Great post

 

Agree. It was a long time ago when the Ford identity revolved around the Taurus and Mustang. They were beasts of the street.

All I hear these days is Ford trucks, trucks, trucks -- the F150 over and over and how they're killing it as a truck platform. The identity of a sedan or SUV is getting lost in the marketing.

The Escape/Edge/Explorer/Expedition line up are the main product offers. Yes they have 2 more but it gets lost in the shuffle. If you think Honda, they have a simplified line up (HRV/CRV/Pilot). Lexus has UX/NX/RX. Even Cadillac is revamping the SUV line up for a performance + sexy appeal among other SUV's out there via XT4 and XT5. IF you don't know your market, you shouldn't be in it or try to compete. I think Ford has fallen victim to trying to do too many things, with average or worse results. Better to get a few done well and build the brand through a great experience with those products.

 

 

Do you know for sure the Continental is going away? That would be really dumb to re start a well known name and then just kill it after one generation. I have seen a couple on the road, it is the best looking most impressive sedan Ford/Lincoln has built in decades, they are nice, just priced way too high once you get into the highly optioned ones.

The new Mustang platform will also offer AWD, I think they are doing that so they can do a RWD Lincoln sedan/continental/coupe on that Mustang platform like they did before so the Continental may just be going away for a little while until it gets the new platform.

 

One of my Aunts and her family were very loyal to Ford growing up they had a Tempo if I remember right then Taurus then Contour the car's always seem to have issues of some sort. In last decade they jumped ship to Toyota with a Camry and now Highlander and Sienna. My cousin's are grown and they all drive Japanese cars now. The only Ford sedan that ever appealed to me was the Taurus SHO but for obvious reasons. I travel a lot and even with Avis I hardly see Ford sedan options. I don't notice them as much on the road either. As others stated the Camry's and Accords are dominating the sedan market and for good reason. The Ford Sedan offerings just have no appeal it seems and yes the trend is for buyers to go with small to large SUV's.

 

That is the story of my family, only it was GM cars that everyone switched from. My parents were very GM friendly and after they saw the longevity of the Toyota's that I had purchased, they switched, then my brother switched, then my sister switched. Only my other brother does not buy Toyota's. My family is very big on buying their cars, so keeping them a long time is something we all like to do, you can't beat Toyota or Honda. They are bit more money at time of purchase, but they are worth IMO.

 

It apparently will not be replaced after this generation ends.

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/03/15/...nental-to-end/

 

I would say they are looking into the future. Hybrids, EV's and (Hydrogen maybe) are the future.

I recall a while back, California was calling to ban all ICE in 10-20 years. I doubt a total ban would pass, but some kind of compromise maybe. I was surprised and delighted to see a cordless battery operated lawn mower. Those 2 cycle mowers are probably the largest polluters made.

As far as the truck sales go, I always think about the Chicken tax which puts a 25% tariff on all trucks imported to the US. So Ford, Chevy. Dodge has had a monopoly on the pickup sales for years. Maybe some competition could lower prices.

 

they sold 657 nationwide last month. not great. now my g90 sells even worse but unlike genesis, the continental likely doesn't see hardly any sales outside the u.s.

 

the continental couldn't compete even if SUVs were not trendy.

 

It also doesn't see hardly any sales to individuals, even within the US. I think I've seen two that weren't bearing livery plates.

 

I had a 2012 Fusion. It was the last of the old generation, with a V6. It was a very good car. I had no issues with it other than one little glitch with Sync. It's now serving my sister very well.

Ford is definitely guilty of not giving sedans much love (Fiesta, Focus, Taurus all had issues or inefficient design in the case of the Taurus), but the Fusion is a good vehicle. I'm definitely sad to see it go.

 

I've been loaned a friend's 2010 Ford Fusion sedan recently. It's just your basic four cylinder non-turbo variant with a conventional 6-speed automatic. It's nothing special but it's a very solid little car that handles decently and it is pleasant to drive.

A Ford EcoSport or current-gen Escape do not at all appeal as potential replacements for this sedan or a Fiesta or Focus. If I like all of those models, why would I want something much taller that looks incredibly ugly, has a much higher center of gravity, has zero possibility of a manual option and isn't an off-road machine like a Wrangler/FJ Cruiser/FJ70/G-Wagen/Bronco?

This would just make me look to Hyundai, Toyota, Honda or Chevrolet for hatches and sedans. And for rear-drive seadans that aren't astronomical there are options from Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti and probably Cadillac.

This will bite Ford in the rear in a few years when there is no remaining local production tooling for smaller vehicles that aren't SUVs and CUVs. Sharpening your product portfolio is commendable but wiping out every single type of model in a certain category save one sports car (thanks for that, Ford) is another.

Those Focus ST's and RS's, while very niche and not segment leaders, are just going to become ever more expensive to find in good condition on the used market now that they'll be offered in all other markets but the USA. Same for the Fiesta ST's.

And the Fusion, while not an affordable sedan class leader, was a pretty good car. I really like those. I utterly abhor the EccoSport that replaces them.