Author Topic: Ford Tidbits (Read 65853 times)

sirAQUAMAN64 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 06, 2006, 05:34:33 pm »

I'm a huge fan of the Euro Ford stuff, especially the (Focus) C-MAX, S-MAX, new Mondeo, Focus, etc.

I think they need to be Fords as well. Ford really is the company as a whole. Why would you give it to Mercury, an ailing brand, even if they're *supposedly* marginally positioned higher? Plus, Mercury is long-gone from Canada.

Initially import from Europe or South America as you're preparing production in North America. They're going to lose money on them initially, but they already know they're going to lose money with the current North American 'Way Forward' plan anyway. Why not lose money building market confidence and enthusiasm using great products (so you can sell closer to MSRP/at higher prices or make money later once buildable in North America), versus lose money selling average uninspiring vehicles at discounted prices further insulting American engineering and image?

If a brand wants to sell to value-conscious consumers with an average or older product at lower pricing, that's fine with me. Position yourself that way. But don't cry when you tout yourself and your products as innovative and class leading and no one buys into it.

MKII · « **Reply #21 on:** December 06, 2006, 06:10:39 pm »

Ford of Europe redesign C-Max http://www.autoweek.nl/images/800/f/ffa766124cb611a0ed588bb88f81b21f.jpg
http://www.autoweek.nl/images/800/e/3a34273be7ee8104ca2a52cee3dec76e.jpg
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MKII · « **Reply #22 on:** December 07, 2006, 10:13:28 am »

Mercury pumps $23M into Milan marketing

By AMY WILSON | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

AutoWeek | Published 12/04/06, 10:31 pm et

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DETROIT -- Mercury is spending $23 million on a fourth-quarter marketing campaign to jump-start U.S. sales of the Milan sedan.

Mercury executives have told dealers the advertising push is part of a plan to sell at least 50,000 Milans annually.

Through November, Mercury sold 32,980 Milans. That puts it on pace to sell fewer than 40,000 for all of 2006.

So Mercury has some work to do to hit its target. That's where the new marketing campaign comes in.

"We'll get more momentum with our advertising," said Mike Richards, Lincoln Mercury general marketing manager. "You get more word of mouth."

Mercury started running new Milan TV commercials in early October. Two spots tout features of the 2007 model. One focuses on all-wheel drive. The second emphasizes what Mercury officials describe as "cool features," such as an iPod jack.

Milan sales picked up in November, Richards said. He wouldn't confirm the sales target or the advertising budget for the Milan.

But marketing support on the Milan is expected to continue at strong levels into 2007, Richards said.

Even including the Montego, Mercury's other mid-sized sedan offering, Mercury is far from replacing the sales volume of the discontinued Sable. Mercury routinely sold 100,000 or more Sables annually, though volume tailed off before it was dropped in 2005. By contrast, the Milan and Montego are on pace to sell fewer than 60,000 units combined in 2006.

Richards said it's not an appropriate comparison: "Sable was a huge fleet car and a different set of industry circumstances."

haris · « **Reply #23 on:** December 07, 2006, 02:31:49 pm »

Quote

Why not lose money building market confidence and enthusiasm using great products (so you can sell closer to MSRP/at higher prices or make money later once buildable in North America), versus lose money selling average uninspiring vehicles at discounted prices further insulting American engineering and image?

North American mentality of NOW NOW NOW NOW. Right NOW it's cheaper to sell POS ones. That's all that matters. NOW.
That's all I can think of. Oh, and Ford NA ego. You know, they're the big boss, so...

nowcar · « **Reply #24 on:** December 07, 2006, 03:06:48 pm »

They should be using that 23 million to buy out Merc dealers.

MKII · « **Reply #25 on:** December 07, 2006, 03:23:58 pm »

Ford starts shipping Edge crossovers

Associated Press

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. began shipping the long-awaited Edge crossover vehicle to dealers today after ironing out problems at its Oakville, Ontario, manufacturing complex, a company official said.

Joseph R. Hinrichs, vice president of North American manufacturing, said Ford now is happy with the assembly line performance at the plant, which also produces the Edge's Lincoln counterpart, the MKX.

"We're very comfortable with the level of production capability that we have now," he said today.

