The news lately has been plenty full of speculation and angry comments about Ford’s decision to kill off anything with a trunk (save the Mustang, for now).
Generally, the consensus among the B&B seems to be that Ford is making an ill-advised and short-sighted decision. Well, today’s your chance to build your own lineup of profitable, future-proof vehicles in a game I just invented.
The idea is pretty simple: Create a brand lineup that you think would sell well and be profitable for at least the near future (10 or so years). Like any fun game, there are some rules.
- You must have exactly one entry for each of the following segments: sedan, small CUV, mid-size CUV, large CUV, sports/convertible, truck, another truck, SUV.
- Selections can be from any brand you like, as long as they’re currently in production today somewhere in the world.
- Pick a single brand from which to sell all these vehicles.
That’s it, Three Simple Rules. Each vehicle selected will be rebadged, and go on sale at all the dealers of whichever brand you choose. Said brand’s lineup will be replaced with your picks, and will not sell any other cars.
Be wise with your selections, and build that perfect brand.
[Image: Polestar]
Your rules confuse me. How can it be the perfect car lineup if it doesn’t include a compact shooting brake (3 door wagon) modeled on the weight of the Echo Hatchback and the Everything Else (handling dynamics, feel, power, interior accoutrements) from the 1993 Acura Integra with 2 extra manual forward gears (total of 7) and flat underbody panels for fuel economy and driving refinement?
I don’t think I can play the game without one.
sedan – Tesla Model 3
small CUV – Lexus UX
mid-size CUV – Mazda CX-5
large CUV – Mazda CX-9 or Ford Explorer (no mini van required)
sports/convertible – Buick Cascada
truck – Ford F150
another truck – Ram 3500 Dually
SUV – Toyota 4runner
Which brand are you going to use?
UX is subcompact, and CX-5 is compact.
Brand Ford
Sedan : Chevy volt
Small CUV: Jeep Renegade Trail Hawk
Midsize CUV: Land Rover Range Rover sport SVR
Large CUV: Range Rover HSE TD6
Sports car: Mustang.
Truck 1: Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro.
Truck 2 : F-Series
SUV: Toyota Land Cruiser.
Basically I’d get rid of all the Ford products that have names beginning in E and F that are not pickups.
All under the Porsche brand:
sedan: Panamera
small CUV: Q3
mid-size CUV: Macan
large CUV: Q7
sports/convertible: 911
truck: 2019 Ram with the fancy rear suspension? Or whatever is supposed to be the nicest, most technologically sophisticated pickup truck on the market
another truck: Ibid
SUV: Cayenne
I’d add that a small premium sedan would be really nice. I would love if Porsche built something the size of an M3 sedan but with 911 hard parts, build quality, and durability… like a 7/8 scale Panamera.
Holy Warranty Claims, Batman
Sedan: Charger
Small CUV: Macan
Midsize CUV: QX70 (it is still on their website)
Large CUV: Durango
Sports: AMG-GT
Truck A: F-150
Truck B: Fiat Strada
SUV: Tahoe
Lineup under: Dodge
I’m thinking about how funny it would be in the dealer’s service department, fixing all these together.
I say HEMI FOR EVERYBODY!
There I simplified servicing. ;-)
Porsche + Taco and Tundra and Wrangler. Done.
Really, if Porsche just added a 3 or 5 series sized Panamera it would have the ideal lineup IMO.
If you really got creative you could do this with 911s alone. Sedan = regular, SUV = C4, Sports Car = GT3, pickup = cabrio, etc.
Lol @ Tundra
Sedan: S550
Small CUV: wrangler
Midsize CUV: forerunner
Large CUV: Suburban
Sports: vette zr1
Truck A: F-150
Truck B: Ram 3500 diesel
SUV: G550
Lineup under: vw. (World wide dealer network, toyota brand second place)
You said future proof yet there are no dedicated hybrids in your line up.
Honestly I think you could create this list with the current Nissan lineup. They even have two trucks and two sport car models, plus multiple CUVs & SUVs to chose from, as well as actual cars.
