07ROUSHSTG3
06-24-2008, 09:24 PM
long read, but if you are a ford guy holding on to the thought that there might be something to get excited about, it is worth reading. it is getting harder and harder to be excited about what is happening at the blue oval :(. i understand that every automaker is going through this, but come on.
Pulse Check - The Turnaround At Ford Part II
We reported earlier this month that Ford had been cramming and strategizing to address both the unprecedented crash in their business due to gas prices as well as the sea change brought on by the coming CAFÉ standards and other attacks on their industry by the Green Mafia. This week more news has come from Ford on exactly what this will all mean.
"As gasoline prices average more than $4 a gallon and consumers worry about the weak U.S. economy, we see June industry-wide auto sales slowing further and demand for large trucks and SUVs at one of the lowest levels in decades," said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. "Ford has taken decisive action to respond to this accelerating shift in customer demand away from large trucks and SUVs to smaller cars and crossovers, and we will continue to act swiftly moving forward."
The first casualty will be the delay of the launch for the new 2009 Ford F-150 by approximately two months. Not only are they wary of the message it sends to spring a new full sized truck into this brutal market, but they need to sell down dealer inventory of the current model. The new F-150 now will go on sale in late fall.
"The new 2009 F-150 raises the bar yet again on capability, quality and durability, and we know core truck customers are eagerly awaiting its arrival," said Mark Fields, Ford's President of The Americas. "Our plan all along has been to introduce the new F-150 after our dealers had a chance to sell down inventory of the existing model, and - with the current slowdown in the marketplace - we decided it was prudent to adjust the start of public sale for the new truck by about two months."
This isn’t all unfortunately. The F-150 and even the Mustang had been rumored to be getting the new BOSS V8 engines which were larger in displacement and power. The engines said to be 5.0 and 6.2 liters have been under development for some years and have been anxiously awaited by muscle car enthusiasts and truck fans alike.
The word on the street this week is that the BOSS engine program has been put on hold for the time being. So, the Mustang and F-150 will likely soldier on for foreseeable future with the same V8’s we all know well. It is said that the Super Duty F-Series trucks will be the only vehicles to carry the new BOSS V8’s if they even get the engines at all. Increasing concerns about gas prices, CAFÉ standards, and the need for development dollars in places like hybrids and fuel efficient models are cited as the main reasons. We said as much last winter in our story about the new CAFÉ standards.
Big changes are in store for the factories that build trucks and SUVS too. Because the sales of these large gas guzzlers have all but stopped, some factories will idle while others will close indefinitely. Others still will be converted for small car production:
• Production of the 2009 F-150 now will begin in August at Kansas City Assembly Plant and in September at Dearborn Truck. One shift will be eliminated at both Kansas City (from two to one) and Dearborn (from three to two). Dearborn Truck will be idled most of the third quarter.
• Michigan Truck Plant will be idled for nine consecutive weeks beginning the week of June 23, in line with demand for the company's full-size SUVs.
• One shift of production will be eliminated at Louisville Assembly Plant for mid-size SUVs in the third quarter.
• The line speed will be reduced at Kentucky Truck Plant for large pickups in the third quarter.
• The line speed will be reduced at Chicago Assembly in the third quarter for full-size sedans.
• Production will wind down at Cuautitlan Assembly Plant in Mexico by the end of 2008. The plant, which now produces large pickups, will be retooled for production of the new Fiesta small car for North America beginning in early 2010.
On the good news side of the picture, small car production will increase at the following factories:
• Oakville Assembly will add a third shift for production of the Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX and all-new 2009 Ford Flex crossovers.
• Kansas City Assembly Plant's line that produces the Ford Escape, Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner and Mariner Hybrid small utility vehicles will add a third shift.
• Wayne Assembly Plant's body and paint shops will add a third shift, and the line-speed will be increased for final assembly production of the popular Ford Focus small car.
"We view the move to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles as permanent, and we are responding to customer demand," Mulally said. "In the near term, we are adjusting production to the actual demand - increasing small cars and crossovers and reducing large trucks and SUVs. For the long term, we are moving fast to introduce more small cars, crossovers and fuel-efficient powertrains - including more hybrids - and we will adjust our manufacturing facilities to match our updated product lineup."
In addition to hatchback and sedan versions of the European-engineered Ford Fiesta small car that goes on sale in North America in early 2010, Ford is announcing today that four- and five-door versions of the next-generation European Ford Focus small car will be produced in North America beginning in late 2010. This is huge news, as we have been clamoring for Ford to do this for years. The new European version of the Focus will bring Ford on par with Toyota and Honda in the class or even better.
The new Focus will be common with Europe, South America and Asia Pacific and represent the next generation of today's successful European Focus. Excellent fuel economy will be achieved through new highly efficient direct-injection engine technology and a new advanced six-speed transmission.
The new Focus and Fiesta - as well as other small cars and crossovers from Europe - will be part of an unprecedented period of new Ford product introductions that has only just begun in North America. The new Ford Flex crossover and Lincoln MKS sedan went on sale this month, and the new F-150 goes on sale in late fall. New versions of the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ mid-size cars debut late this year, as do all-new hybrid versions of the Fusion and Milan.
By the end of this year, 70 percent of all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products by volume in North America will be new or significantly upgraded compared with the 2006 models. By the end of 2010, 100 percent of the product lineup will be new, including next-generation 2010 Mustang, new fuel-saving EcoBoost engines and new European Transit Connect.
"We remain absolutely committed to accelerating the development of the new products that customers want and value," Mulally said. "We sell some of the best smaller cars and utility vehicles in the world in our profitable European and South American operations, and our plan is to introduce these same vehicles in North America as quickly as possible. This is an integral part of our plan to leverage our global assets and achieve our goal of profitable growth."
