Featured Ford to stop selling most cars in North America

The devil is in the details doesn't apply either, since their aren't any.

Ford already pulled this stunt. Remember the "25%" promise for hybrids. Not only didn't Ford deliver, they actually got worse. A negative return wasn't ever considered a possibility.

 

unfortunately, even hybridization doesn't have much effect on heavy vehicles. it's good in totality, but not for the individual, which makes the price/scary battery factor a roadblock.
and it is no substitute for lighter vehicles of either variety.

 

With enough electric torque to shame a Tesla?

Bob Wilson

 

Looks like Ford's new direction is going all in on new BEV's and adding PHEV's to their popular models instead of fighting for an ever smaller piece of the sedan market pie:

"• Making a full commitment to new propulsion choices, including adding hybrid-electric powertrains to high-volume, profitable vehicles like the F-150, Mustang, Explorer, Escape and Bronco. The company’s battery electric vehicle rollout starts in 2020 with a performance utility, and it will bring 16 battery-electric vehicles to market by 2022. "

http://s22.q4cdn.com/857684434/files/doc_financials/2018/1Q/1Q-2018-Press-Release.pdf

 

0-60mph in less than 2 seconds?

Dreading the day that my better ½ figures how to get her car out of 'chill' mode ....
better start pricing another set of Continentals pretty quick.
.

 

my wife has a digital gas pedal, on/off only.

 

or ..... sell enough F150's that turn a monster profit, then buy carb credits from Tesla. Maybe they're satisfied with that for now.
.

 

Good luck with that. The Dodge Demon, which is designed with the full intent of being a drag king, barely beats the P100D.

 

well yeah but it does. I've never heard of it until looking it up on Wiki just now;

[QUOTE ]* A 2-door highly modified Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat coupe variant [/QUOTE]

Dump the street tites - add drag ECU's, 100+ octane race gas, skinny tires in front, & ¼mile drag meat tires in the rear & you're good to go ... not the 1st few 100' - but it'll real in the P100D & win by ~ 3 tenths ... sometimes.
But stock? not so much
.

 

Dump the street tites - add drag ECU's, 100+ octane race gas, skinny tires in front, & ¼mile drag meat tires in the rear & you're good to go ... not the 1st few 100' - but it'll real in the P100D & win by ~ 3 tenths.
But stock? not so much
.[/QUOTE]
I agree....but they consider it a production vehicle, even if they only make a few hundred. So until the Next Gen Roadster comes out it may have the crown.

 

That simply isn't true.

The Escape outsells the Explorer. Granted it is a slim margin with the Escape nearing the end of this generation, but the trend of the compact segment SUV being the top seller applies to nearly all the automakers. Year to date, the Rav4(numbers include the hybrids) has out sold the Highlander by 34,000 units.
CR-V to Pilot: 69,000
Rouge to Pathfinder: 74,000
The biggest exception is the Grand Cherokee to Cherokee with 16,000 more sales to date.
March 2018 YTD U.S. SUV And Crossover Sales Rankings – Top 110 Best-Selling SUVs In America – Every SUV Ranked | GCBC

People here and at other more fuel economy conscious sites hear this news and the news about increasing SUV sales, and jump to the conclusion that the public and manufacturers are going back to the FSPs from a decade ago, and the truth is that Americans are choosing the smaller SUV.

Agree about why small traditional cars don't get advertising dollars. Ford and GM might actually lose money on them after the incentives to move them if not for the avoidance of CAFE fines for their pick ups.

That's the issue for the dealer model in the US. Even if you don't like the cars, you should support Tesla for pushing against that model.

I don't expect them to disappear from the US. Marketing departments will just get the public to think of them as something else.

Listen, the traditional ICE car is going to enter its death throes soon. The cost of mild hybrid systems are quickly reaching the point that they can be made standard equipment, and that is getting pushed along by China mandating them as minimum requirement for cars in their market. then just like full hybrid systems, that cost and how much they help economy will improve with time.

Neither have been standing on financial ground in the recent past. Many more people would have PV on their homes, but financial realities push it below other priorities. A corporation can't invest in and bring new technology to market if they are out of business.

Remember, GM had to fight the government in order to keep the Volt going after bankruptcy.

Seeing how their pick ups and full size SUVs best Toyota's by a substantial margin, it can't be said they aren't taking CAFE seriously. A full hybrid F150 will arrive in 2020. There was that Ford and Toyota partnership on a hybrid system for larger trucks. When will Toyota hybridize the Tundra, Sequoia, or even the Tacoma?

That's also because Ford made the announcement about hybrids and EVs a month or so ago.

Ford nearly went under a few years before the Great Recession; they needed to loans out to even against their name and logo to stay afloat. Such problems can delay multiple plans and products. Ecoboost engines were originally planned to arrive sooner than they did.

Even without such hurdles, these things take time. The hybrid Camry and Highlander didn't arrive until about midway through the gen2 Prius' life, and the Prius c and v didn't come until we were into the gen3's life cycle. The Rav4 only arrived a few years ago.

There are other Toyota hybrids, but they are limited to other markets for various reasons. The Auris and Yaris hybrids in Europe came about because of import tariffs that do or would apply to the Prius and Aqua. The hybrid minivans wouldn't appeal in the US, and likely also kept from Europe by tariffs also.

