10-03-2009, 09:27 PM
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In translation to What Golf is saying is this, we see Ford of North America holding on to a Body design for a very lengthy amount of time. I'm not talking two or three years and then a mild face lift but five years or more before a face lift is even done. After that all we get is another face lift of the original model. We don't see anything really new or improved in the matter it takes practically a decade before we get an actual new model. Take a look at the Focus, in a decade FoE has seen practically three full models of Foci. Even the face lift of the MK II is more than a Face Lift really. The Fiesta is the same way you get a model for two three years minor face lift and then in two more years or less you get a brand new model design. The only car that held on to what Ford of North America was doing in Ford of Europe was the Escort that was about it. Hell Ford of Australia constantly changes and updates it Falcon every three to four years. The AU looks nothing like the BA, the BF is a minor face lift and then the G series is a total redoing in less than a decade. Looking at in retrospect even look at Holdens cars the Commodore is comletely redesigned every four to five years. GM of North America has the same issue of holding onto a design for nearly a decade before a new version is introduced. Take a look at the Silverado and Cheyenne trucks for this and how many years seperate a minor face lift to the point of a full and completely redesign of the model. To sum it up, Ford of North America is slow in their designs and updates which hurts market stability only looking at immediate profits of the original design only to incorporate a few minor changes of the model of a long term span which slightly entices returning customers. This is one of the reasons why I believe that Domestic Market for North America is weak, none of the manufacturers keep up with other automakers in redesigning and making a truly better product.
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10-03-2009, 10:22 PM
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Exactly mrbirdman...
Which speaks to the defective business culture in the USA... The most evident symptom of which is short term quick gains at the expense of long term reasonable gains and long term health and stability of the organization... The big three are always so busy having the bean counters pinch pennies so they can show the shareholders a substantial increase in profit that the health of the product suffers in the long run, eventually killing the health of the company. These guys don't LIKE the fact that the customer IS still king, and if you make products you need to please the customer FIRST and FOREMOST, the profits will follow if you get this top priority correct.
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10-03-2009, 10:41 PM
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Bingo, rather than invest what needs to be done and save money by getting a new vehicle design out every five years or so we see a new model once a decade and then its the original model purchased. The face lifts bought out of loyalty or because the customer can't afford a premium car of the same market. I've driven a wide range of Foci, european are the best period. Also in terms of a "Face Lift" we tend to see quality for the first year of that model then watering down. Look at what Ford did to the ST Sedan they weakened the suspension. The fact that having gotten the watered down MacPherson struts that were placed on the later 06-07 ST Foci I'm having to save to get a set of Eibach struts to compensate for the lack of grip my ST has right now. Oh yes I noticed an immediate difference that I have a lack of grip, I can not go around curves now as fast I could causing me to slow down which I do not like. I do not speed but I don't like having to drop 5 to 10 mph to round a tight curve and not sweat if I'm going to lose control. For a car that on Fords website in 04-05 bragged it was begging for a good corner and curve really lost it in 06 on up. This angers me because of the slowing down and speeding up causing a change in my fuel mileage.
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10-04-2009, 02:24 AM
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Dear God you people don't listen.
It's quite clear neither of you have read anything about what's happened at Ford in the last two years. You're basing every single one of your assumptions on outdated facts and outdated information. Ford has been revolutionized. The old culture, if not completely destroyed, is being eradicated, Ford's global design and engineering programs are being unified more than any other company in the world and they're overall very little like the company of 10 years ago. Quit using the '08 Focus example too because that's no longer valid. The decision to make the '08 Focus a reskin instead of the EU model was made by the old administration under Bill Ford, which definitely was still protecting its turf. But I believe (it's in a couple articles from two or so years back) that when Mulally came in one of the first things he observed (with bewilderment) was how the American and European Focuses were completely different cars. Thanks to him Ford is now committed to global models even if there are slight regional differences. You guys are right to be wary of Ford but you're both completely unwilling to consider the pretty overwhelming evidence that the company is transformed and the past mistakes of the Focus will never be repeated. Here are some articles that were actually written in the last two years that serve as proof: Ford 1979 vs. Ford 2009: What's Changed? | The Truth About Cars Can Alan Mulally save Ford? - May. 11, 2009 Car wars: how Alan Mulally kept Ford ahead of its rivals | Business | The Guardian And an interesting one on the reasons why EU and American cars by necessity have some fundamental differences: One Ford for the Whole World - WSJ.com
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10-04-2009, 12:08 PM
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Media is controlled and biased. When I see the actual proof infront of my eyes then I can believe it. Ford wants to market a "Premium" Small car then they better not just slap on a couple extra options from the usual standards which were once considered premium.
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10-04-2009, 05:50 PM
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You didn't even bother to read the links did you? It shows just as much bias to ignore any alternate views as anything you're accusing the media of doing.
BTW wasn't it you who said the auto magazines will determine how well this car is sold? Since the media is so biased for Ford, as you say, the Fiesta should do amazingly because Ford will "control" the media into loving the car. And when the Fiesta comes out with the chrome grille (and BTW the Verve concept had the chrome grille way back in 08 before the Fiesta Movement cars started driving around, so it's not like we didn't know this would happen) you'll bitch and moan about how the whole car is ruined, it doesn't matter that it drives like a sports car and cruises like a luxury sedan or gets 40mpg and has a better interior than the competition, no, it just has that stupid chrome grille and that's ALL that matters. Get over it. There's a bigger picture here and you're missing it.
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10-04-2009, 05:50 PM
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Quote:
I don't care about all the PR bull*hit or marketing hype...the proof is in the final product sitting in the showroom actually offered for sale to the general public in the US
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10-04-2009, 05:54 PM
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Then you prove my other point that we don't know yet what the car will be like. I personally believe the Fiesta will still be a great car regardless of what grille it has or whether it has blinkers in the wing mirrors, whereas all you two care about are the little features and luxury items and not the overall excellence of the car. The true verdict won't come for a few years, when the car has been on sale a while and we can conclude for sure that it's been a successful, high-quality product.
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10-04-2009, 07:09 PM
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I don't know what the car will exactly look like, but I'm tired of seeing all the same idiot features that you see on every other Ford Vehicles in the line. I would have spent my money on a Transit Connect if it had a manual option. Its what I actually need more than my Focus but I have never will or like an Automatic Transmission because I have a hard time driving one. I like the Transit Connect its another vehicle Ford should have brought over after it first came out in Europe. Not to mention it has the SAME face as its Euro Version.
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10-04-2009, 07:24 PM
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That's crazy that the Ford Transit they are offering in the USA has NO MANUAL TRANNY option..I'd bet that Ford sells almost NO automatic versions of that product in the RoW.
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