Report: Mulally says Ford may pare global lineup to just 20 models

When Alan Mulally took charge of Ford four years ago, the Blue Oval had nearly 100 models. There are fewer than half that now, and the CEO wants to trim the number down to "less than 30, on our way to 20 to 25." His goal of simplification appears to be driven by the desire to cut costs for everyone – distributors, suppliers, dealerships, as well as Ford itself. That will not only help the brand in the present as it makes do in lean times, but can compound the rewards when markets – especially in Asia – go nuts again.

Mulally says the returns can be put into research and development, along with engineering for the remaining models. To put this in perspective, on Ford's U.S. site alone, there are 18 vehicles, not including the soon-to-die Explorer Sport Trac, which of course leaves out cars like the Falcon, Territory, Kuga and S-Max, among others. So the natural question is: Which vehicles would or should get the axe?

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/28/r...-just-20-mode/

 

Ford has a lot of cars that work...I don't know why they keep selling/making cars that nobody wants. I'm all for this.

 

Alan Mulally is doing wonders for Ford....

 

Cutting out the crap/marginal products ww is good thing, certainly a break from the historical business practices of BIG 3.

 

Yeah, but how much of that "paredown" to 20 models is simply the result of dumping the Mercury Division?....and, of course, the other companies Ford once owned, like Volvo, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover, etc....? The article doesn't seem to say. And, of course, Ford still owns a share of Mazda.

 

Certainly one of the most productive portions of the "paredown" was the result of dumping the Mercury division, not that any significant portion of the car buying public (living that is, not dead) noticed or cared.

 

LEss many times can be MORE.

 

Perhaps a significant portion of the former Mercury crowd DOES care. It is no coincidence that Buick sales keep rising as Mercury's have tanked and the Division was cancelled. As I predicted several times, the Mercury people don't seem to be moving up to Lincoln, or down to Ford, as Ford marketers had hoped. With Oldsmobile also gone, Buick is the natural division for former Mercury customers to gravitate to.

 

Taurus sales year to date thru August are 46,535/+106%. A case could probably be made that some Mercury customers are buying Fords. How many, hard to tell.

 

I agree it may be hard to tell. But Sable sales (the Taurus's former twin) have always played second-fiddle to those of the Taurus. There is also a new Taurus police version out that, along with some Chevy/Dodge models, is slated to replace the obiquitous Crown Vic. It's also doubtful that former Sable customers would be buying the Taurus SHO.

Nevertheless, the steadily rising Buick sales, especially with the Enclave and Lacrosse, are saying something.

 

Buick will gladly show how it's better products drove higher sales and many of us with automotive expertise acknowledge the better Buicks today. And Ford has plenty of replacement vehicles to satisfy any Mercury customer, and we do see evidence of strong Ford sales with similar product offerings.

Anybody can speculate as to where the sales went, but the fact is Mercury sales have been in a downward spiral for decades. End of story/division.

Most car buyers in 2010 don't care about Mercury or Olds, lol.

 

Olds killed themselves, in the 1990's, with the way they designed their dash/interiors with literally dozens of confusing, identical-buttons. But that's another whole story, off-topic, and we won't get into it here.

I agree we won't argue any more about Ford or Mercury, and where the former Mercury customers are going. Buick still (seems) the natural place for them. But, granted, it is still early (the ink isn't even dry yet on Mercury's cancellation paperwork) and the long-term trend still remains the be seen.

 

Here's what I'm brainstorming:
-For next-gen: Retain Fusion or switch to Mondeo(???)
-Since next-gen Ford Explorer is launched, possible axing of the mammoth Ford Expedition

 

Yes, it's saying that Buick has these 2 competitive products and more to come, or for the first time in decades they have competitive products. But it has no proven connection to the dumping of Mercury or the topic of this thread.