mgm Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 What is the deal with the Expedition??? Why are we not producing over 10,000 a month? The dealer inventories within a 100 radius of me show no more than 2 at any particular dealer. Sure looks like another screw up by Ford with not being able to meet demand. Lets continues to put all the hot selling vehicles on 1 line and then not be able to keep up with demand. Who in the world thought that redesigning this vehicle after all those years would not result in a huge increase in demand? This was our opportunity to capture sales from GM, but it looks like we missed the boat once again. Glad me pay all our executives millions and millions of dollars to continue to make stupid mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 (edited) Expedition and Navigator are built in same plant as Super Duty Combined production regularly tops 38,000 an Ford is moving to increase production there but its gonna take time Its an in built limitation to having just three plants building F Series and the new large SUVs - they have sent some SD production to Avon Lake but Im betting that more needs to be moved there to make room for SUV production . I dont know whats more embarrassing, out of date products or hot selling products that are unavailable to those who want them Edited April 4, 2018 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice-capades Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 (edited) Mazda6 and Fusion are the main imports among midsize sedans in the U.S., as all of them come from Japan (Mazda) or Mexico (Ford). Also, a few Optimas and Sonatas are sourced from South Korea (including all hybrid and PHEV models), but most sold in the U.S. are domestic. All four have a decent if not huge sales volume outside the U.S. And they have all been refreshed recently. 2018 for Mazda6 and Sonata, 2019 for Fusion and Optima. I think all of them will still available as new cars at the beginning of the next decade. I'm hardly impressed with what Ford did with the 2017 Fusion and doubt that the 2019 Fusion's slight changes will make much difference except for the simplified ordering process for Dealers. The current generation Fusion came out for the 2013 Model Year and hasn't had any substantial changes. Years ago models were all-new every 3 years but still kept the major design elements that made each model unique. Those were the days! And the Fusion's been out so long that all the mid-size sedans have a similar profile resulting in none of them being distinctive enough to capture much or any attention. Looks a lot like the Taurus approach not many years ago. Edited April 4, 2018 by ice-capades 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 (edited) It doesnt help that the current car was based on one released in Europe back in 2007, the world has changed so much since then Edited April 4, 2018 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader 10 Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 The lack of any powertrain upgrades is especially disappointing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 The lack of any powertrain upgrades is especially disappointing. What “upgrades” are you looking for? They have that covered from the hybrid to the Sport 2.7T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 I'm hearing from unaware Accord lovers that the new Accord seems "smaller", I had one tell me she wasn't interested because it's "smaller", reminds me of the Taurus, when it went ovoid, some people perceived it as being "Smaller" and went to something else. I think that squashed droppy butt look isn't working well. With some of the "sedan" offerings, I can see where sales will drop, honestly look at the price of a Continental and ask yourself "how much more" vehicle you can get with say a Navi. Same goes to MKZ, a loaded one hitting $62K, and act likes a $40K sedan. I can see how some of these prices might have to be lowered to reflect the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snooter Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Coulda been worse....and the march to a truck based ford continues en vogue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKX1960 Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 What is the deal with the Expedition??? Why are we not producing over 10,000 a month? The dealer inventories within a 100 radius of me show no more than 2 at any particular dealer. Sure looks like another screw up by Ford with not being able to meet demand. Lets continues to put all the hot selling vehicles on 1 line and then not be able to keep up with demand. Who in the world thought that redesigning this vehicle after all those years would not result in a huge increase in demand? This was our opportunity to capture sales from GM, but it looks like we missed the boat once again. Glad me pay all our executives millions and millions of dollars to continue to make stupid mistakes. My local dealership currently has 8, mostly XLT. Not any Platinum and pretty much the same at the other 7 or 8 dealers near me. What few Platinum's I've seen listed sell quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader 10 Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 The upgrades i was referring to would include the 8 speed and improvements to the 1.5/2.5 engines to make them competitive to the class leaders regarding fuel economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice-capades Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 My local dealership currently has 8, mostly XLT. Not any Platinum and pretty much the same at the other 7 or 8 dealers near me. What few Platinum's I've seen listed sell quickly. The only Expedition XLT's that sell are those with the #202A package with leather, navigation and a moonroof. The volume model is the Limited series while Platinum's are almost impossible to get for Dealer stock. Ford's problem is that they can't meet the demand for the Limited's and Platinum's and forcing Dealers to take XLT's. The problem is that few customers want a full size SUV around $55K with cloth seats, no navigation and no moonroof. It's typical for first year demand of an all-new model to skew heavily to the high end models. Ford missed the boat by not planning better for the model mix on the new Expedition and Navigator. