Ford Motor Co. recorded strong earnings for 2011 but the market didn’t flinch and the stock price sunk? Is there something we don’t know because with great management and strong products isn’t Ford on the right track? Here is a good article that digs a bit deeper than most reporting on Ford’s future.
Sometimes it can be difficult to please Wall Street. As trading for the week neared its close the automaker’s shares were on track to drop about a half dollar as trader’s lamented the sort of figures that they might have only fantasized about during the depths of the Great Recession. The maker reported a full-year pre-tax operating profit of $8.8 billion, or $1.51 a share, an increase of $463 million over 2010.
But what didn’t sit so well is that Ford still fell about a nickel a share short of early estimates, and more worrisome, total automotive pre-tax operating profits for the fourth quarter dipped to $586 million, a decrease of $155 million from the fourth quarter of 2010.
The lore of NASCAR is filled with stories of backyard mechanics taking cars right off the showroom floor and winning races, fame, and glory with nearly stock cars. This is why NASCAR is called “stock car” racing after all. However, since the late 1980s, the cars have become less and less related to the showroom cousins. For 2013, Ford is trying to mend that gap, at least aesthetically, with their new 2013 Fusion racer.
Taking its cues from the production Fusion that debuted at the North American International Auto Show, the new Fusion race car adapts the cars dramatic headlight and grill treatment. To make the car look even more “stock,” the overall proportions of the stock car were mirrored. Even the character line that runs down the stock car’s side was replicated on the racer.
Today in Chicago it’s freezing cold and old man winter is about to punish us with snow. Naturally, driving is not the most fun right now. However, give me a Fiesta WRC to drive in these conditions and I would happily change my tune. Tearing up the streets with flames shooting out the back while SUVs are stuck in the snow is my picture of heaven.
If you’re also being pimp-slapped by the cold, take a look at the footage of Ford putting their new Fiesta WRC contender through its paces in Spain and imagine for yourself how awesome that car would be when the snow comes.
And Ford, Monte Carlo? Seriously? It’s too warm there. I know the WRC race there is coming up, but maybe hand over the keys to me for a bit. I’ll put the car through a real test here in the Windy City. No take backs though, sorry.
Let’s say you have $100,000 to spend on a car, any car. The obvious choices are simple: Porsche 911, GTR, maybe some second-hand Ferrari (to ratchet up the douche status), but those choices are obvious and boring. The world can go without another Porsche 911 owner stereotype. What if, instead, you bought a Focus. Not just any Focus of course, but the race-ready Focus ST-R. Not only will you not be another financial banker clown, but you would be one step closer to becoming a racing superstar. Not really, but one can pretend right?
So, if you’re still not convinced on how to spend your imaginary stack, check out the video of Tanner Foust putting the new ST-R through its paces.
British bikes, American muscle, and Japanese style driving are combined in the newest Icon production to create one helluva ride. A followup to their first car vs. bike drift battle ; part two documents a dogfight between two riders on modified Triumph Speed Triples and one marvelously mustachioed cop in a Cobra Mustang. The sound this video’s awesomeness nearly drowns out the whine of the Cobra’s supercharger.
Dodge Dart
Following the daft Dodge Caliber, Dodge is looking to redeem itself in the small car segment with the Dart. The Dart also marks the first fruit of Chrysler’s merger with Fiat, because underneath the Dodge skin lies Italian bones. And not just any bones either, but the platform of the Alfa Romeo Guilietta. The Dart will be powered by a host of new engines and transmission choices, also supplied by Fiat. No hatchback version will be offered, unfortunately, but the Dart is shaping up to be a serious contender in the small car marketplace.
It’s good to see Ford is trying just about everything to rebuild Lincoln which included hiring a new ad agency for the brand. That’s all well and good but unless they deliver the sheet metal no agency out there is going to bring sales back to Lincoln. One of the problems is that Ford has went semi upscale with the Taurus Limited, Edge and Flex Limited so paying 10k or more for a Lincoln off the same chassis is a tough sell. I certainly don’t have the answers but time is ticking for Lincoln to finally get back on track!