The company initially said it would deliver the car-based crossover vehicles to dealerships in November, but delayed shipments in mid-November.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061207/UPDATE/612070456
Hinrichs said that early vehicles coming off the line met all of Ford's quality standards, but the company wanted to ensure all of its manufacturing processes were working correctly before delivering the vehicles.

Ford has checkpoints to watch hundreds of assembly line work stations and wanted to make sure quality was consistent with all the stations before rolling out the vehicle, he said. There also were problems with parts inventory shortages from suppliers, Hinrichs said, but those, too, have been worked out.

"We wanted to make sure we saw the kind of stability we'd like to see out of our production process and out of the supply base," he said.

sirAQUAMAN64 · « **Reply #26 on:** December 07, 2006, 04:15:17 pm »

Good news. They should both sell quite well.

MKII · « **Reply #27 on:** December 11, 2006, 01:36:26 pm »

Volvos will get dual-clutch

Wim Oude Weernink | | Automotive News Europe / December 11, 2006 - 1:00

Starting in late 2007, diesel versions of Volvo’s S40 and V50 will have dual-clutch transmissions. The transmissions eventually will go into the majority of Volvo parent Ford Motor’s lineup in Europe. This includes models from Ford brand, Land Rover and Mazda, in which Ford has a controlling 33.4 percent stake. The gearboxes will replace continuously variable transmissions and automatics.

The introduction of dual clutch for the S40 and V50 lower-premium cars will coincide with a mild face-lift planned for the models, a Volvo source said.

Ford sources say that dual-clutch units will not be limited to just a few models but will be offered in a wide range of vehicles, such as the Ford Focus and Focus C-Max, which currently have CVT variants, Land Rover’s Freelander and most Mazda cars. The Focus C-Max medium minivan may get the transmission as early as next year when it gets a face-lift.

Ford “is also considering dual-clutch transmissions for some of its smaller US models,” a company source said.

Dual clutch transmissions are essentially manual transmissions that offer the option of driving in an automatic mode. The systems work particularly well when mated to diesel engines because a dual clutch can be shifted without any break in torque flow.

Ford’s dual clutch will be built by its joint-venture transmission partner Getrag in Kechnec, Slovakia. Ford and Getrag say their Powershift dual-clutch system promises fuel savings of about 10 percent compared with a traditional automatic transmission.

Ford is the latest automaker to adopt the dual clutch . Volkswagen group has offered the transmission since 2003. VW brand plans to replace all of its transverse-mounted automatic transmissions with its dual-clutch system, which it calls DSG, over the next five years.

MKII · « **Reply #28 on:** December 11, 2006, 01:42:05 pm »

Monday, December 11, 2006
Print this Comment on this E-mail this

Daniel Howes

At Ford, revolving door still spinning

If the first three months of Alan Mulally's reign are any indication, international operations chief Mark Schulz won't be the last top dog taking early retirement from Ford Motor Co.

The new boss of the Blue Oval is demanding unprecedented accountability from top executives in unprecedented times, a monstrous challenge offering comparatively scant compensation to folks who can do better elsewhere -- and live to tell about it.

"He won't be the last," one Ford exec predicted last week when I asked about the circumstances surrounding the surprise departure of Schulz, a confidant of Bill Ford Jr. He relinquished the CEO's job to Mulally three months ago.

This is a recipe for turmoil: Take Ford's dismal business results in North America, add a less-than-robust product portfolio, throw in a dollop of insular corporate culture and put the mixer in the hand of a new outsider CEO with 35 million reasons to fix things.

The unending exodus

No, Schulz, 54, won't be the last to go. Whatever the actual circumstances of his decision, he's just the latest in a very, very long line. Be it Bill Ford or his predecessor, Jacques Nasser, Ford Motor sets the global industry standard for cashiering top executives, and the exodus is continuing.

In Nasser's world, who did the job depended on whether they overshadowed Jac. In Bill Ford's world, who did the job depended on whether they irritated Bill -- and if they did, they found out from someone other than the boss. In the new world according to Mulally, getting the job done trumps everything -- or else.

Meaning this: In a company whose corporate politics Bill Ford once likened to "czarist Russia," performance now has the premium over politicking, how long an exec has been at Ford or whether his mentor's name is on the building.

That more of Ford's top brass haven't already decided to "self-select," as Mulally calls it, and head for a new gig or comfortable retirement is probably a testament to their toughness, commitment to Ford and admiration for the radical change Mulally is trying to lead.

