As it announced a less rosy financial outlook for the coming year, Ford Motor Company repeated its promise to rid America of small car production.
Yes, Mexico will take on the task of building the Focus and C-Max as Ford seeks to maximize U.S truck and SUV production. Part of the plan includes offering customers less choice, with a drastic reduction in buildable combinations on tap.
Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to buy a Focus in a color that isn’t black.
Ford laid out its growth plan yesterday, with the automaker claiming that increased spending will put downward pressure on the company’s profits for 2017. Where is the cash going? Well, self-driving vehicle technology and mobility, for one.
Speaking to Reuters yesterday, Ford CEO Mark Fields claimed the company is being cautious as it pursues “emerging opportunities” like autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing. Offsetting the increased expenses are cost-saving measures designed to save $3 billion a year between 2016 and 2018. Offloading small car production is part of the strategy.
The automaker isn’t alone in sending small car production south. Compact cars have a smaller profit margin, and U.S. assembly plants better serve their owners by producing high-profit trucks and crossovers. Focus and C-Max hybrid production will depart from the Wayne, Michigan assembly plant, bound for a new $1.6 billion Mexican plant announced in April.
Ford claims the transition of small car production to Mexico should be complete within two to three years. That leaves the Fusion, Taurus and Mustang as the brand’s remaining U.S.-built cars.
Just because Focus production will soon depart the country doesn’t mean Ford will ignore the model. There’s more profit to be squeezed from the venerable compact. For the 2017 model year, Ford claims it has shrunk the model’s buildable combinations from 200,000 in 2015 to just 300. When the next-generation Focus bows, expect just 30 combinations.
Reducing complexity is a key part of the automaker’s small car strategy. Just don’t expect a return of the Mainline and Customline trim levels.
Sounds like Oldsmobile at the end.
You can get the Cutlass Ciera with either the S or the SL package. (That was pretty much the extent of the options sheet.)
So I’m guessing this is going to mean things like “manual transmission only available in base 1.0T ecobost, ST, and RS”?
The Ciera was just the most numb, slow car I’ve ever driven. You’ve got no idea what’s happening underneath you. Hit the gas, and you’ve got two speed options, YES or NO.
“Hit the gas, and you’ve got two speed options, YES or NO.”
I recall it being loud or louder. Not that louder had any impact on your forward progress.
The Ciera, Celebrity and Century w/ the 2.5 “Iron Duke” was indeed a droning, slow, crate of a car that I never found comfortable to drive. With the later “3100” V6, it was still crappy, but at least able to get out of its way and not sound like a cranky water buffalo.
When I was an intern at an Enterprise location circa 1994, I might have heard tell about the top speed governor being set at 104 mph. Allegedly. I also seem to remember my boss picking up a speeding ticket somewhere north of 90 mph in a Ciera.
The one I drove was a later V6, as I recall it had an airbag.
I had two, both ex-fleet government auction purchases with heavy duty everything. Brakes, suspension, and cooling. That transformed the cars–both Celebrity’s–from a Buick-like ride to something more like an imported Golf or Altima. Much more feel, better transition in the twisties, and decent stopping.
Couldn’t say on the 104 mph top speed. I only every saw 100, but I still had pedal left. They were our fleet cars for a couple of years, and I found them to be quite enjoyable compared to the rest. They were better than the Focus in the current fleet if you were carrying anybody with you.
Still couldn’t get out of it’s own way at any speed above 50.
Once the next generation comes along, I wouldn’t be surprised if a CVT was the only transmission available in non – ST Foci.
I did a quick transmission survey on Cars.com. Of all the new cars listed, about three percent had manual transmissions, and of those that did, about two thirds were sporty cars. I’d expect that more makers will go the way Toyota is going with the Corolla, making a CVT or conventional automatic standard in their non-sporty small cars.
Others things that might make a difference is if younger buyers will insist on a CVT carefully emulating a non-CVT transmission. Those who would rather own a Tesla might be willing to have an engine rev where it wants to instead of plodding through a range of weaker revs to fit the notion of an old driver’s sense of “what a car should sound like”.