Pulse Check - The Turnaround At Ford Part II
We reported earlier this month that Ford had been cramming and strategizing to address both the unprecedented crash in their business due to gas prices as well as the sea change brought on by the coming CAFÉ standards and other attacks on their industry by the Green Mafia. This week more news has come from Ford on exactly what this will all mean.
"As gasoline prices average more than $4 a gallon and consumers worry about the weak U.S. economy, we see June industry-wide auto sales slowing further and demand for large trucks and SUVs at one of the lowest levels in decades," said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. "Ford has taken decisive action to respond to this accelerating shift in customer demand away from large trucks and SUVs to smaller cars and crossovers, and we will continue to act swiftly moving forward."
The first casualty will be the delay of the launch for the new 2009 Ford F-150 by approximately two months. Not only are they wary of the message it sends to spring a new full sized truck into this brutal market, but they need to sell down dealer inventory of the current model. The new F-150 now will go on sale in late fall.
"The new 2009 F-150 raises the bar yet again on capability, quality and durability, and we know core truck customers are eagerly awaiting its arrival," said Mark Fields, Ford's President of The Americas. "Our plan all along has been to introduce the new F-150 after our dealers had a chance to sell down inventory of the existing model, and - with the current slowdown in the marketplace - we decided it was prudent to adjust the start of public sale for the new truck by about two months."
This isn’t all unfortunately. The F-150 and even the Mustang had been rumored to be getting the new BOSS V8 engines which were larger in displacement and power. The engines said to be 5.0 and 6.2 liters have been under development for some years and have been anxiously awaited by muscle car enthusiasts and truck fans alike.
The word on the street this week is that the BOSS engine program has been put on hold for the time being. So, the Mustang and F-150 will likely soldier on for foreseeable future with the same V8’s we all know well. It is said that the Super Duty F-Series trucks will be the only vehicles to carry the new BOSS V8’s if they even get the engines at all. Increasing concerns about gas prices, CAFÉ standards, and the need for development dollars in places like hybrids and fuel efficient models are cited as the main reasons. We said as much last winter in our story about the new CAFÉ standards.
Big changes are in store for the factories that build trucks and SUVS too. Because the sales of these large gas guzzlers have all but stopped, some factories will idle while others will close indefinitely. Others still will be converted for small car production:
• Production of the 2009 F-150 now will begin in August at Kansas City Assembly Plant and in September at Dearborn Truck. One shift will be eliminated at both Kansas City (from two to one) and Dearborn (from three to two). Dearborn Truck will be idled most of the third quarter.
• Michigan Truck Plant will be idled for nine consecutive weeks beginning the week of June 23, in line with demand for the company's full-size SUVs.
• One shift of production will be eliminated at Louisville Assembly Plant for mid-size SUVs in the third quarter.
• The line speed will be reduced at Kentucky Truck Plant for large pickups in the third quarter.
• The line speed will be reduced at Chicago Assembly in the third quarter for full-size sedans.
• Production will wind down at Cuautitlan Assembly Plant in Mexico by the end of 2008. The plant, which now produces large pickups, will be retooled for production of the new Fiesta small car for North America beginning in early 2010.
On the good news side of the picture, small car production will increase at the following factories:
• Oakville Assembly will add a third shift for production of the Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX and all-new 2009 Ford Flex crossovers.
• Kansas City Assembly Plant's line that produces the Ford Escape, Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner and Mariner Hybrid small utility vehicles will add a third shift.
• Wayne Assembly Plant's body and paint shops will add a third shift, and the line-speed will be increased for final assembly production of the popular Ford Focus small car.
"We view the move to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles as permanent, and we are responding to customer demand," Mulally said. "In the near term, we are adjusting production to the actual demand - increasing small cars and crossovers and reducing large trucks and SUVs. For the long term, we are moving fast to introduce more small cars, crossovers and fuel-efficient powertrains - including more hybrids - and we will adjust our manufacturing facilities to match our updated product lineup."
In addition to hatchback and sedan versions of the European-engineered Ford Fiesta small car that goes on sale in North America in early 2010, Ford is announcing today that four- and five-door versions of the next-generation European Ford Focus small car will be produced in North America beginning in late 2010. This is huge news, as we have been clamoring for Ford to do this for years. The new European version of the Focus will bring Ford on par with Toyota and Honda in the class or even better.
The new Focus will be common with Europe, South America and Asia Pacific and represent the next generation of today's successful European Focus. Excellent fuel economy will be achieved through new highly efficient direct-injection engine technology and a new advanced six-speed transmission.
The new Focus and Fiesta - as well as other small cars and crossovers from Europe - will be part of an unprecedented period of new Ford product introductions that has only just begun in North America. The new Ford Flex crossover and Lincoln MKS sedan went on sale this month, and the new F-150 goes on sale in late fall. New versions of the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ mid-size cars debut late this year, as do all-new hybrid versions of the Fusion and Milan.
By the end of this year, 70 percent of all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products by volume in North America will be new or significantly upgraded compared with the 2006 models. By the end of 2010, 100 percent of the product lineup will be new, including next-generation 2010 Mustang, new fuel-saving EcoBoost engines and new European Transit Connect.
"We remain absolutely committed to accelerating the development of the new products that customers want and value," Mulally said. "We sell some of the best smaller cars and utility vehicles in the world in our profitable European and South American operations, and our plan is to introduce these same vehicles in North America as quickly as possible. This is an integral part of our plan to leverage our global assets and achieve our goal of profitable growth."