ford once again stopped producing the ‘Bird. It was destined to be the last vehicle Ford would develop on the once promising DEW98.

What went wrong? This:

1) Lack of flexibility in design and manufacturing
2) Expensive to produce (and Ford cordially passed that expense onto its customers)
3) Starved for development funds
4) Terrible marketing for all model-lines

Had the platform been cheaper to produce and more flexible, then the Mustang could have been its savior. Alas, that wasn’t meant to be. Ford had to modify (i.e.: cheapen) the DEW98 to such an extent that it had to become a whole new platform (D2C) before the galloping horsie could have a new home in 2005.

Ford completely missed a lucrative opportunity. Rear-wheel drive is decidedly in fashion—so long that it’s affordable. Chrysler did everything right with its RWD LX platform that Ford did wrong with the DEW: It is flexible, cheap, isn’t being neglected, manufacturing is consolidated to one plant, and the vehicles built off of it were brilliantly marketed at launch and consistently advertised. GM has found success with its Sigma Cadillacs and is poised to follow suit in ’08 with its inexpensive Zeta sedans and coupes. All Ford has to offer rear-wheel-drive buyers is its 28-year-old Panther cars and a niche-market Mustang.

Imagine if the Five-Hundred came out on a DEW-derived platform with the Mustang 4.6L V8 under the bonnet and styling that wouldn’t get lost in the bread isle of your local A&P? It most certainly wouldn’t have been demoted to Taurus status.

What looked like the start of a good thing was merely a brilliant flash in the pan. How typically Ford.