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 The only Expedition XLT's that sell are those with the #202A package with leather, navigation and a moonroof. The volume model is the Limited series while Platinum's are almost impossible to get for Dealer stock. Ford's problem is that they can't meet the demand for the Limited's and Platinum's and forcing Dealers to take XLT's. The problem is that few customers want a full size SUV around $55K with cloth seats, no navigation and no moonroof. It's typical for first year demand of an all-new model to skew heavily to the high end models. Ford missed the boat by not planning better for the model mix on the new Expedition and Navigator. You and I have been preaching to the choir a lot lately regarding Ford and their poor build planning 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 (edited) Ford know the builds are restricted to 6,600 a month so they are just building the richest mix buyers will stand but by golly, that seems to be exactly what buyers want at the moment. Edited April 4, 2018 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 The upgrades i was referring to would include the 8 speed and improvements to the 1.5/2.5 engines to make them competitive to the class leaders regarding fuel economy. The problem is the 8 Speed is needed in more important products first-they can't just flip the switch and spit them all out for every single product I'm sure the next gen Fusion will have it-if they have a next gen one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 The problem is the 8 Speed is needed in more important products first-they can't just flip the switch and spit them all out for every single product Why can't Ford buy 8-speed or 9-speed transaxles from a supplier like Aisin or ZF? Ford did just that when it needed a 6-speed auto and CVT for the Five Hundred in 2004. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Why can't Ford buy 8-speed or 9-speed transaxles from a supplier like Aisin or ZF? Ford did just that when it needed a 6-speed auto and CVT for the Five Hundred in 2004. Why spend extra money on supporting additional parts? How much of an improvement will you see MPG wise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fgts Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Yes sir. All non-luxury midsize sedans except Chevy Malibu were down in sales last month. Some are doing a lot worse than others. Here are March 2018 sales (not DSR adjusted) for each midsize sedan model in the U.S. 1. Toyota Camry, 35,264, down 1% 2. Honda Accord, 24,171, down 10% 3. Nissan Altima, 23,518, down 17.5% 4. Ford Fusion, 16,103, down 14% 5. Chevrolet Malibu, 14,707, up 3% 6. Hyundai Sonata, 11,098, down 27% 7. Kia Optima, 8,010, down 21.5% 8. Volkswagen Passat, 4,292, down 31.5% 9. Subaru Legacy, 3,889, down 21% 10. Mazda 6, 3,734, down 2% Interesting FCA Charger/300 was on-par sales-wise with the mid-pack at rough 14k cars moved, not bad for full-size, rwd sedans. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Why spend extra money on supporting additional parts? How much of an improvement will you see MPG wise? ZF says that its 9HP transmission (9-speed) can deliver 10% better fuel economy overall and 16% better fuel economy at a steady 75 mph than 6-speed FWD slushboxes. The improvement over the GM/Ford 6AT should be even greater, as the GM/Ford 6AT is probably the worst among all current 6AT when it comes to efficiency. Ford vehicles with the GM/Ford FWD 6AT paired to 4-cylinder Ecoboost engines fall short in fuel economy and performance compared to other makes. That's why Ford should consider investing in modern transmissions. Including from Aisin and ZF if needed. The Fusion 2.0T 6AT rental cars I've driven felt laggy and slow. Yet fuel economy was mediocre. I never got better than 20 mpg in mostly city driving. For comparison, I also had Fusion Hybrid rental cars. The hybrids felt much smoother and more responsive, even if they weren't actually any faster than Fusion 2.0T. I got 37 to 39 mpg in similar driving with the Fusion Hybrids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Why can't Ford buy 8-speed or 9-speed transaxles from a supplier like Aisin or ZF? Ford did just that when it needed a 6-speed auto and CVT for the Five Hundred in 2004. Last time they did that they wound up stuck with a total shitbox and were forced to stick with said shitbox for way longer than they should have. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-Mo Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 I dont know whats more embarrassing, out of date products or hot selling products that are unavailable to those who want them That says it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 (edited) Last time they did that they wound up stuck with a total shitbox and were forced to stick with said shitbox for way longer than they should have. Or they could have stayed in sync with the rest of the world Focus for the last three years and used the 6F and 6M. Ford had choices but again chose to do nothing Edited April 4, 2018 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Or they could have stayed in sync with the rest of the world Focus for the last three years and used the 6F and 6M. Ford had choices but again chose to do nothing Had they done that they would still have a nameplate that had some value in the North American Market. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 (edited) Had they done that they would still have a nameplate that had some value in the North American Market. But then, all is not lost. Even with that dreadful transmission, Ford still manages to sell 16,137 last month, up 11.8% imagine what sales could be achieved with a more spacious body and a decent transmission... Edited April 5, 2018 by jpd80 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 But then, all is not lost. Even with that dreadful transmission, Ford still manages to sell 16,137 last month, up 11.8% imagine what sales could be achieved with a more spacious body and a decent transmission... theyve had some CRAZY incentives on them the last several months. Ive also been told by my salesman that ford is no longer leasing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probowler Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Looks like Ford will pull the plug on Fusion at least temporarily to make room in Mexico for new vehicles. I don’t think it will be permanent though. And with the imports I wonder if their global sales still support midsizers even though the US market is shrinking. If this happened.... would Ford possibly increase Fusion production to maintain dealer supply of fusions during the production break? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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