CD Article: 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt

[Sir Osis of Liver]

The European operation is making record profits

On cars that would be considered "small" in our market.

And impossible to move in the US until very recently. They actually make their money on high end versions. How many North Americans would shell out $35-40k for a Focus?

the profit on the sale of one Excursion was $18000,

That's right, it was. It isn't now. Unfortunately, when the sales of these monsters tanked, there was no entry level product to take up the slack and generate cash flow. Those sales went directly to the Civic, Corolla, Yaris and Fit because these companies realised that keep a strong, fuel efficient product available was a good business decision . Well done Ford and good luck getting those customers back.

Urm...Focus hatch, sedan, wagon and SVT not to mention the Fusion

but their sales look to be declining pretty quickly at the moment.

Yes, Honda sales are down, but not nearly as much as the Detroit makers.
Honda in the USA was down 9.2% in July 2008 vs July 2007. In the same period, Ford was down 26% overall, and their "high profit" SUVs down 54%.  Chrysler was down 29%.The largest selling vehicle in North America is the Honda Civic. The subcompact Honda Fit and the Civic Hybrid broke previous sales records, rising 78.5% and 27.4%, respectively.
Toyota is down 9% as well but moving the Yaris and Corolla as fast as they can make them.

Honda only has the Ridgeline and Pilot as far as pickup and large SUVs, they were not a full line car company like Ford GM or Toyota, so won;t suffer to the same degree. On the other hand, they never made as much money during the boom years.

Ford launches have been very good. The Fusion/Milan has been above average in reliability since year one, as has the Edge.

Unfortunately, they do not sell enough of them to actually generate a) a dividend, b) maintain their stock prices or c) declare an operating profit. This is kind of the whole object of doing business.

So, the Japanese makers make a smaller profits per unit but they make profits. Lexus is obscenely profitable. Making profits is  something that none of the US based automakers actually do. For example, Toyota has downgraded its 2008 profit estimate to a paltry $11.43 billion, this is about the worst year the industry has had in the last 20 years. Using the Detroit model of business isn't exactly a recipe for success.

As I said Ford (and GM) have been very profitable in the past and likely will be in the future. They were caught with their pants down on the transition to small cars. Every car manufacturer will go through cycles. Ford was almost dead in the early 80's, then turned around to make the highest profits in the industry by the early 1990s.

Ask Toyota about the Tacoma buy-back, or the Tundra

Very true. Here is some inside info: They also canned the entire US based team that was responsible for the fiasco and will now do all the product planning either, get this, in Cambridge or Japan. Most of them were former GM types, which means that any company is capable of f-ing up. . All North American senior managers have been replaced with Japanese. These people do not suffer failure lightly. They are all about product and customer service.The secret is learning from your mistakes and not making them again, something that Detroit has never learned since 1973. And now they are looking for handouts!

Finally, try to get GM or Chrysler to buy anything back.

Which fiasco are you referring to? The dissolving frames of the Tacoma (nee Hi-Lux, designed in Japan and assembled in North America from Asian parts?) or the Tundra, which is a sales dud, but designed in North America?

GM or Chrysler haven' had this happen to their trucks.

[Rupert]

I read well crafted pieces on ecconomics here but wonder how the size difference in average physique of the North American plays out here. Surely when talking about small cars, Asian companies and others have an advantage, in that they have a larger potential market for small cars to start with at home. So that they will have a higher volume, not to mention cheaper production costs Those in North America who buy, can easily be accomodated. Do the 'Big Three' sell any product abroad that is made here? Has that ever been possible in living memory? Surely you can not sell LHD cars in RHD countries.
It seems to me that in the early 80s Ford came out with the inspired practical Taurus and Sable with great wagon versions; one of which we drove with complete satisfaction for many years. These must have been a big factor in company profits then...the competition was lagging. This played well to Middle America. Maybe the industry as a whole has been responsible for taking the market in the wrong direction. One that can not be sustained.

[Honda Owner]

I read well crafted pieces on ecconomics here but wonder how the size difference in average physique of the North American plays out here

Superminis are very popular in Europe where there are people of all sizes. Gasloline is also about double what we pay and cars are taxed annually on CO2 output. People still want to drive, so they adapt.

Has that ever been possible in living memory? Surely you can not sell LHD cars in RHD countries.

I worked (for GM, actually) in Japan in the early 1990s when the Americans were raising a big stink about Japan not allowing US cars into their market. Ford brilliantly brought in the Taurus Wagon with a 3.8 litre V-6 in Left Hand Drive. They didn't sell more than a few. A 3.8 litre would have out of the world taxation in Japan, like $15k a year. The American response was that Japan should scrap their tax system, the same system that all Japanese cars had to meet, instead of designing product that Japanese would actually buy. GM countered by actually making a RHD Cavalier, (one of the worst cars I have ever driven) with a 2.4 litre Quad 4 (one of the worst motors GM ever made) and selling them at Toyota stores. I never once saw one of either on the road. With intentional irony, Honda then sold its Accord Wagon, made in USA, with American Eagle Crests on it and they were very popular, but with a 2 litre engine, they were more affordable to Japanese consumers.

Has that ever been possible in living memory? Surely you can not sell LHD cars in RHD countries.

Maybe the industry as a whole has been responsible for taking the market in the wrong direction.One that can not be sustained.

Detroit has been bleeding market share for years and done a fine job of justifying, too, but a less fine job of profits and dividends.

I wonder if these new 'sporting' machines are a harbinger of surrender. How many can be sold?

Perhaps they are a harbinger of surrender. More likely, however, is that these cars were conceived in an era of cheap gas (five years ago) and not killed in time. I somehow doubt the return of the pony car will

[ovr50]

A small, anecdotal windshield survey of Mustang Bullitts - about 6 weeks ago I wandered thru both Ford dealers lots here and saw 3 Bullitts in one, and 1 in the other. Did the same wander thru yesterday (dealers closed so no one to "bug" me), and all 4 Bullitts are gone. Assume sold but not necessarily proof of that.

My point is simply that with only 700 for all Canada, these cars will be sold out by later this Fall, I would guess.