Ford is Cutting Car Production Back to Just Mustang and Focus Active Models

[DooKey]

If you are a fan of Ford automobiles you better get ready to just have a couple of choices in car selection in the near future. They plan to only produce the Mustang and Focus Active crossover vehicles as well as trucks, SUV's, and commercial vehicles. I don't know about anybody else, but I think this is a huge move by the automaker. They are abandoning the traditional sedan market and according to them it's because consumers just don't want them anymore. However, I'm sure other automakers will be more than willing to keep pumping out sedans for the foreseeable future. Good luck, Ford.

The rest of its range will be limited to SUVs, trucks and commercial vehicles. Ford isn't shy about its reasons: "declining consumer demand and product profitability" make it impractical to develop other sedans. You'd better act quickly if you've been looking at a brand new Fusion or Taurus.

 

[BSmith]

That's a big move, but not surprising. Ford has flopped around int the sedan market for years. The cars are just not attractive and poorly marketed.

 

[jardows]

One less clone of every other mid-sized sedan out there. The Ford, Nissan, Chevy, Kia, etc., all look pretty much the same for the last couple of years. It isn't a bad looking design, but when everyone is making their cars look exactly the same, one less manufacturer isn't going to be missed.

 

[shad0w4life]

I love my Ininiti G35X, but right move by ford, I'd never consider them for a 4 door car.

 

[Zumino Zufeilon]

Honestly not sure I believe this.

The Ford Fiesta is consistently one of the top selling cars worldwide, I can hardly see them stopping production of it, because it doesn't sell in the US.

I can see the cutting the US line, which is a shame b/c Fiesta's and Focus's are lots of fun to drive.

Taurus can die in a shallow unmarked grave IMO. Such a terrible, terrible car.

 

[BSmith]

I love my Ininiti G35X, but right move by ford, I'd never consider them for a 4 door car.

Yes, when we consider a 4 door, we look no further than Lexus. Infiniti sure has some good looking cars these days though.

 

[MrDeaf]

Yeah, the only Fusions I ever see are sitting at car rental stores.
I do like how the Fusion looks, but they are large enough to be annoying to use in urban areas.

Focus' on the other hand, I see plenty of.
Small sedans and hatch backs are far more practical these days.
And many people these days only care about getting from A to B. Even better if they don't have to drive themselves (because parking and traffic are very annoying)

 

[CptCabbit]

That's a shame because I'm a fan of the Taurus.

 

[BSmith]

The Focus was the number one selling car in Europe, but not sure if it still is.

 

[Fleat]

That's a shame because I'm a fan of the Taurus.

Agreed. The Taurus SHO is great.

 

[Zareek]

Why stop at Mustangs? I have never understood why they are popular. They made some nice looking Mustangs back in the 50s-60s pretty much everything else is so overrated. Ford's sedan issue is one of perceived quality. Most people remember the garbage cars they pumped out in the 80s, 90s and ealry 2000s particularly. I bet the number one thing people look for especially in a sedan is reliability. On the flip side Ford trucks remained solid for the most part. People assume the SUVs are the same as the trucks. That's not always the case. I had a friend who had an Expedition and found most of the parts(front-end if remember correctly, brakes and steering.) where from the Crown Victorias instead of Ford trucks. His Expedition had a lot of issues.

 

[matt167]

I had a 2014 Fusion Ecoboost for a short time. I didn't keep it long. Wasn't all that economical or fun to drive but it wasn't 'bad'... Ford Escort and Taurus were cars that were very popular. Taurus by 2006 was kept alive by mostly government fleet orders for 2007. Actually took it away from the public in 2006 when they wanted to kill production. It was the number 1 fleet car IIRC. 1986-2007 selling pretty much an identical car. There is a reason it lasted that long.. When the Focus came in 2001 it was a steaming turd pile. and only got mechanically better with the years. They still suffered cheap interiors, broken door latches ect. People bought them because they were either cheap or brand loyal. There wasn't much of a reason to own one unless you had expected quality from the Escort

 

[haste.]

Honestly not sure I believe this.

The Ford Fiesta is consistently one of the top selling cars worldwide, I can hardly see them stopping production of it, because it doesn't sell in the US.

I can see the cutting the US line, which is a shame b/c Fiesta's and Focus's are lots of fun to drive.

Taurus can die in a shallow unmarked grave IMO. Such a terrible, terrible car.

This is only for autos produced for NA sales. Won't effect International production.

Chrysler (killed production of 200 and dart) and GM (ramping down production of sedan lineup) have already started this trend as well.

 

[cyberguyz]

The Mustang is Ford's image car and has been so for a bit over 50 years. It would be marketing suicide to drop it in America. The Focus is a nice enough compact, but it has had some teething pains with its dual clutch tranny a few years back. I currently own one. I like their trucks and would consider a Ranger after they come out again if I were in the market for a pickup.

I am sad to see them taking themselves out of the sedan market, but in North America there are a lot more people buying SUV/CUVs and pickups than there are buying sedans and coupes. I wouldn't touch a Focus again if it is being built in China though - No thanks!!

