Ford’s future.
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According to Ford CEO Jim Farley, there will be “no more boring cars” in Ford’s future.
Which is a very vague statement, and one many other car manufacturers have made over the years. More recently Toyota. And yet…
This “exciting” Ford future devoid of anything boring will feature 3 names: Mustang, Bronco, and Raptor. This means that in Mr. Farley’s mind, everything Ford might be one of these 3. That would also mean more Mustang and Bronco models, with Raptpr sportier versions of all. And nothing else.
There was also no mention of the upcoming EVs Ford has been working on. Like these ones based on their all-new much cheaper platform. Both compact pickup and SUV models are planned.
It seems calling everything a Mustang or a Bronco is a desperate move from a company that no longer has an image. I am not sure where the Mustang can go from where it is now, but Mr. Farley has also said “We can take on Porsche with Mustang. We’re going to invest in that brand and get stronger and stronger”. Which is almost a crazy thing to say, since the Mustang lives in a completely different segment than any Porsche.
Unless the Mustang name becomes a sort of sub-brand with more high-end coupes and even sedan models. I guess they see a 4 door Mustang that could possibly compete against the Porsche Panamera? (illustration above)
This almost seems like a delusion and goes against what the Mustang is. I guess in that crazy alternate world, a larger Bronco could also compete against the Range Rover.
We all know cars like the Fusion and Focus are not coming back. And while extending the Mustang body styles has so far worked well for Ford with the Mach-e, there’s so much you can do. There were many rumors a while ago about GM creating a few sup-brands like Camaro, Escalade, or Corvette. Nothing has happened yet.
We’ll see…
Delusional is not the right word for Farley. He knows exactly what he is doing… he’s a con man within the company that is always on the verge of the next talking point. Its the only thing fresh, a new talking point every six months to grease up the BOD about and foist onto the organization. I had a boss like this. Always chasing his bonus and next promotion, but never following through on anything of consequence.
But I agree… How do you ruin your base of customers and ensure sales losses? Start driving your vehicle marketing into areas you dont have the engineering competence to do. We had Ford vehicles in our work fleet. After a couple years, they were the biggest piles of cr@p, and one blew an engine right away.
I think we all see how Jeep was ruined as the cool cash cow.
In Europe, some newspapers have reported the news that the small Suv Ecosport and perhaps a Focus-type compact sedan could return. It is not known whether they will be EV or hybrid models.
My gut says Ford is heading in the wrong direction. I don’t see Ford existing in its current form in 15 years. Management bought heavy into DEI and EVs and axed sedans. Bad choices.