Ford Everest...foreigners getting cool stuff again

[dave1251]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Good old Ford cheating the home market out of the best
products yet again, it looks like since CEO Mark Fields
took over at the helm the company is going back to its
bad old ways of offering more [censored] in the US saving
the best for "over there".

There IS a market in the US for the Everest and it would sell in significant numbers if marketed right.

My other question is ..where was the Everest designed?
In Europe is my guess. Dearborn hates being one upped
by their German Ford counterparts. If you look through
history everytime Ford brought great FoE products to the US the US manglement did EVERYTHING to kill their chances of being
successful with all manner of sabotage from poor or nonexistent
marketing, to not offering proper service support at the shop.



Sorry mate. Your post's for profitable business model's would be dubious on a micro level and your suggestions on the macro level are plain humorous and very flawed.

 

[01rangerxl]

Ford, like other manufacturers, isn't always the best judge of what will or will not sell. Sometimes they get it right, and do better than they themselves expected. Other times, they fail miserably or miss the boat. Do you know how the first Explorer came to be to begin with? Ford decided to stick a rear roof and seat on the Ranger and call it a Bronco II. The Bronco II sold DOUBLE what Ford expected it to, despite not having four doors available like the XJ Cherokee that came out the same year. Ford quickly realized they were on to something. When the first Explorer came out, it became the best selling SUV of any size in the US within 5 months. You know where the current Explorer is? 5th. Certainly not last place, but far from king of the hill too.

GM found it worthwhile to revamp the Colorado. The Colorado has never outsold the Ranger. Right up until the Ranger's demise, it was second only to the Tacoma. The Tacoma only surpassed the Ranger because it got a total redesign, and even then it was two or three years before the Tacoma knocked the Ranger off its throne. Again, a case of a quick CAFE "solution," and promises that the F-150 "will get the same gas mileage." It still doesn't, and it's looking like the aluminum body one won't either. Still too fat, still too big. Way to go Ford!

Is GM wasting resources with the Colorado? I guess only time will tell. I don't think they went through the trouble of Americanizing it again just for kicks though. I don't think Toyota goes through the trouble of keeping the Tacoma around (which is not a rebadged Hilux) just for kicks either. Obviously there is money to be made. It wasn't that long ago (1998) that the Ranger outsold the Camry (over 350K units sold in one year).

Maybe Ford just built them too well. Maybe the fact I'm driving one that's 12 years old with 160K miles and have no plans to replace it is the problem. Maybe Ford is right from a business perspective, and putting everyone in a throwaway is a better way of making money. I guess for the masses, that works...once the lease is up, or something with a bigger screen for syncing comes out, just toss it. Those of us who are picky, have some expectation of durability, and who don't like throwing away cars will go elsewhere since we are hard to please. We do still spend money though. There have been a LOT of Rangers in my family. Over 10 for sure. Only two I can think of were purchased used. The 2011 was only purchased used because there were no more new Rangers to buy, and it was bought at a Ford dealer with a Ford warranty. Come to think of it, the other used Ranger (a 2001) came from a Ford dealer too, and it too was only three years old when purchased.

Now though, the only thing that would draw me to a Ford dealer is a gas F-250. And I just don't need an F-250. I can guarantee you my parents will never buy an F-250. My cousin, who has a Ranger with 250K miles, is looking at F-250s, but he's the only Ranger owner in the family who can justify one and will get one. See ya, Ford. Have fun with your FWDs, Chinese transmissions, and F-150s that might almost get the city MPG of a 2.3 Duratec Ranger on the highway.

 

[weebl]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
A family member of mine just recently got a new 4Runner specifically because it fit the bill of "real SUV," so Ford lost a sale on that one. Another family member who could go out and buy a new Explorer tomorrow still drives a '93 Eddie Bauer with over 250K miles and plans to own it indefinitely because nothing new except a 4Runner can replace it.


Makes me wonder how long the 4Runner will remain a real SUV.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: dave1251




Sorry mate. Your post's for profitable business model's would be dubious on a micro level and your suggestions on the macro level are plain humorous and very flawed.



Chevy is bringing back the Colorado mid-size P/U.
It is obvious that there is a market and a sizable one for such a vehicle. Unfortunately these big companies are too busy paying small fortunes to dubious marketing analytical companies which often only repeat back what the client wants to hear. Which many times can be...completely, utterly, horribly, monstrously
..........WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONGGG.

 

[SteveSRT8]

First of all, pickups have kept the big 3 in business. They sell, and that's what mfgrs offer, whatever sells.

They'd sell their Mom if they could make money off of her!

All the big fellas use focus groups made up of actual folks just like us who give them feedback. They also track warranty expenses very closely as well. They are in the biz to make money, so if a "stripped" model was salable to anyone other than a fringe element they would offer one!

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
http://blog.caranddriver.com/fords-new-e...-but-cant-have/

I do want.

It is a fraction of a vehicle the 1991-2001 Explorer was, but it is infinitely more awesome than the FWD Taurus Wagon we have now.

My old boss had a 2000 Explorer with the big V8. I worked on it for him from time to time. I didn't really like it very much. Fit and finish was lacking. But it sure did pick up and go with zero effort!

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
First of all, pickups have kept the big 3 in business. They sell, and that's what mfgrs offer, whatever sells.

They'd sell their Mom if they could make money off of her!

All the big fellas use focus groups made up of actual folks just like us who give them feedback. They also track warranty expenses very closely as well. They are in the biz to make money, so if a "stripped" model was salable to anyone other than a fringe element they would offer one!


The issue isn't a lack of "stripped" models, it's a lack of any model in certain categories. Categories Ford used to be very competitive in, and that their two most direct competitors are still active in.

Toyota isn't dumb when it comes to this. The Tacoma and 4Runner are low volume compared to most other Toyota products, but they keep people in the Toyota family and are part of the brand's identity. They add to the value of the brand as a whole.

If you just look at volume only, Ford should get rid of the Mustang. I mean, who buys RWD personal coupes anymore? That is so 1960s. Ford was selling over half a million Mustangs when it first came out. Now they are having a GREAT year if they can break 100K (2013 sales were 77K), so why not just get rid of it? Mustang shoppers will hardly notice, they'll just go buy a Fusion instead. That's essentially what they are assuming with the truck-based SUV and small pickup categories. The problem is, that only works if buyers are unwilling to shop other brands. Ford can't count on that.

Ford has said that people who bought Rangers will just buy an F-150. You can get a well equipped Colorado Crew Cab LT with the 3.6L for $30K MSRP. Power windows, power locks, floor console, even a screen on the dash. In the 2015 F-150, that gets you a Super Cab XL V6 with manual windows and a rubber floor, if such a truck is even going to be on the lot (the $30K Colorado CC LTs are on the lots). Ford didn't like the Ranger cutting into F-150 sales. Is the Colorado cutting into F-150 sales better? The Colorado will be a low volume vehicle compared to the half tons for sure. It's not exactly a CAFE friendly gas sipper either, and it will not have the profit margin of other vehicles GM could allocate resources to...but it will get butts in GM seats, and some of those butts will be poached from Ford.