From the Detroit Free Press:
Ford’s attempt to reinvent its Lincoln luxury brand will be sculpted by a new boutique ad agency that will relocate to more chichi digs in New York.
The new agency, which Ford and its chief advertising partner WPP have not yet named, will include an unspecified number of employees from WPP’s Team Detroit office and new hires in New York. The new team will start with about 45 employees, WPP said in a statement.
“New York is the center of the luxury market,” said Jim Farley, Ford group vice president for global marketing. “Assembling a talented, Lincoln-only creative agency team to build this brand is an important next step in our plan.”
Cameron McNaughton, an advertising veteran who has worked with other luxury automakers, will be president of the agency and report to Satish Korde, CEO, Team Detroit.
“Our goal is simple: To help our partners at Lincoln create a new future for their brand as it reinvents itself,” McNaughton said.
After decades of dominating the commercial van market Ford is taking a huge risk by killing the best selling Econoline Van and replacing the workhorse with the Euro Transit Vans! Obviously the E-Series neded a redesign but will Ford leave some commercial consumers wanting more than what the Transit will deliver? If that indeed happens there will be openings for competitor to snatch some new sales from former Econoline buyers.
I think we all have an Econoline story. I know at least one person in this office learned to powerslide in a modern one. Another would consider selling his child for a first-generation, flat-nose pickup version. And I don’t know how many families I knew growing up in New England that needed every one of those seats to haul the kids to school.
But, all things must end and the body-on-frame, big-engined Econoline (now E-Series) is set to be replaced by 2013 by the full-size Ford Transit.
The New Transit will be built in the same Kansas City Assembly plant where the F-150 is built, but Ford is injecting some $1.1 billion into it for the new production. “The new Transit will be the smartest, most fuel-efficient way to move cargo or people,” said Tim Stoehr, Commercial Truck Marketing Manager for Ford.
In 2002 Ferrari debuted their greatest supercar, the Enzo, with 651hp from a precision-tuned V-12. Now, only 9 years later, you can buy a Ford Mustang with the same amount of power, and nearly the same top speed. This Mustang is the 2013 GT500.
For 2013, Ford has updated the Mustang GT500 to go head to head with its crosstown rival the Camaro ZL1. But instead of trying to play fair with the 540hp uber Camaro, Ford engineers decided to go for broke and offer the new GT500 with a monstrous 650hp. Oh, and it also goes 202mph. 202mph!
To handle the collossal amount of thrust from its 5.4 liter supercharged lump, some extra modifications have been made as well: a carbon fiber driveshaft has been added, a sturdier transmission has been put in, and there is now an electronic launch control feature to help you wallop the ‘Stang off the line at with face melting precision. I cannot wait to see how effective these are in containing the ridiculous amount of power, though.
The price will probably a bit higher than the current GT500′s price of $49,000, but that is a far cry from the Enzo’s $1 million dollar asking price, and cheaper than even its competitor the ZL1. In fact, if you want to rationalize it further, its the cheapest way to get to 200mph. That’s a Black Friday caliber deal if I ever saw one.
The new Escape compact crossover is Ford’s latest vehicle to shed a boxy façade for more finessed contours, a change that executives say improves fuel economy.
When Ford first launched the Escape a decade ago, designers sought to make it look rugged, like an SUV, rather than streamlined like Honda’s CR-V or Toyota’s RAV4. But shoppers are now looking for sleeker design, said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas.
“We’re injecting a style aspect to it, which consumers are saying, ‘We want, (but) don’t pull back one iota in the utility capability,’ ” Fields said.
Ford unveils the Escape today at the Los Angeles auto show, ahead of its sales launch next year. Ford is counting on the Escape’s huge customer base to make the new version as successful as its predecessor, even though Ford showrooms will soon be crowded with five car-based family vehicles.
