GS69

http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/report-ford-taurus-fiesta-chevy-sonic-impala-put-out-pasture

Report: Ford Taurus and Fiesta, Chevy Impala and Sonic discontinued

Slow-selling large sedans and subcompacts from Ford and Chevrolet put out to pasture

April 5, 2018

General Motors and Ford Motor Co. plan to discontinue 4 slow-selling car models, including the venerable Ford Taurus sedan, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.GM will stop production of the subcompact Chevrolet Sonic by as early as this year, and is planning to discontinue the Chevrolet Impala in the next few years, the Journal said. It also reported that Ford will stop making the Fiesta small car for the U.S. market by as early as next year, and discontinue the Taurus, once the top-selling car in America.

Overall, U.S. sales of new cars are down nearly 11 percent this year and are on track to drop for the 5th straight year in 2018.
Automotive News, in its annual Future Product series last summer, reported the Sonic, Impala, Fiesta and Taurus were widely expected to be discontinued at the end of their current product cycles.

The Detroit News in July also reported that Ford and GM were looking to stop production of those vehicles."Nothing formal to report today," Steve Majoros, marketing director for Chevrolet's cars and crossovers, told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the Journal report. "But I would say for all three of those products [Sonic, Impala and Volt] we are committed to those. They're a part of our portfolio today, they'll be a part of our portfolio here in the future.

"Every car we have in our portfolio plays a role, every car's important and you know the only way we're going to stay the fastest-growing brand is to keep providing the vehicles that people want. So they're a part of our portfolio and they're going to continue."

U.S. sales of the Sonic have fallen 21 percent to 5,983 vehicles this year while Impala deliveries have plunged 36 percent to 14,067. Taurus deliveries are off 25 percent this year in an overall large car market that has shrunk 12 percent.


The Taurus debuted in 1985 but was dropped in 2006 in favor of the Five Hundred sedan. Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally revived the Taurus name for the 2008 model year.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has already pared the Dodge Dart small car and Chrysler 200 midsize sedan from its U.S. product portfolio to better focus on light trucks.

The move to drop car nameplates comes at a time when U.S. consumers are increasingly shunning sedans and coupes in favor of crossovers, pickups and SUVs.

Last month, Ford disclosed plans to pad its product portfolio with more light trucks, and add more hybrid and pure electric vehicles. Ford late last year began telling suppliers it is ending North American production of the Fusion midsize sedan, which Automotive News reported in December.

“As we have said, by 2020 trucks and utilities – including their electrified versions – are going to be almost 90 percent of our volume. Passenger cars, including Fiesta and Taurus, remain an important part of our lineup,” Ford spokesman Mike Levine said in a statement Wednesday, in response to a question about the Fiesta and Taurus.

Ford’s Lincoln luxury brand last week unveiled a production preview of the all-new Aviator crossover that’s expected to be built at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant next year, which also builds its sibling Explorer crossover and the Taurus.

Last month, GM unveiled a revamped luxury Sierra pickup, intensifying the battle among the Detroit 3 for fat profits at the top end of a highly lucrative segment.



Automotive News and Reuters contributed to this report.

mmarshall

What if you wanted a ragtop LOL?

mmarshall

The Toyota Prius, from its massive publicity and cult-status, has so thoroughly dominated the small hybrid sedan/hatchback market in the U.S. that it is difficult for any real competition to challenge it....including the Volt. The best competition so far, IMO, in terms of what you get for your money, has been the Kia Niro, with the Hyundai Ioniq right behind it....but neither of those two are likely to either knock the Prius off of its pedestal or even shake the pedestal itself.

Toys4RJill

corradoMR2

LOL, I forgot the Firefly/Metro, etc. once existed!

mmarshall

It's quite relevant, if you want to look at the reasons why the Volt didn't do better in the marketplace than it actually has. It's more or less the reverse of the large pick-up market......where Toyota and Nissan have had a tough time against the long-established domestics.

LexRuger

I had a loaner Impala. It was pretty nice. Sad to see it go.

mmarshall

Couldn't agree more. The last-generation Impala was clearly rental-grade, but the current one is a tremendous improvement...clearly the best Impala since the 1970s. Consumer Reports rates it as one of the best large sedans.

mmarshall

I bumped this old thread back up to add that Bob Lutz, in his monthly question-and-answer column for Road and Track magazine, said, in the latest issue, that Ford was doing the right thing.....the sedan market in the U.S. is dying. I'm not sure I agree, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for Lutz and his opinions. I, of course, am somewhat biased towards sedans myself (in my youth, I learned to drive on them), so that alone may color my own view a little. Sedans, in my area, do sell, but then, in this enormous new-vehicle market in the D.C. area, where the economy is so good, everything sells. In the real new-vehicle world, though, away from the big-money D.C. and Silicon Valley/Southern California regions, it is probably a different story. And, of course, in rural areas, pickups and SUVs have been the rule for decades.

Toys4RJill

mmarshall

Well, they do in my area.....but, like I said, the entire country is not like the East and West coasts.

Frog98

After several SUV's RX, GX, NX, LX, Macan, I went against the trend and am back in a sedan for my daily driver. I forgot how nice they can be to drive! Easier to get in and out of. Easier to wash and clean. Probably won't be back in a SUV anytime soon. I doubt I'm ahead of the curve...but who knows...things change.

Fizzboy7

The Volt is a dud and slow seller because the Bolt stole all the sales. This was in the news and admitted by GM soon after the Bolt went on sale. Once again GM finds itself in a marketing mess due to poor management decisions. It never ends.

Fizzboy7

Sedans have many advantages that people forget about. Lighter, more nimble (safer), less top-heavy (safer), more efficient, quieter, smoother ride, less seat wear from scraping in and out, secured trunk that deters theft, less interior objects to fly around in a crash (safer), and often less expensive compared to SUV's. Our society is monkey-see, monkey-do, whether something is truly a good idea or not. Mark my words, sedans will be back. The brands that stick with them will financially benefit the quickest.
P.S. gas is $4.30/gallon in L.A. right now. There hasn't been a drop in almost two years. It's the new way.

Benoit

It's sad but also dangerous that the US are actually taking this turn. Yes, fuel prices are actually low (for us citizens, I still have around 1.9$/liter at my local pump), but they will not stay that low forever.
Some unspecified event could easily reverse this trend, and then, the US carmakers would be in a bad position to react to this evolution, meaning, they would probably disappear all together, due to their already bad financial state.
Also, I can't believe that US consumers don't like cars that can spare them lots of gallons of fuel during their lifetime. So the concurrent products in this field will, very probably, increasingly be asian and european.

In Europe, already, US cars are a thing for eccentrics buyers and have a rather bad (sometimes unjustified) reputation. Especially due to their massive fuel consumption, making them an absolute nightmare at the pump.