They have been improving. The comparable MPG rating for the Highlander hybrid upon introduction in 2006 was 26 combined/27 city/25 highway. The current model is 29/30/28, and I am pretty sure its MSRP starts lower than what the 2006 did.

And lets not forget that the Rav4h has replaced the Prius as Toyota's top hybrid seller.

Likely not if it doesn't have a plug.

Right now they are discounting their sedans and deeply discounting the Fusion hybrid. Near future has the diesel F150; Ford just released the official EPA numbers for it. The 2WD is 25 combined/22 city/30 highway. The 4WD number are lower in difference than normally seen, but it is equipped, and tested, with all terrain tires and rear differential ratio for towing vs. the 2WD's standard all seasons and differential for economy. It is also a full time 4WD system. Fleet customers can get the 4WD with the traditional part-time system and rear differential from the 2wd model, resulting in EPA ratings between the two consumer models.
Ford releases fuel economy figures for new F-150 diesel
(also details from Jalopnik)
2020 brings the full parallel hybrid to the truck.

Then Ford likely expects the sales of small SUVs/crossovers/white space cars to continue growing, with improvements to fuel economy there to help carry the bigger trucks.

 

I'm just wondering what Ford's plan will be once fuel prices start to rise ( they already have in some respects ). A few articles circulating note that fuel prices this summer will be 'the most expensive since 2014'...or something like that.

The argument could be made that large vehicle MPG is improving. However, physics is physics. There is no way a large heavy box going down the road is going to reach an acceptable MPG level once fuel prices rise. Trucks certainly have their place...but I see far too many who pamper their trucks like luxury vehicles ( lets face it...they are ), never use their truck for hauling, etc...

I'd wager whining from the 'big vehicle' contingent starts at $3.50 a gallon.... When we bought our used 2010 liftback the used car dealer admitted they make lot of $$$ off of folks 'cycling' into and out of different vehicles depending on fuel prices.

 

You can buy an NSX, you know. Dealers aren't even mandating the ceramic brake option anymore and the crazy markups have largely gone away.

 

The plan is plug ins. The new Escape should be unveiled soon, and rumors are that there will be an Energi version.
Then they are only abandoning sedans here, and newer SUVs will be more car like. That new Escape looks like a Focus wagon in spy shots.

 

But now you're comparing grapes to watermelons and bowling balls.....

The Escape is a full sized SUV, and the Explorer is a "compact" SUV...I don't consider either of those vehicles small.

I'm talking about hatch-backs, sedans...subcompacts and sedans...which clearly the trend is away from.
I don't think the fact that a full sized SUV is marginally outsold by a compact SUV is good argument as to why the trend is NOT away from smaller vehicles.

 

Gas is up to $2.59-$3.27 in the Dallas area now, and I suspect they'll get higher. I wouldn't mind seeing prices around $4. Been through that before with my Gen 2 and laughed all the way to the bank.

 

Gas is going up here and my electric dropped 1/2 cent per kWh.

 

Yep...gas prices in Oregon are also creeping up.

But I don't want gas to hit the $4.00 mark...
Because, I don't have my Prius any longer.
Just my luck that the years I own a Prius are hallmarked by low gas prices, and now that I no longer own a Prius, the prices start to creep back up again.

 

You got that flipped.

The EPA classes break SUVs/wagons into just small and large. Applying sedan size labels; Ecosport-subcompact, Escape-compact, Explorer-midsize, and the Expedition the full size. The track and wheelbase measurements of the Escape, Focus, Corolla, and Rav4 are all very close.

I don't consider the Escape small either; we were cross shopping those SUVs with midsize sedans. The American public does though. The SUVs that are smaller are known as cute-utes, which may have been applied to previous Escape models.

Your perspective on car size may be skewed by your car ownership experience. The Fit, Sonic, Yaris, etc., despite what the EPA labels them, is viewed by the car companies and shoppers as being in the subcompact segment. Since the gen2, the Prius(and Sonic hatchback) has been an EPA midsize by virtue of its hatch space. The cabin space has been closer to the Corolla than the Camry though.

The subcompact segment has always had low sales in the US. Even when the traditional car was popular, and it even applies to the newer cute-utes on the market. The compact car models, which are now midsized, tended to sell much better than the subcompact models, and the midsize segment cars generally sold better than those.

The trend to SUVs has mostly been from midsize segment sedans to compact segment SUVs.

Hatchbacks will likely stay, and may even be seeing growth. Chevy and Toyota recently brought a hatchback option for their compact sedan back to the US. Subcompact cars might disappear, but I think pricing and standard features play a major role in that as oppose to people moving away from them. This was the cheap new car segment, but cheap, bare bone trims are hard to find, or not even available. Standard safety, convienince, and comfort features have pushed their price up. So the compact model doesn't cost much more, and may even match the smaller car in efficiency. Then their appeal for parking in tight cities isn't as much of a plus in the US as it is elsewhere.

On a somewhat related note, the new Bronco, which was originally built upon a short wheel base, full size truck frame, will be smaller than the Escape. Its target competitor is the Jeep Renegade. A small SUV based upon the Fiat 500XL.