You can put as many hybrids in there as you like! There’s no limit.
Sedan: Toyota Camry. Hey, it sells.
Small CUV: Kia Soul. Urban hip and quite functional.
M/S CUV: Honda CRV. See the Camry.
Large CUV: Honday Odyssey. What a minivan doesn’t fit in this category?
Sports/Convertible: Mazda Miata (have to include it) but actually my preference would be the Chevrolet Corvette. Supercar looks and performance with a realistic price and greater reliability.
Truck: Toyota Hilux. Has a built in market as a ‘technical’
Truck: Ford F-150. Not my favourite but they also sell.
SUV: Chevrolet Suburban.
Not on your list but should be:
Hatcback: VW Golf. As per James May the only vehicle that most global consumers really need.
I would re-badge them all as Packards.
I forgot about the Soul! Good choice, I’d have that over a HR-V any day.
Corvette having greater reliability than the MX5??
Greater reliability than other ‘supercars’. Revised the brand name. Packard in North and South America. Saab in Europe. Rover or Morris for the rest of the world.
Debated 4Runner v Suburban. Tough call on that. On reflection would probably go with the 4Runner as the Suburban might be too large for many markets.
Brand–Ford. Selling the big trucks is important and I’ll need that brand loyalty.
Sedan: Camry. Very successful, right-sized, gas and hybrid variants, newly redesigned. Curious if a Ford rebadge will break the spell with consumers.
Small SUV: Honda HR-V. I guess. I hate this segment, but it sells.
Midsize SUV: New RAV4. Putting a lot of eggs in one basket hoping Toyota’s success will continue with a Ford rebadge, but this one is redesigned and has gas and hybrid as well.
Large CUV: Explorer. Old, outdated, but it sells a lot. Don’t risk that success by rebranding a more modern Pilot or Highlander.
Sports/convertible: Mustang. Duh.
Truck: F150. No brainer, it keeps the current company afloat as is.
Other Truck: Tacoma. Trendy!
SUV: Heart says 4Runner, logic says full-size. I think putting a Ford badge on the Chevy Tahoe/Burb would destroy the universe, so I might have to just keep the redesigned Expedition here and hope sales improve dramatically from the last generation.
I’m assuming this is a North American lineup and not a global market one. This is also the lineup I think would sell, not necessarily the one I would want in my driveway.
Good list although the CX5 is superior to the RAV4 in most aspects. Customers have seemed to notice with sales up >20% in the first four months compared to last year.
I agree it’s vastly superior to the outgoing RAV (no idea about the new one) and it’s the one I would rather own. But Toyota moves a freakish number of RAVs and my list was about sales! sales! sales!
I like my game better – give me a GTI built by toyota, priced by Nissan.
With the diesel fiasco, GTIs *are* currently priced by Nissan!
The biggest problem is I need a small sedan too.. but that wasn’t permitted by the rules:( Therefore my “ideal lineup” is still flawed.
Sedan: Hyundai Sonata
Small CUV: Santa Fe Tuscon
Midsize CUV: Mazda CX-9 (I thought it was large, but its classed as midsize)
Large CUV: Toyota Sequoia (You can argue its an SUV and not CUV, but its definitely the large CUV buyer market)
Sports: Corvette (They print money- huge volumes and huge margin)
Truck A: Nissan Titan
Truck B: Ford Superduty
SUV: Wrangler Unlimited
too many of you are looking for what you want. What I built above I think would sell under a single brand quite well and be quite profitable and sustainable.
Brand I’d use? Mitsubishi. I know that sounds crazy, but it actually has a good global brand presence, and no preconceived notions of what fits in it.
A Mitsubishi-branded Corvette. That would be something to see. The 3000GT Stingray.
The opposite of a dodge-branded mitsubishi, eh?
Sedan: Honda Civic
Small CUV: Honda (Buick) Encore
Mid-size CUV: Honda CR-V
Large CUV: Honda (Acura) MDX
Sports/Conv: Honda (Ford) Mustang
Truck 1: Honda (Ford) F-Series (or perhaps call it H-Series)
Truck 2: Honda (Toyota) Tacoma
SUV: Honda (GMC) Yukon XL
(If I could also add 2 more vehicles: Fit and Leaf)
Sedan – Honda Civic (Yeah, it’s not a “big one” but still pretty big.)