 

[Cyraxx]

I find this topic so funny - there seems to be polar opposites in the market.

One side wants to go gas guzzler - large trucks and SUVs. Which I don't necessarily blame... the amount of shit I have to carry when we go out with our baby is ridiculous. Blame the wife though, if it were me I would just bring a diaper bag and something to strap her to me.

The other side wants to go all electric with Tesla, Toyota Prius (like to smell their own farts) etc.. which is mostly sedans at this point....


Maybe one day they will meet in the middle and have electric SUVs? Not sure, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon to be honest....

 

[viper1152012]

I like my 2009 taurus limited. Plenty of power, full of options and just literally cracked 200k this morning. The thing has been super reliable.

I also like the safety features and space. I guess the quick family car is transitioning to an SUV or crv then

 

[cdr_74_premium]

Honestly not sure I believe this.

The Ford Fiesta is consistently one of the top selling cars worldwide, I can hardly see them stopping production of it, because it doesn't sell in the US.

I can see the cutting the US line, which is a shame b/c Fiesta's and Focus's are lots of fun to drive.

Taurus can die in a shallow unmarked grave IMO. Such a terrible, terrible car.

Are you American?

If so, aren't you worried of saying this and having THE TRUCK CRUSADE after you?

 

[Brian_B]

Hmm wonder how this affects them in the federal MPG mandates. I know Trump Admin just rolled back some pretty strict ones, and they don't apply to Commercial trucks (although that's defined somewhat loosely). I was under the impression that a lot of those crappy-ugly-50mpg models (C-Max, lower end FIestas, etc) were just so the Automaker could say they have available in their fleet, so they could meet the EPA requirements.

Maybe Ford has gotten good enough at Ecoboost that they don't need the sedans to offset any more. Maybe they are selling more 250's/350's and those don't apply to the rules, I don't know. Ford has been on again-off again with Hybrid, it doesn't seem to have clicked with them, and they have went all in with turbos.

Kind of ironic, since before Toyota Camry/Prius got big, it was the Ford Taurus that was the King Sedan for many years.

I also wonder how this trickles down to Lincoln.

 

[Brian_B]

The Mustang is Ford's image car and has been so for a bit over 50 years. It would be marketing suicide to drop it in America.

Not necessarily disagreeing with you, but GM did drop the Camero/Firebird. Dodge had dropped the Charger. Those were their iconic muscle cars and a big part of their branding. I guess GM still had Corvette in their garage, and Dodge has kinda rotated through a cast of cars over the years (Stealth/Viper), but that isn't exactly the same style or image.

 

[Jim Kim]

They missed announcing this on April 1st by a mile.

 

[nutzo]

It's not that people are not buying sedans, it's that people are not buying FORD sedans.

Honda and Toyota are still selling a ton of them.

 

[Nebulous]

I haven't owned a Ford vehicle since 2000 with the E150 van. After that it was back to GM. Had a Lumina, Cobalt and now a Malibu. The Ford Taurus, Mecury Sable line were the worse ever. What a POS. Thank god i never had the balls to own one of them. I wouldn't want one of them for free.

WIsh Oldsmobile was still out. Dam Olds/Buick/Pontiac were some real cars. You couldn't kill them.

 

[Deleted member 93354]

Chrysler and GM announced a similar strategy.

I ALWAYS try to buy American. But if there are no choices less for a family cruiser, then I'll have to go suburu or honda built in the USA.

I think this might be a penny wise, pound foolish decision. Even though the car mfg's got a repeal for CAFE, it isn't going to last forever when a new president comes into play And you aren't going to reach CAFE figures with crossovers.

 

[bugleyman]

WOW...

 

[Deleted member 93354]

Honestly not sure I believe this.

The Ford Fiesta is consistently one of the top selling cars worldwide, I can hardly see them stopping production of it, because it doesn't sell in the US.

I can see the cutting the US line, which is a shame b/c Fiesta's and Focus's are lots of fun to drive.

Taurus can die in a shallow unmarked grave IMO. Such a terrible, terrible car.

Taurus can die? Why?

HUGE ass trunk. Safest car on the road next to a Mercedes E Class. Seats 5 comfortably. Quiet and smooth ride. 295+ HP on the V6. Great handling. Same technological features as the smaller sedans/SUVs.

We liked our so much we bought 2.

 

[Dekar12]

Kind of sad, there is plenty of market space for sedans, but when they create uninspired products I can see why their sales are low.

They really should be focusing on less options in their car lines that produce quality vehicles. Far too often I see makers, take a model that is marketed towards a certain area and then they make a bunch of econobox options that cheapen the entire model. When cars/trucks are coming in with so many engine options they make your head spin, the performance of that vehicle is very different between all of those engines, further causing issues.

If they focused in on 1-2 engines, making less packages available, and make all of the elements a quality vehicle and not some cheap junk. If people want cheaper vehicles, that is where they can buy a cheaper model line.

