Ford RWD Program "On The Bubble"
The "bubble" is the point in a poker tournament where the next player out will not win any money– but the rest of the players will. A player "on the bubble" is on the verge of ignominious defeat. Automotive News [sub] reporter Amy Wilson deploys the term to flag Ford's plans to kill development of its large, rear-wheel drive (RWD) platform. Or not. "[Ford product chief Derrick] Kuzak told Automotive News last week that he is reconsidering the program. 'We need to understand the role of those vehicles, given the change in the market mix,' he said. In the meantime, Ford is developing those vehicles at full speed, he said." So it's all systems go! Right until it isn't. Lincoln dealers taking delivery of the new meh MKS await Ford's final decision with bated breath. Meanwhile, here are three more decision Kuzak hasn't made, but might. 1) sticking a turbocharged, four cylinder engine into the F-150 2) adding more European-sourced small cars to the lineup and 3) amping-up EcoBoost engine production past the 500k mark. Note: Lyndon Johnson said a bad decision is better than no decision.
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When the Charger came out for police work, a lot of agencies did try the Charger. Most of them switched back to the Panther because it is a superior product for police work. I know that breaks the hearts of the "newer is better" crowd, but the market has spoken. If Ford knew what they had, they would actually do something to the Panther, other than wish it could stop selling so they could kill it. There is no way I'd spend $35-$40 k for a rwd Ford sedan over a $19,000 Panther. Maybe I'm odd, but the market is not there for an expensive Ford sedan. Ford has the market gift-wrapped for them, and they are completely blowing it. Ford is not what I'd call the brightest bunch of people you will meet.
86er and taxman100, You make great points. I just wish Chrysler would take the guidance they've recieved from Police, Taxi and Limo companies and use it to re-develop their LX to be longer lasting. I think it would do a lot more to convince consumers to buy a Chrsyler to hear that fleets get 400K miles from them, rather than a warranty that lasts only as long as the company issuing it. I work in Manhattan a lot -- the number of yellow Siennas and Camrys on the street is scary.
How about some small RWDs instead of the big Panther??? Am wondering what a hybrid system woudl do for a Panther with a smaller V-6 ICE.