Small CUV – Mazda CX-3
mid-size CUV – Mazda CX-5
large CUV – Mazda CX-9
sports/convertible – Toyota Supra (sports)/Chevy Corvette (Convertible) because I like to bend the rules, two cars because you have two categories in one.
truck – Chevy Silverado with an honest to God V8
another truck – Ford Transit (the big one)
SUV – Cadillac Escalade
Revive the Saturn name, go no haggle and yearly “family” picnics.
I cannot.
Can you stop treating the distinct terms “car” and “sedan” as though they’re freely interchangeable?
Show me where I did that.
You specifically?: “anything with a trunk.” They’re killing off the hatchback cars too.
The site in general has been using the terms interchangably in every mention of Ford killing off its car line. I had to go elsewhere to figure out if it really was the cars, or just the sedan versions.
They’re keeping the Focus Active, which has a cargo area, and not a trunk.
Trunk is an enclosed space which is not open to the rest of the passenger compartment.
BTSR: Doesn’t matter, as long as THEY ALL HAVE HELLCAT.
Norm: Trifecta Tune all the things!
BAFO: diesel pickups…mumble…chicken tax.
Me:
sedan – Camcord. Pushed to wall: Accord SE or hybrid.
small CUV – Toaster, er, Soul.
mid-size CUV – Sportage
large CUV – Explorer
sports/convertible – Vette
truck – Fiso
another truck – Taco
SUV – the Tahoe/Denali money minting machine
Brand – Pontiac, because I’m old, and because excitement.
sedan: Audi A4
small CUV: Audi SQ3
mid-sized CUV: Audi SQ5
large CUV: Porsche Cayenne
sports/convertible: Porsche Boxster/Cayman
truck: Chevy Silverado
other truck: Toyota Tacoma
SUV: VW Atlas
Agree with previous mention of hatchback: VW GTI
Yes, most of them are performance cars… but if the future is all electric, might as well have fun with it…
I’ll start with the idea of reinventing Acura just for the fun challenge.
Sedan: Mercedes C-Class
Small CUV: Lexus NX (but reprogram to crank up the boost on the non-hybrid version)
Mid CUV: Acura MDX
Large CUV: Mercedes GLS-Class
Sports/convertible: BMW 2-Series
Truck1: Ford Ranger (as currently produced elsewhere in the world)
Truck2: Ford F-150
SUV: Lincoln Navigator
I’d love to see big, heavy truck things like the F150 and Navigator as Acuras. Give Acura a Land Cruiser competitor that’s not an Isuzu.
Honda’s never done a proper truck. I think they’ve correctly seen it as outside their wheelhouse. But I swear there’s still a bunch of engineering culture at that company (the Type R and NSX are proof) and I’d love to see their “different” take on it. I think you’re right that the place to start would be a global-sized SUV positioned as a more modern alternative to the LX/Land Cruiser.
For sales, pretty much Toyota with the Mustang swapped in for the 86. And while we are at it, the corporate 3.5 swapped in for the ghastly 2.3 EB (at least in Rustang tune).
Double-down on lazy and sloppy reporting. What I expected.
Feel free to email [email protected] with any and all complaints.
No, I’ll just sit here and laugh at you trying to have it both ways.
I have no illusions about ttac giving a crap about the quality of its writing or the opinions of its readers. I’ve been reading for years.
Here I am interacting with someone who’s clearly just out to waste my time. Imagine that, me not caring.
These QOTD features aren’t really reporting. They’re more like the crossword puzzle in the newspaper, an opportunity for readers to engage and participate. Why not skip the QOTD if it fails to meet your standards?
Yeah… someone complaining about QOTD not being high quality reporting.
AKA as “Trolling”
Agreed. What’s to report? Because the topic of Ford dropping most cars hasn’t been reported on here nearly enough?
