More on the “Euro Fords in the US” rumor.
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Here some quotes from the Auto Savant article:
-“Our sources at Ford say that Mr. Mulally has already made the decision to convert at least three truck/SUV production facilities in North America as soon as possible to produce Ford models currently sold in Europe, where Ford is renowned for its small cars. The timeline Mulally prefers, according to insiders, is “yesterday”. He has made up his mind and is pushing forward.”
-“Sources at Ford tell us that another plan being considered is to keep making the first-generation Ford Focus currently sold here in the States, and also make the second-generation Ford Focus currently sold in the rest of the world and sell the two alongside each other in the US for a while before moving to the second-generation Focus exclusively. The original plan was to wait until the next-generation (third-generation) Focus was released in 2011 or 2012 to accomplish the synchronization of the Ford Focus on a global basis, but it appears that plan has succumbed to defenestration at Dearborn.”
Sounds like they are making huge changes. I just don’t know how they could sell both Focus models over here. And why.
The US Focus is actually selling well, and gets really good gas mileage. And the cheaper Fiesta is coming.
The Euro Focus would have to sell for more than the US one and that would be about the same as a Fusion.
As much as I would love to see the Euro Focus sold here, I don’t think they can sell both models side by side.
That all sounds a bit weird to me….
Unless they are telling the truth when claiming to have no plan to kill Mercury.
Could these Euro cars end up as Mercury models over here?
Have they been actually listening to us????
I think it’s very simple really: After years of fumbling around, Mulally has finally had to admit the obvious, that the best solution to Ford’s woes is the US is to bring over the European lineup. Too late? Maybe, let’s hope not, but at least it seems they are starting to own up to their mistakes
Perhaps the plan is to manufacture the Euro focus in the US for export to europe until the 2011 model comes along when it will become a global car.
Well, you’re right, they could sell them under the Mercury moniker but I think that is unlikely.
I think it is more likely that the existing Focus would become a “Heritage” edition just like the F-150 did during the last changeover. They’ll sell it for a while then upgrade the plant to the 2012 model.
It’s not the current generation Euro Focus!! By the time it gets over here it will be the next generation and will replace our current Focus!!
Rick said…
Well, you’re right, they could sell them under the Mercury moniker but I think that is unlikely.
Mercury to Bite The Dust by 2012
It comes to no surprise to anyone who has been watching the U.S. auto industry the past few years, but even if Ford had it coming, it’s a sad development to see a marque like Mercury following in the footsteps of Oldsmobile and Plymouth.
While Ford hasn’t officially announced the death of Mercury, Inside Line supports that word from sources that supply the brand is that the marque will quietly be put to sleep by 2012. Mercury has no plans of intruding any new vehicle and from the looks of it, the last new model to roll-off the designers board will be a revised version of the Milan mid-size sedan that’s expected sometime in 2009.
How long does it take to retool and convert the suv assembly lines, design and build US spec EuroFords and finally sell them here in the USA? If it takes about 2 to 3 years to do this then would’nt it be better to just have the next gen Focus then? I know we all want the Euro Focus but I just hope Ford is being smart about this. I gotta say, Mullaly seems to be doing a good job at Fords puzzle palace.
I too think all this is a good idea for Ford. I gotta wonder if the reason we have’nt seen or heard about any new Mercury’s is because the Euro Fords are going to be the next line of Mercury’s? Time will tell.
I think ford should scrap the idea of bringing over the european model focus because it would confuse buyers. Maybe instead they should bring over just the ST performance focus. I would also like to see the new Kuga as the next Escape here…maybe modify the engine to get a better mpg rating.
Where is Ford gonna get the money to convert all these factories???
The Focus will NOT be sold as a Mercury. I can’t believe some people are saying they should scrap it after all the complaining all these years.
It’s simple, the next Focus will also be manufactured and assembled in the US or Mexico for the NA market, hence it will be CHEAPER. It will be more expensive than a Fiesta yes but it will also be cheaper than a Fusion (why would it be priced the same anyways??). The current NA Focus will remain for a few more years as a budget car with lots of kit.
Times have changed, it seems not many people have realized that. In a couple of years US buyers will not only buy the cheapest small cars but they will start looking into small cars which are a bit more expensive and of higher quality. That is where the next Focus fits in the plan.
Also the next Fusion and Mondeo will be one and the same, that would still not make the next Fusion more expensive than the current one since again it will be manufactured in the Americas.
It’s simple, Ford is the only US brand which is bold enough to make massive changes as needed in a dramatically changing US market.
So do not complain, be happy.
By 2012 the US will have 3 and 5-door versions of the Fiesta, the NA Focus, the Euro Focus, the Kuga, the C-Max, a Mondeo based Fusion, a dramatically improved Taurus, a new Mustang..this is bliss!
They are talking about the NEXT generation Euro Focus and NOT the current
Never mind all that, just get it over here!!
I still think that there is a chance these cars could come here as Mercury’s.
When Plymouth was killed off, it was announced almost two years in advance by Chrysler.
When GM killed Oldsmobile, they announced it almost FIVE years in advance.
Without an official announcement from Ford, it seems like Mercury could at least be kept alive a bit longer with the Euro models. You don’t have to re-position Mercury much at all – Mercury cars have always sold at a slight price premium to their Ford counterparts. And this eliminates the badge-engineering problems that have basically destroyed Mercury to this point.
That being said, I don’t really expect it to happen. It would make too much sense, and this *IS* a U.S. automaker we’re talking about. 🙂