I was wondering what you guys thought about this. A few days ago, I was shocked to the bone when I read Ford was deleting all "passenger car" models except Mustang and Focus. But, then, yesterday it hit me......what other passenger cars did they make, anyways? lol. I'll miss the Taurus, always wanted an HO model, but 45K was out of the budget anyways. Yeah, I know, there's a slew of Fiestas and such, who cares if their not around. I guess the biggest thing about this is their finally caving in to the onslaught of Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, etc. I'm not sure I would have ever been in the market for just a straight passenger car when an SUV offers so much more, and for sure we probably never would have seen "full size" muscle cars again, so I guess maybe not such a big deal after all.
All the safety requirements and such have made most "passenger" cars large and pricey. A super cab truck (SUV with a sand box on the back), SUV's, and mid sized trucks make the most sense with respect to utility for a family of four. City dwellers' really don't need a vehicle (new trend is the Millennials living near work in a loft), farmers and ranchers don't need a car, trucks fill all their needs. Those that live in the burbs need a commuter vehicle, and then there some of us "motor heads" that just must fill the need for speed.
Now having said that, my F150 (XLT Sport Extended cab, 5.0/6spd/3.55/tow package is our "travel/work/tow" vehicle. It is comfortable, well equipped, gives an honest 21 - 22 MPG at 75 MPH, will get out of it's own way, and haul a butt load of stuff all for the price of a middle of the road Fusion. My wife's Focus is the perfect vehicle for all of her little runs she does on a regular basis but I would not drive it on a long trip.
While I am not the "average" family Fords Truck/SUV?Mustang/Focus does fall in the middle of my wheel house. They might not be too far out there with this marketing idea.
Like all manufacturers, Ford sells more trucks & SUV's than anything else so it seems to make some sense.
As you said, it looks like they're ceding the sedan market to Europe & Asia and focusing on what makes money for them here.
Personally I like my little focus since I have a 35 mile commute, so I appreciate the good mileage and it has all the toys I need. Either way though my next vehicle will be a pickup because I do miss having a vehicle to haul things from time to time.
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2018-04-30 13:40
I was wondering what you guys thought about this. A few days ago, I was shocked to the bone when I read Ford was deleting all "passenger car" models except Mustang and Focus. But, then, yesterday it hit me......what other passenger cars did they make, anyways? lol. I'll miss the Taurus, always wanted an HO model, but 45K was out of the budget anyways. Yeah, I know, there's a slew of Fiestas and such, who cares if their not around. I guess the biggest thing about this is their finally caving in to the onslaught of Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, etc. I'm not sure I would have ever been in the market for just a straight passenger car when an SUV offers so much more, and for sure we probably never would have seen "full size" muscle cars again, so I guess maybe not such a big deal after all.
I have never liked 4 door cars but my wifes SHO was a screamer. We bought it used for $2500 when it was four years old, and we bought it from a women who moved and was now stuck in traffic everyday so she wanted something with an auto trans..
Once they start fazing out the Fusion they can start production on the new Bronco. I wonder what happened to the mid-sized Ranger that was supposed to be out a few years back?
Tough week for Ford.......both F150 plants being shut down due to major fire at one of their suppliers, gotta hurt big time since the F150 is 1/4 of Ford's total sales, and they have no idea how long it's going to take for that supplier to rebuild from scratch.
This morning I read China is holding Ford vehicles in customs because of political/trade balance issues we shouldn't get into on this forum I guess?????WTF???