It was “just what I expecting,” except my expectations were quite different, given the fact the I did consider the category/type of article it is before I read it.
What is he “reporting”?
Sedan – Alfa Guilia
Small CUV – Ford Transit Connect Wagon
Mid CUV – Volvo XC60
Large CUV – Ford Flex
Sports/Convertible – Fiat 124 Abarth
Truck 1 – F150
Truck 2 – Toyota Land Cruiser 70
SUV – Oshkosh Joint Lightweight Tactical Vehicle… The sweet government contract on that bad boy and combined with all those F150 sales should subsidize the rest.
And since you didn’t say the brand had to be living… All available for test drive at your local Auburn/Cord/Dusenberg showroom!
Looking strictly at volume and profitability, I’d sell this line up under the Nissan brand…
Sedan– Toyota Camry
Small CUV– Honda CRV
Midsize CUV– Chevy Traverse
Large CUV– Mercedes GLS
Sports/Convertible– Ford Mustang
Truck– Chevy Silverado 1500
Another truck– Ram 2500
SUV– Lincoln Navigator
Ford
Sedan ——– 4×2 F150 Supercrew
Small SUV —- Bronco 2 door (aka Troller)
Mid-sized CUV – Bronco 4 door (aka Troller)
Large SUV—— Excursion
Sports——— Raptor (F150 and Ranger)
Convertible — Bronco (aka Troller)
Truck———- F Series
Truck (other) – Ranger
I can’t drive 55 and I can’t play by your rules Herr Commandant [because the lineup sucks].
Come on down to 28’s lot, we got everything from random time periods.
The we might be somebody someday coupe: Buick Riv L67 (G-Body)
The we are in middle management coupe: Lexus SC400.
The we are serious coupe: Jag XKR (X100).
The we pwned you: Porsche 993 Turbo.
The we might be somebody someday sedan: BMW 540i (E39).
The we are in middle management sedan: Holden Commodore.
The we are serious sedan: Jag XJ8 (X308) LWB.
The we pwned you sedan: Toyota Century.
The we might be somebody someday wagon: Volvo 200 Wagon.
The we are in middle management wagon: Audi A6 Avant.
The we are serious wagon: Cadillac CTS-V Wagon.
The we pwned you wagon: Bentley Arnage Wagon (one of a kind).
The we might be somebody someday SUV: Jeep Cherokee (XJ)
The we are in middle management SUV: Toyota 4Runner (N180)
The we are serious SUV: Lexus LX450 (J80)
The we pwned you SUV: Lamborghini LM002
The we might be somebody someday CONV: Ford Mustang 3.7
The we are in middle management CONV: Lex SC430
The we are serious CONV: Chevrolet C7 Z06
The we pwned you CONV: Rolls Royce Corniche
The we have too many kids: Toyota Sienna
The we want a woman’s car: Lex RX330
The we are a valley girl car: BMW 325i (E46)
The our family goes camping car: Chevy Suburban (GMT400)
The our family is prepping car and has money: Ford Excursion Powerstroke 7.3.
The our family is prepping car and is poor: Dodge Durango (DN).
The our kids are spoiled car: Audi A3
The our kids are really spoiled car: Mercedes CLA.
The our kids are spoiled but we want them to survive car: Volvo S60
https://newatlas.com/worlds-most-expensive-station-wagon-bentley-arnage/50362/
lol…
I’m amazed Corey required sedans, Ford doesn’t.
If we are going to pick from all periods of time and space I’d respectfully request a late 70s Impala sedan with 350 4 barrel, posi, and handling package. Or the equivalent Delta 88 with Olds 350…
Should I buy this?
gatewayclassiccars.com/ATL/247/1979-Pontiac-Bonneville-Brougham
The Brougham us string with this one and clean with the Olds 350, but TMU, very niche, limited appeal. Not sure how to value it but 17,5 seems a tad steep.
That’s actually a Buick 350. On the Bonneville/Catalina the Olds 350 was the CA/High-altitude option while everyone else got the Buick V8 as the uplevel choice over the Pontiac 301 or Buick 231.