Ford's future eyed

These are enormously difficult times at Ford. A third wave of buyout offers is going to salaried workers this week. The automaker has engineered the buyouts of nearly half its 75,000-person hourly work force. And to raise cash, Ford has mortgaged its U.S. assets.

Pretty grim, all the way around. And as much as Ford's people need unvarnished "reality," a favorite Mulally word, and need evidence that talk of management "accountability" isn't just talk, they also could use a stiff dose of hope.

With another leader bailing, knowing whether Ford has a future and what it will take to get there would help, too.

trimman · « **Reply #29 on:** December 11, 2006, 03:48:59 pm »

Best of the best

It was great to get the news that the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX is being released to the dealers, they are getting a great product. In one of Mark VanderVeen’s work group leader forums, that is before he was one of the 14,000 way forward casualties, he presented that the best Ford launch was the Fusion Launch in Mexico. At that time, OAC was well ahead of the Fusion launch curve both in production and quality. We all know what Consumer Reports said about the Fusion, and it looks like the Edge and MKX are headed to better quality levels !!.

MKII · « **Reply #30 on:** December 11, 2006, 04:04:58 pm »

Welcome aboad trimman.

Has the Oakville plant called back all the current lay-offs?
And how do you like the new PM?

sirAQUAMAN64 · « **Reply #31 on:** December 12, 2006, 05:21:09 pm »

Ford trucks will use European diesels

Richard Truett | | Automotive News / December 12, 2006 - 4:59 pm

DETROIT -- In the end, it comes down to simple economics.

Ford Motor Co. can't make money selling cars with diesel engines in the United States. So, the fuel-saving technology that Ford relies on in Europe will be used only in trucks in North America.

Ford's powertrain strategy came into clearer focus today at a pre-Detroit auto show event here. Mark Fields, Ford's executive vice president and president of the Americas, said the company will not launch a vehicle unless it makes money.

An example of the strategy: On the way for the top-selling F-150 pickup is a new 4.4-liter turbocharged V-8 diesel engine developed by Land Rover. It is expected to debut in the United States by late 2008.

A version of that engine, developed with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, already is in European Land Rovers.

For cars, Ford plans to boost fuel economy two ways: smaller engines loaded with technology such as a turbocharger and gasoline direct injection, and more models available with an optional gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain.

Other automakers -- such as Mazda, General Motors and Saab -- already use gasoline direct-injected turbocharged engines. A good example of such a powerplant is the optional 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the Pontiac Solstice GXP sports car. That engine is rated at 260 hp, yet it gets better fuel economy than the Solstice's standard 177-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder one.

Considering the Focus

Ford had been considering using diesel engines in passenger cars such as the compact Focus. A diesel engine usually boosts fuel economy by about 30 percent. A European diesel-powered Focus gets about 50 mpg on the highway.

But tougher emissions rules that take effect in January will make all diesel-powered vehicles sold in the United States more expensive because of added filters and other emissions equipment.

"We have done a lot of assessment from a customer perspective, looking at what diesel offers in terms of fuel economy and performance versus cost," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford's vice president of North American engineering and product development for the Americas. "At this point in time, we would say that GTDI (gasoline turbocharged direct injection) seems to be the better alternative."

At least one industry analyst says Ford's decision to steer clear of diesel engines in cars in North America is the right move.

Jim Hall, of AutoPacific, says the level of demand and the prices Ford could charge for diesel cars in the United States aren't high enough for the company to make money.

"Right now, if you look at it logically, there's no market pull of any consequence for passenger-car diesels," says Hall. "The issue is that the automakers doing diesels are going to charge big bucks for the diesels. It's probably a price premium right now that only Lincoln could bear."

Return of the Boss

In other powertrain news, Ford plans to bring back the Boss name from the early 1970s on a new series of high-performance, overhead-cam V-8 engines due around 2010. Ford plans to use at least one new fuel-saving technology on the Boss engines - a cylinder cutoff system. Kuzak also hinted that the Boss engines could have other high-tech features.

Says Kuzak: "Basically the Boss is a new design architecture for us. It allows us to do variable displacement as well as look at all of the other kinds of valvetrain technologies that can take us into the future."

articsteve · « **Reply #32 on:** December 12, 2006, 06:23:48 pm »

It's a sign that Ford doesn't have the $$$ backbone to back a line of cars powered by diesel fuels. When oil is $100 per barrel and BIO diesel is making head way, Ford will be out of the game even more than it is now. The Germans and Japanese will own the next gen diesels.

