Ford to drop current Freestyle

[giant_mtb]

Should I swap the new Mustang GT's engine into our Grand Marquis? ^_^      

[Raghavan]

Should I swap the new Mustang GT's engine into our Grand Marquis? ^_^    

umm... what does this have to do with the killing of the Freestyle?

[ifcar]

If you had read through the discussion in this thread instead of just the title, you'd see a discussion of the Grand Marquis's powertrains.

[Raza]

When did Ford do this before? Are you referring to the Cougar, maybe?

For one, the Aviator, which had rumors of its demise a little over a month from its introduction.  There's the revolving door of Lincoln SUVs and trucks, so many that I can't remember any of them.

[giant_mtb]

Should I swap the new Mustang GT's engine into our Grand Marquis? ^_^   

umm... what does this have to do with the killing of the Freestyle?

Read through the rest of this thread and you'll see the light from which I came.    

[BMWDave]

Should I swap the new Mustang GT's engine into our Grand Marquis? ^_^    

No point at all to do that, as it would be mighty expensive

But I assume you were kidding anyway

[ifcar]

When did Ford do this before? Are you referring to the Cougar, maybe?

For one, the Aviator, which had rumors of its demise a little over a month from its introduction.  There's the revolving door of Lincoln SUVs and trucks, so many that I can't remember any of them.

Really? It's pretty simple.

Navigator large SUV came out in 98/99, redesigned for 03, and is still on sale.
Blackwood pickup came out in 02, flopped miserably, had no possibility for improvement, and was dropped.
Aviator SUV came out in 04, based on the Explorer/Mountaineer, and didn't sell well for a combination of factors: It was priced close to Navigator level, and didn't drive as well as the European competition. A car-based replacement is in the works for the 07 MY.
Mark LT pickup came out for 05, with virtually no R&D, and may or may not survive a full five-year cycle.

4 vehicles that hard to keep track of?

[Raza]

When did Ford do this before? Are you referring to the Cougar, maybe?

For one, the Aviator, which had rumors of its demise a little over a month from its introduction.  There's the revolving door of Lincoln SUVs and trucks, so many that I can't remember any of them.

Really? It's pretty simple.

Navigator large SUV came out in 98/99, redesigned for 03, and is still on sale.
Blackwood pickup came out in 02, flopped miserably, had no possibility for improvement, and was dropped.
Aviator SUV came out in 04, based on the Explorer/Mountaineer, and didn't sell well for a combination of factors: It was priced close to Navigator level, and didn't drive as well as the European competition. A car-based replacement is in the works for the 07 MY.
Mark LT pickup came out for 05, with virtually no R&D, and may or may not survive a full five-year cycle.

4 vehicles that hard to keep track of?

When it's F/L/M, I don't put any effort into it.  I mean, you can't float a luxury automaker with rebadged Ford SUVs, and Mercury really has no reason to exist anymore.  

[ifcar]

Ford just denied that the Freestyle will be killed. :)

Ford: News of Freestyle's death greatly exaggerated
Chicago plant to build SUV 'for a long time'

By Rick Popely
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 19, 2005

Ford Motor Co. denied a published report Monday that it will stop building the Freestyle sport-utility vehicle in 2007 at its Torrence Avenue plant on Chicago's South Side.

Trade newspaper Automotive News, citing unnamed sources, said the car-based "crossover" SUV would be dropped just three years after launch because of sluggish sales and because Ford will introduce similar models to replace it.

Vehicles normally stay in production at least five years to recover development costs.

"We're committed to making the Freestyle for a long time," Ford spokesman Dan Bedore said in denying the report.

"The Freestyle will continue, but I'm not going to put a date on it. In order to correct the story, I'd have to put out future product plans that we're not ready to announce," he said. "It's a very speculative story. It doesn't really characterize the situation that clearly."

The Freestyle shares its platform and major mechanical components with the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego sedans that Ford also builds at Torrence Avenue.

Production of the three models began in August 2004, and the plant is scheduled to add a Mercury version of the Freestyle in 2006 with different styling.

Ford projected the Freestyle and Five Hundred would each sell about 100,000 annually. This year, the Freestyle is lagging well behind, at 35,497 of an expected 49,138 through June.

Bedore said that is not a concern because a flexible manufacturing system at Torrence Avenue allows shifting production among the three models as needed.

"The beauty of it is that with the flexibility we're able to change our production mix based on demand," he said.

The news report comes after the Freestyle enjoyed its best month, selling 6,820 in June.

What's more, crossover SUVs like the Freestyle are the industry's hottest segment, drawing buyers from traditional truck-based SUVs like the Ford Explorer. Sales of crossover SUVs are up 16.3 percent this year, and truck-based SUVs are down 8.5 percent.

June was the first month the Freestyle and Five Hundred carried a cash rebate, $1,000 compared with $4,000 on the truck-based Explorer. Both are included in Ford's employee-discount program this month and are getting deeper price cuts as a result.

[BMWDave]

^^Great news!

[TBR]

Good news, not really that surpising, Ford wouldn't do something that stupid. 70,000 sales are more than enough to cover expenses and make a profit.  

[Catman]

This is good news.  Sounds like someone was adding speculation to unrevealed future plans.  I really want to see how the Freestyle performs with the 3.5L.

[Raghavan]

usually second year for a model does better as most people avoid first year models so the automaker can sort out quality issues, etc.