Not a huge deal output wise (155/280 on the Buick vs 160/270 on the Olds) but there is a much greater aftermarket for the Oldsmobile V8s compared to the Buick stuff. The Buick V8 has a trouble spot with its oil pump integrated into the timing cover, but its not a difficult fix if needed.
It’s sharp looking car, and it looks like to be in good & original shape but I agree that there isn’t a strong market for this type of car.
I was thinking more like $13.5K on it.
Good stuff, didn’t know that ajla.
13,5 feels more reasonable, but I feel as if you’re never going to get 13 out of it again unless Weimar style inflation really does come true here.
We can do that. Your job is your credit! Everyone is approved! /s
Ha ha
I’m with 28 on this one, impossible to follow the rules.
Brand: Plymouth (name and several low level vehicle name rights purchased from Sergio in a fire sale) and Oldsmobile purchased from GM. Plymouth is the mainline, Olds is the higher end, of course. Most rebadged vehicles would include brand-specific restyling,
I’m also going to use some cars from other countries that are LHD and should be able to be modified enough to meet U.S. standards.
sedan: rebadged Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 as Plymouth Cranbrook, Oldsmobile 88.
Later, purchase the LX tooling from FCA when they’re finally done with it, possibly lengthen it for use as Olds 98.
small CUV: rebadged Roewe RX5 (China) as the Plymouth Horizon
mid-size CUV: rebadged Jeep Grand Commander (China) as Plymouth Espresso
large CUV: rebadged Dodge Durango as Plymouth TrailDuster, Oldsmobile Bravada
sports/convertible: rebadged Camaro as Oldsmobile Cutlass, convertible as Cutlass Supreme
truck: rebadged Ram 1500-4500 as Plymouth PT-1500 through PT-4500.
another truck: Rebadged Fiat Toro as Plymouth PT-500
SUV: rebadged Beijing Auto BJ40 including the 4-door L, some modifications such as a different engine, redesigned rear door, enough styling changes to distance it from the Jeep and Hummer styling mimicking. Sold as Plymouth Sundance. Hardest to make North America-friendly, admittedly.
To help be profitable, I would keep the Chinese-sourced vehicles produced there. The other rebadged vehicle’s production would be shared with their manufacturers, respectfully.
I would keep the LX platform in production so long as it can be affordably made to pass crash tests.
Entire line up also sold in China
Disclaimer: You may be surprised this isn’t based on Ford products, but it was intentional, and it isn’t as though I think the above vehicles are necessarily better than their Ford competitors.
Disclaimer 2: I admit I ignored the rules and so I hope Brother Corey is lenient with me with punishment.
I am gathering my pitchforks!
Fine! I thought of a way to play properly. And this time I will use Ford.
entire line up as Ford has it planned, except:
Import the Chinese Ford Escort as a dedicated cheap car, no aspirations of being anything more than a cheap economy car. Will offer safety and infotainment (a must for a lot of people), but no lux’ed up or performance versions. Sell on the retail market with a base price target of $10k. Happily sell to fleets all they’ll buy, rental or government or other businesses.
After Continental is redesigned, introduce the Chinese Ford Taurus.
I believe that the current Fiesta, Focus and Fusion are expensive to build, which is why they can’t make money in a shrinking sedan market. I bet that’s the reason Ford is looking for ways of reducing costs. Hopefully the cheap Escort and the lower-production-cost Taurus will be profitable.
Bro, you are a literal parody of a one-brand loyal homer.
I can think of no on here or on any other automotive-oriented site that has such a Cialis 365/24/7 boner for all things for a single (largely pathetic) manufacturer as you.
Ford is among to worst volume manufacturers of vehicles at present, and has been for a while, with a few decent vehicles that have kept the lights on, for 40+ years, with a wholly horrific dealer network in terms of customer treatment and corporate support of its vehicle buyers, to boot.
It is so comical, that you even go so far as to proclaim the Ford Temp and worst generation of the Taurus as somehow competitive vehicles for their time, going so far as to suggest that they were segment leaders.
You and NormSV-Area51 provide some of the best comedic relief around this place, and I really appreciate your contributions.