Then there is the cost. The cost to build and install a manual shouldn’t change (unless ROW is as indifferent as the US market) while the modern automatics (that beat manual efficiency) shouldn’t be cheap. I’d expect fiesta to maintain a manual, and wouldn’t be surprised with the focus.
I’ve driven two cars with a gas engine/CVT combo. a 2014 Corolla and a 2015 Patriot. I’d say Jeep got it right and Toyota got it almost right. If you press down a little on the accelerator in the Jeep, you get a little RPM increase, whereas in the Toyota you got a lot of RPM increase relative to how hard you pressed the pedal. I saw 4000 rpm a few times in the Corolla after a moderate press on the gas, where I’d have expected maybe 3200. In the Jeep the CVT is hardly noticeable, in the Corolla it’s occasionally a little intrusive.
I assume Focus production in Mexico is sold throughout the Americas. I don’t have any idea of what the transmission take rate is outside of the US and Canada, but I’d guess it’s enough to where a three pedal version is going to be built. We may not see it because of low US demand and Ford’s desire to streamline choices.
In these lower priced cars, I’d expect a limited number of choices. If you want to buy a $50,000 F150 I suspect you’ll be able to spec it just the way you want. Me, I’d like cloth seats and a sunroof, that may shortly be a very rare combination.
Of that 3%, I bet half were mislabeled. The only way to tell for sure is clear pictures of either a manual shifter or three pedals on the floor.
But you can still get a deal on that TrueCoat, ya? I mean, if you don’t, and you get corrosion problems, it’ll cost ya…
Basically. Options available in only two or three “packages” that include $5000 of bric-a-brac you don’t want in order to get the $700 item you do. No color choice beyond dark or light grey and beige, all interiors charcoal black, maybe with beige trim on some models. No meaningful choice amongst engines, no manual trannies, no optional seating, more powerful motors, extra conveniences. It’s going back to we build it, you buy what we will sell you or buy another car from someone else.
Car buying getting more boring every year.
Well, it ain’t called the Focus for nothing!
Side note: why can’t this site keep me logged in on more than one device at a time?
That’s a shame. One thing I liked about Ford was the long list of individual options you could get. But follow the VW model instead. Don’t ever expect to see a car with cloth seats and a sunroof ever again.
A lot of the factory options could just as easily be sold as dealer installed options – like the optional wheel packages, etc.
Honda has been doing this for decades. You get to pick the trim and exterior color. The equipment and interior color are fixed. Then you accessorize at the dealer.
I have my doubts that dealers could offer these kind of options at OEM prices. Any effort I made while shopping about inquiring about alternative wheel options met with, “we can’t do that, those wheels are $1,000 apiece.” Frankly, dealers just don’t care. Just write the check and get out, because there’s another chump waiting to pay.
When I bought my Honda, the salesman brought out a binder with all the accessories and basically just said “now let’s see which accessories you need to complete your vehicle.” He had a nice easy list of all the accessories with prices.
I suggested a similar idea when I sold Hyundais, but like you said, no one was interested. (They now have no problem packing every car with bug guards, rear spoilers, etc).
You need to get to know HandA.com – it’s a dealer website that sells accessories for Hondas and Acura at a discount.
Continental is being built in Flat Rock.
Ford “brand”. Not Ford “corporate”.
Yay! Even more opportunity to take options I don’t want in order to get ones I do. I think I’ll stick to the used car market for a while longer.
Most people buy off the lot, so having a huge options list serves no one, really. The only person who sees all that is the guy at the dealer stuck ordering the cars. Simplifying the build combinations makes the cars easier to buy and sell. It’ll minimize the crazy customers wanting strange option combinations.
“Part of the plan includes offering customers less choice, with a drastic reduction in buildable combinations on tap.”
Good, as a consumer choices make me nervous and uncertain. I like the company and the government to choose for me in all circumstances. Makes me feel safe.
don’t ever go shopping for a Toyota or Honda, then.