 

[MrDeaf]

It's not that people are not buying sedans, it's that people are not buying FORD sedans.

Honda and Toyota are still selling a ton of them.

IDK about your area, but in Toronto we have many smaller sedans on the roads, including Ford Focus'. Civic and Corollas are more numerous, but the amount of Focus' on the road is undeniable as well.

 

[Dead Parrot]

Not totally surprising. Cars have been shrinking for decades. My first was a 68 two door Impala. Could carry 6 comfortably, 8 if you didn't mind getting a bit cozy, more if some sat on laps. Had enough trunk space to carry luggage for six or more. The current crop of "full sized sedans" are often doing good to seat four comfortably and trunk space is often limited. Sometimes head room for the back two passengers is limited. Even the small SUVs seem to be shrinking. The current Ford Escape looks like a sedan with a raised roof. Many new trucks are sold in the 4 door short bed configuration which can seat 5 comfortably with a large with a large trunk.

I think the 4 door PU with short bed has become the new American full sized sedan.

Several articles covering Ford have indicated that EVs and plug in hybids are in the works.

 

[SPARTAN VI]

Not a tragedy, but I'm sure their competitors will happily gobble up those sales. I guess I'm outdated when I heard the Fusion and Fiestas were among their top selling models.

 

[Verge]

Just when i thought "there's simply no way possible to have more dumb___ mustangs on the road...."

 

[Dr. Righteous]

That's a big move, but not surprising. Ford has flopped around int the sedan market for years. The cars are just not attractive and poorly marketed.

Ford OWNED the police cruiser market for a long time with their Crown Vic line. But Dodge has taken a huge bite out of it with the Hemi powered Charger.

 

[Bigdady92]

 

[Sedriss]

Im wondering if this will hit the Lincoln lineup as well?

 

[Dekoth-E-]

Honestly not sure I believe this.

The Ford Fiesta is consistently one of the top selling cars worldwide, I can hardly see them stopping production of it, because it doesn't sell in the US.

I can see the cutting the US line, which is a shame b/c Fiesta's and Focus's are lots of fun to drive.

Taurus can die in a shallow unmarked grave IMO. Such a terrible, terrible car.

Interestingly enough when you look at features and performance the Taurus is actually one of the really sleeper great sedans...it just has the unfortunate lineage of always being an absolutely heinous looking design and never improving.


That said, there isn't a single "car" Ford makes I would ever consider purchasing. About the only thing they make that I feel is really good looking and great for what you get are their trucks. I've driven both the fiesta and focus extensively and can honestly say those are among the last cars on earth I would ever spend money willingly on second only perhaps to the Prius.

 

[greenman]

But also because people haven't been buying Ford, generally. lol

 

[Bigdady92]

Im wondering if this will hit the Lincoln lineup as well?

Lincoln will pare down even more. I have a feeling that they will strip all their models down to a handful: Luxury Sedan(3 models v6 , v8, turbo 6) to match european markets. Luxury SUV's because why not use the now dead truck assembly line.

 

[Grimlaking]

I can understand Ford doing this. The current Tarus is a 500 is a whatever else model that was. They have tried rebranding that frame so many times I'm not surprised they are just abandoning it. I think that makes up all of their sedan market leaving just the Focus and the Mustang on their own frames.

Crossover is the way to go for families these days. I have a Chrystler 300 myself and it's driving strong, but I've been looking to a crew cab pickup for my next vehicle.

 

[DuronBurgerMan]

Why stop at Mustangs? I have never understood why they are popular. They made some nice looking Mustangs back in the 50s-60s pretty much everything else is so overrated. Ford's sedan issue is one of perceived quality. Most people remember the garbage cars they pumped out in the 80s, 90s and ealry 2000s particularly. I bet the number one thing people look for especially in a sedan is reliability. On the flip side Ford trucks remained solid for the most part. People assume the SUVs are the same as the trucks. That's not always the case. I had a friend who had an Expedition and found most of the parts(front-end if remember correctly, brakes and steering.) where from the Crown Victorias instead of Ford trucks. His Expedition had a lot of issues.

The Mustang sells pretty well because they are cheap performance cars with a hefty aftermarket presence. If you want go-fast on the cheap, and are willing to wrench it yourself, it's a good enough platform. Hell, even if you just buy it stock. Hard to find that kind of go fast for the same money - save for its direct competition, the Camaro. That, and the name.

 

[THUMPer]

Time to pay off my wifes focus.

 

[drdoug99]

I get SUV's and trucks are popular, but to me, Ford has a few too many SUV's.

You have the Escape, Edge, Explorer, Expedition, EcoSport, and the Flex. They used to also have the Excursion. I like the looks of all the SUV's mostly, but I don't see the point in having so many similar vehicles. Just have your small, mid size, and full size.

I have a used 2014 Fusion and it's been amazing for me. For a family sedan, the Fusion has plenty of room, power, looks good, etc. I for one will be sad they are getting rid of them.