Wolfe · « **Reply #33 on:** December 12, 2006, 11:14:17 pm »

Of all the corporate spinmeisters I find Ford to be the absolute worst. I don't believe a damn thing they say and here's why:

From the article SirAquaman posted above:

Quote

For cars, Ford plans to boost fuel economy two ways: smaller engines loaded with technology such as a turbocharger and gasoline direct injection, and more models available with an optional gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain.

That's the spin, let's look at the reality. In 2004 Ford replaced their 4 cylinder engines in North America with the Duratec20 and Duratec23. These were based on the Mazda MZR engines but there is one key difference, the Ford versions do not have VVT. Now I'm sure it's cheaper to build engines without VVT but the result is that the Ford versions make less power and use slightly more fuel than their Mazda equivalents. Just compare the published numbers for the Focus and Mazda3.

Ford had the technology available already to increase both power and fuel economy of their 4 cylinder engines and they chose not to use it. Now they're talking about "smaller engines loaded with technology"

Ford's PR is unrelated to reality.

Wolfe · « **Reply #34 on:** December 12, 2006, 11:22:38 pm »

Quote from: articsteve on December 12, 2006, 06:23:48 pm

It's a sign that Ford doesn't have the $$$ backbone to back a line of cars powered by diesel fuels. When oil is $100 per barrel and BIO diesel is making head way, Ford will be out of the game even more than it is now. The Germans and Japanese will own the next gen diesels.

When that happens they won't be wondering why they're behind the competition, they'll be wondering why they're bankrupt.

PJungnitsch · « **Reply #35 on:** December 13, 2006, 01:37:05 am »

Quote

These are enormously difficult times at Ford. A third wave of buyout offers is going to salaried workers this week. The automaker has engineered the buyouts of nearly half its 75,000-person hourly work force. And to raise cash, Ford has mortgaged its U.S. assets.

Kinda like the last round in a game of monopoly. Morgaging your assets can work, but if things don't work out the game is done. Is it remotely possible if things continue their downward spiral that in the future someone like Hyundai would buy out Ford's truck division from the wreckage? They have the cars, with Fords complete truck line and all those dealers they would suddenly be a full line auto retailer in North America.

articsteve · « **Reply #36 on:** December 13, 2006, 02:49:37 am »

Life is indeed coincidental.

On January 7, 1961, the Lions defeated the Browns 17-16 in the first-ever Playoff Bowl matching the runners-up from the two conferences into which the NFL was divided at the time (the Lions also appeared in the game in both of the next two years pursuant to their having finished second to the Green Bay Packers in the Western Conference in all three seasons; the Playoff Bowl was abolished in 1970 when the merger of the NFL and AFL went into full effect).

In 1964, William Clay Ford, Sr. purchased a controlling interest in the team for $4.5 million. This began a 43-year period of futility that still continues today, during which the Lions have won just one playoff game.

The Fords have terrible mo jo.

safristi · « **Reply #37 on:** December 13, 2006, 10:03:18 am »

"SCORING IS JOB#1".......

MKII · « **Reply #38 on:** December 13, 2006, 10:13:52 am »

New Mondeo Wagon/Estate Video
http://video.tvl.be/Items/WMF/HQ/20061212-014-9502.wmv

MKII · « **Reply #39 on:** December 13, 2006, 11:34:32 am »

Mainstream Mustangs
Sedan and wagon models to join coupe as Ford builds on pony car’s strong brand

By GREG KABLE AND BOB GRITZINGER

AutoWeek | Published 12/13/06, 8:55 am et

Ford’s iconic Mustang is poised to play a crucial role in Ford’s future by expanding beyond its traditional role as a single performance figurehead into a complete range of global models. And the company’s Australian arm looks like the source for all the necessary hardware.

In a secret product planning meeting last fall, key Ford executives discussed a bold strategy to take the legendary Mustang mainstream. Ideas include both sedan and wagon variants of America’s original muscle car, with those cars joining the traditional coupe when the sixth-generation Mustang arrives in U.S. showrooms in 2011, AutoWeek sources say.

This is a sneak peek from the December 18th issue of AutoWeek. The full story will be available to registered users of autoweek.com at noon today.

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