It’s dropping pretty much all of its car line-up.
This is clearly a market-driven decision. Americans, famously, like SUVs and trucks. But I have to wonder how much of it is a gamble on gasoline prices remaining fairly low, coupled with being a result of That Man in the White House deciding to roll back fuel economy standards. Which may also turn out to be a gamble for Ford.
Say goodbye to nearly all of Ford’s car lineup: Sales end by 2020
It’s killing the Focus, Fiesta, Fusion, and Taurus, will focus on SUVs and trucks.
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Sounds totally backwards for me foreigner. Just a brand that can be ignored then.
It's funny, the zeitgeist suggests that everyone wants high efficiency electrified cars. Ford sells four in the US, and they're quite good. No one buys them.
I’m trying to recall a non-truck Ford model other than the Mustang and I’m drawing a blank.
+Kee Hinckley The Focus is a current one, and the Taurus (though I don't know anyone who currently has one).
We currently have a mid-range SUV, because we do peak fill it in passenger and cargo space (it was actually a downsize). We also have a smaller hatchback sedan which is my car for commuting (when employed) and when just two of us need to go someplace. Definitely replacing that with something the same size.
I'd love to go electric or hybrid, and will be looking at that when we are buying next.
+Dave Hill I really wish Subaru would get their electric act together, although I understand that their market probably has issues with range that would limit interest.
We’ve been considering a second car at some point, especially if Mollie starts teaching in Seattle. Something so when one of us is away for a few days, the other can make short runs. I was looking at the SmartCar electric, but if we had to go to Seattle in it for some reason that would be dicey range-wise. Still, it might make sense.
But if Subaru made an electric WRX I’d probably finally have a mid-life crisis moment 🙂
Or I could face the fact that now that I’m not split between two places that require off-road abilities, maybe i don’t really need a Subaru anymore. :/
+Kee Hinckley their market probably has issues with range that would limit interest.
A good electric car can easily manage 350-400 miles on a full charge – which it can suck down at a charging station faster than you can eat a decent meal. Yes, care still needs to be taken to not end up somewhere in Idaho with only 75 miles of charge left, but charging stations are becoming a lot more common quite quickly.
+Valdis Klētnieks What cars? Tesla gets 337m and the Bolt gets 238m and those are listed as best in the US. The SmartCar barely does 60.
Charging options have definitely improved, especially in New England, where they used to be pretty non-existent. The Leaf gets 150 (although I guess they are about to improve that).
My criteria used to be “can I make it to my mothers house in the winter and up the mile of snow-covered dirt road to her house”. That meant 150 Miles in freezing temperatures and ideally 4WD. That’s just starting to be possible in the $35k range.
My other issue with electrics until now was that I lived in an urban area. The good news, range was seldom an issue. The bad news, I couldn’t charge at home unless I was lucky enough to get a parking spot in front of the house. And if I’d been on the opposite side of the road, I wouldn’t have been able to charge all winter (they close one side in the winter so they have room to plow).
+Kee Hinckley Absotively. We're a Subaru family (it's almost a legal requirement in Colorado), largely for snow-on-road purposes.
I also want Subaru to make another hybrid or electric AWD car, but highly unlikely any one besides European car companies will make them.
Also, since the “Big Three” spent millions on Trump to get rid of the CAFE standards, now they get the pay off to build all of the vehicles that have to massive markups. I’ll have no pity in the next 5 years when gas prices peak again and the go bankrupt.