I can hardly wait for you to regale us with romantic recaps of how you and your boyfriend had “the perfect day” driving to the countryside in a Ford Ecosport to have a picnic lunch in a meadow, with some baguettes, an assortment of soft French cheeses, some cured meats, and a couple’bottles of vino.
I’m not kidding. I like you and your Fantastical Ford Fantasies that you paint in real time.
That must be why I built my dream current auto brands with 0 Fords. Most of their product isn’t compatible with the brands I chose to ressurect, and I decided to choose products that best fit my brand’s missions, and again, Ford just isn’t compatible.
I used a respected full-size truck that sells well but from a company that would be most willing to share production with another automaker. My second choice is the Nissan Titan, however, it has an incomplete lineup compared to Ram.
Plymouth would have a streamlined options list to save money. It would be positioned as a value brand. I thought of having Oldsmobile field a fully loaded version of the Ram, but decided against it. A full-size luxury truck with classic but modern styling inside and out would be so interesting, though. Hey, traditions are made to be broken, but again, I decided not to include it when I wrote that.
Speaking of Oldsmobile, I want it to be positioned higher than Plymouth, but not competing with the German luxury brands. As time went on, assuming the company was profitable, I would begin collaborating with other automakers to develop new products, eventually coming up with true in-house-developed replacements for the above vehicles.
I sprinkled in some cheap Chinese utility vehicles in to help keep profit high while keeping production costs low on just about every model, including the domestic-produced vehicles. There are so many Chinese brands that make CUVs, it would be wise to go there and decide exactly which ones to use. Those are mostly just examples of ones I don’t find offensive or unbecoming, style wise.
I take back the LX platform from Oldsmobile, I think I’d rather rebadge Genesis’ RWD sedans as the 88 and 98 respectively (possibly their upcoming utilities as well). Gotta make em look Oldsmobile-ish though.
Meanwhile, a different QOTD suggestion:
What lineup of vehicle styles should a manufacturer build for maximum profitability? How many platforms, engines, and drive systems are needed?
I think you could build a full lineup with just two component sets (one for CUVs and cars and one for BOF stuff), three engines (two different size turbo fours and a turbo six), and two drive systems (a mild hybrid + CVT and a planetary-gear full hybrid system).
I might be able to work this one up, good idea.
Brand – Kia
1. Sedan – Kia Stinger (best value performance sedan, 5 star safety rated, not 3 like the Mustang)
2. Small CUV – Suzuki Vitara, long wheelbase
3. Medium CUV – Izuzu MUX
4. Large CUV – Toyota Landcruiser GXL V8 diesel
5. Sports – Ferrari 812 Superfast
6. Truck – Ford T6 Global Ranger
7. Truck, other – Izuzu N Series
8. SUV – Toyota Landcruiser 70 Series
What is an Izuzu? I’m sure its better than a Ford, whatever it is.
Probably on the best midsize wagons on the market today. It’s a great do all vehicle.
You see John living in America you miss out on some really fine vehicles.
https://www.motoring.com.au/isuzu-mu-x-tow-test-2017-review-108494/
Brand – AUDI
sedan – Tesla Model 3
large sedan – Audi A8
small CUV – Jeep Renegade
mid-size CUV – Jeep Compass
large CUV – Porsche Cayenne
sports – Audi RS6 wagon
convertible – Porsche (any 718 or 911)
truck – VW Amarok V8
SUV – Range Rover
missing the daily car
daily car – Golf GTD 4×4
The best brand to put the required hodgepodge under is Holden. They have sold cars from a huge variety of manufacturers with recycled model names.
It’s kind of like Chevrolet in Europe (used to be) – the only real Chevy was the Corvette. All the rest were captive imports and miscellaneous odds and ends.
Manufacturer: Audi
Sedan: Genesis G80
Small CUV: Mazda CX-4
Mid-size CUV: Mazda Cx-8
Large CUV: Volvo XC90
Sports/convertible: Audi RS6 wagon
Truck: F150
Another truck: Ram 1500
SUV: Toyota Landcruiser