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Not sure the Flex will survive in Ford's lineup (Escape, Edge, Explorer) if push comes to shove. It's been considered overpriced, and it's been marketed more as a car (names beginning with 'F' rather than 'E') in Ford's branding strategy. For better or worse, people want a taller wagon for their SUVs. And, as stylish as the Flex is, it just might be too bling-bling to really bring in the meaty sales volume that the Explorer should aspire to...
I believe Ford did try to make the Panther platform a little more exciting with the Mercury Merauder. But, I don't think it sold well.
IMHO, if they had done a better job of refining the MN12 Thunderbirds and Cougars, they would have sold better. I was a member of the TCCoA forum (Thunderbird and Cougar Club of America) and what people were able to do with those cars was amazing, and not necessarily with much additional work or cost.
Most Thunderbird enthusiasts I know think that the new Tbird was a joke.
1. Ford Ranger: It was a nice compact truck in the '90s. But the platform and general performance is not outdated. Why not upgrade it like the Toyota Tacoma every few years?
good question. I always put the Ranger in the category with the crown vic, where fleet sales would ensure buyers, so no need to improve the product.
2. Panther platform cars: No need to say more. ~235 HP V8 engines in 2010? But they could have easily just used a more powerful version (as in the Mustang), a 5 or 6 speed automatic, revised the interior a bit, and sold it for a decade more
it's a declining market for that car.
3. Ford Taurus: The best selling car in America in the early '90s. Looked good, handled reasonably well, and was generally much ahead of the competing GM cars of the time. Yet they did an ugly re-design in '96, and after 2000, just let it die. Why?
it was a market shift toward SUV's, and Ford was shortsighted about it.
4. Lincoln LS: A nice car to drive, plus Jaguar V8 power, good-looking. Just the formula for success in the luxury car market that was increasingly turning back to RWD cars. Yet they puled the plug, and introduced FWD Ford based Lincoln models (such as the MKS, MKZ) which no one buys.
IMO the LS was too complicated of a vehicle for Ford to produce, and they were asking a small fortune for a brand new one. i drive one (2003, after the improvements..) and the reliability is horrid. service techs comment "Oh God I'm sorry" when i tell them i drive an LS. they have had trouble repairing it, and call it "frankenstein."
Quote:
Originally Posted by JR_C
Most Thunderbird enthusiasts I know think that the new Tbird was a joke.
i wouldn't call it a joke. it was a smooth vehicle in many ways. it was extremely popular with a certain segment of middle aged women. it was cutesy, expensive and impractical, not really a "guy's" car.
I think one thing must be remembered - many of the decisions made for these vehicles were during a very difficult era for Ford - with many dumb choices made.
1. Ford Ranger:
I think Ford made a big mistake not updating the Ranger. It is the only real compact truck around, but it is crude, doesn't have a crew cab, and has aging (borderline terrible) Ford engines. I believe as fuel prices go up, many Americans will want a smaller, efficient, less expensive truck.
2. Panther platform cars:
I think Ford also made a mistake abandoning RWD. The world's best sedans are RWD or AWD. However they are unibody, not body-on-frame, and the Panther was very old school. I would have liked Ford to continue RWD, but not on the Panther platform.
3. Ford Taurus:
I think the new one is doing fairly well. The new SHO is an impressive car and people are noticing.
4. Lincoln LS:
Like so many things related to Lincoln, the promise of the LS was compromised by designing an nice handling and driving car - but making it look too American inside. For example it had an old folks parking brake design. The V8 was not a Jaguar engine and inititially was not reliable. I had a Jaguar S-type 4.0 and liked it very much - so the base platform was very solid.
Lincoln is still a mess. Ford hasn't decided yet whether these are world class cars or whether they can't afford to lose the very few people who like Town Cars.
5. Ford Explorer:
Ford mismanaged it. The original Explorer was a huge success and innovator in its class. But looking back - it wasn't really that good. I know - I had a 1991. Terrible handling, and once again it had the crappy Ford 4.0.
But the NEW one looks impressive.
Ford has done a lot of things well lately. The Fusion, the Mustang, Taurus, Edge, Flex, Fiesta are impressive. The Fusion and Edge have already received significant updates - each of them is better than before and moving up against the competition.
I was recently reading a few posts in the forum, and they got me thinking.
Why doesn't Ford bother to update their profitable models every few years? What do their designers do all the time? I will elaborate with a few examples.
1. Ford Ranger: It was a nice compact truck in the '90s. But the platform and general performance is not outdated. Why not upgrade it like the Toyota Tacoma every few years?
It is being updated. They are waiting until the global Ranger is ready.
2. Panther platform cars: No need to say more. ~235 HP V8 engines in 2010? But they could have easily just used a more powerful version (as in the Mustang), a 5 or 6 speed automatic, revised the interior a bit, and sold it for a decade more
One word: CAFE. Full-size V8 RWD mainstream cars will not live into the next decade thanks to strict emissions regulations for 2016 and 2020.
1. First, the US Ranger is not being updated and will likely cease production in 2011. FoMoCo hasn't really publicly committed itself to this market, alternatively making noises about a more fuel-efficient choice or making a smaller version of the F series, perhaps named an F-100. Second, the global (non-US) "T6 platform" Ranger has nothing to do with the US version and shares nothing but its name.
2. V8 RWD flagships are alive and well, just not the way envisioned (or is that lack of vision?) by Ford/Lincoln. Pretty much every manufacturer from Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infiniti to even Hyundai have been continually introducing and/or updating V8 RWD sedans, NTM the established players such as MB, BMW and Audi. Sadly the Town Car isn't even close to being competitive in this market, and retail sales were dwindling until they were put out of their misery.
Not sure the Flex will survive in Ford's lineup (Escape, Edge, Explorer) if push comes to shove. It's been considered overpriced, and it's been marketed more as a car (names beginning with 'F' rather than 'E') in Ford's branding strategy. For better or worse, people want a taller wagon for their SUVs. And, as stylish as the Flex is, it just might be too bling-bling to really bring in the meaty sales volume that the Explorer should aspire to...
That would be a shame. The Flex is my favorite SUV/crossover-thingy in Ford's lineup. And probably because of the reason you listed; it's a little flashy, but Ford has so many vehicles in that segment, the Flex is the one that stands out the most. It's like their focus group was made up of just different types of soccer moms.
It might be a favorite for you and for some commentators, but like I've always said, life in the real world is very different from the blogs/forums. In its first full year (2009), Ford sold 39K of the Flex which was easily dwarfed by the 200K Lambda vehicles that GM sold. In fact, each of the Traverse, Acadia and Enclave outsold the Flex. So did the obsolete and currently outgoing Explorer.
It may survive as a stylish, niche vehicle. But surely no one who's looked at the data will suggest that the Flex replace the Explorer in Ford's lineup?
Again, that's a shame. The new GM 3-row crossovers are nice, but they're also awfully bland. I realize I'm probably not the target buyer for these things, but I don't see what's wrong with a little bit of style on your family car.
I hope it survives too, but for Ford's sake not as a replacement for the Explorer, whose next gen really needs to be a homerun for FoMoCo. As a very stylish vehicle, it needs to appeal to a younger crowd and therefore needs to come down in price (and possibly size) -- something that people 'graduating' from Scions, Golfs, Mazda3s and other hatches/wagons can look to as their next purchase.
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