Oh those two are fine. I will just tell the salesman “I would like a good car, at a good price.” and then he can decide for me.
Well good Sir, have I got a car for you! Step right over here to our very last Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet. It comes fully loaded, so there are no options, and it’s very rare, so you can be sure that it will only appreciate in value. Yours today for only 108 easy payments of 459.98! WHAT A DEAL!
Toyota & Honda. Resting on their laurels since 1999.
Mexico: Building the cars Americans don’t want.
Fusion? MKZ?
Mind you, the Fusion had been constructed in Hermosillo, Mexico for some time. The line at the Flat Rock, MI factory is a recent addition. I’m not sure whether it’s an auxiliary line, or if Ford outright plans/planned to transition Fusion production to solely be at Flat Rock. Maybe JimZ or Adam could provide more insight.
I’m not the most patriotic person, but there is something to be said for competitive American cars actually being built in the U.S.
At least some of it would be the former Mazda6 production slot.
AFAIK Flat Rock picked up Fusion to kind of “backfill” HSAP; FRAP was only building S and SE non-hybrid cars. With sedan sales dropping I don’t think they needed the additional volume, so FRAP builds Continental now.
Flat Rock built fusions balanced out per the last UAW contact. Continental replaced it.
Coming in 2017: the Hocus Pocus model of the Focus.
It will be an ST with AWD.
And the infotainment system will play only good rock and roll.
In honor of this momentous occasion, the original hit version of “Hocus Pocus”. (if the link will show up)
My favorite band from the 70’s. Jan Akkerman’s guitar was like nothing else back then.
I just can’t wait until that yellow-haired, orange skin orangutan gets elected prez and tries to tell Ford to move their production to USA or else. Ford will be just like Marshall Rooster J Cogburn and tell him to “fill your hands you son of a b!tch”. Laughter will ensue from Flint, Michigan.
Anyone have solid data on quality of vehicles built in Mexico vs. the USA?
Can’t say I have data, but I’ve had doubts about Hermosillo since they couldn’t build the early Mark Z’s without tons of flaws, and had to send them to Flat Rock to get finished properly.
It wasn’t like they were running down a line in Flat Rock. They issues with the early build second generation MKZs weren’t due to the Mexican workforce.
Agree, Adam. The Fusion and MKZ have always had good build quality. But, let Ford take an extra step to ensure a critical launch doesn’t get screwed up, and suddenly every car built in at HAP is deemed garbage.
Always? Because Ronnie spotted plenty of cars on dealer lots with quality control problems.
“the sloppy metalwork appeared to be on all the MKZs that I saw that had metal roofs”
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/04/lincoln-mkz-supply-issue-resolved-but-what-about-hermosillos-quality/
I didn’t say anything about the workforce. But even Ford acknowledged that there was a problem with the plant.
“Ford said that their Hermosillo, Mexico plant, which assembles the MKZ and the Ford Fusion, couldn’t keep up with a quality control procedure… Every single MKZ was supposed to be rigorously inspected. The issue was compounded by supplier issues and missing parts. When Hermosillo couldn’t keep up, uninspected cars were shipped to the Flat Rock, Michigan facility for those inspections, end-of-line repairs and installation of those parts.”
Bad, but it’s not like they were shipping cars without rear brakes like the early Sonics.
My sister’s Journey is kind of falling apart inside, but the drive train has been reliable.
We will see how the new Mex made Taco will hold up with time, the NUMMI built ones were exemplary in quality and durability
Mmmmmmmmm tacos. Especially the street variety.
First time I ever had street tacos was in LA, and that was THE best taco experience I’ve ever had in my life.
Especially the chorizo ones. I ate six or seven.
Tacos SHOULD be made in Mexico, Tacomas in the US
Why not Japan? The J vin T100s were pretty good.
That goes without saying, as a matter of fact, I recall reading data that showed that the T100 was the single most reliable vehicle sold in the US./ Even more than any Lexus model.
Glad to see Ford has gone back to the mid cycle defresh model. It was clearly a great success for them in the 90’s.