Ford is done making boring cars

[IceGamer]

Which is why a new RS 200 would be perfect. 80s nostalgia is hot right now, AWD all weather supercars are hot, reasonably priced mid-engine cars are flying off the shelves. So an 80s inspired AWD supercar priced at around 70 grand seems like a no brainer. The c8 sold around 50 thousand units last year if memory serves right, it's not far behind the s650. The average transaction price has to be a lot higher as well.

The affordable mid-engine car segment is one of the only ones Ford doesn't compete in, and it's one that can make your company billions of dollars in revenue if you make something appealing. The issue is lots of companies are phoning sports cars in right now, and wondering why they're not selling. Give us something with wow factor for a price that's reasonable, and it'll sell.

Ford isn't done making 'boring' cars but done making affordable cars. Ford wants to focus on more expensive cars with a higher margin and yet almost everything they do is far away from premium, except pricing...

Henry Ford would certainly not be proud...

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[Alan Applegate]

I don't think it is a "FORD" thing. Labor prices have gotten to every facet of our lives, and so have energy costs. I don't blame Ford for any of this, rather blame the money-sucking pols.

 

[REV745DH24]

oh man, the Marauder. i remember my dad had a black 2003 Mercury Marauder. that thing was awesome and quick for what it was. i still remember a time when he had caught air from a bump in the middle of an intersection, and when he landed, one of the rear springs broke. thats quite a memory from ~17 years ago right there

 

[REV745DH24]

oh man, the Marauder. i remember my dad had a black 2003 Mercury Marauder. that thing was awesome and quick for what it was. i still remember a time when he had caught air from a bump in the middle of an intersection, and when he landed, one of the rear springs broke. thats quite a memory from ~17 years ago right there

I had remembered myself drooling over Mercury Marauder because I like the size and roomy front and back seats and I did like the fast big sedans in the past and ended up buying the 2003 Mustang Cobra instead! I had looked at the Marauder’s engine and drooling over having friends in the back going out for some fun! Even now, I have been checking out for some neat ones out there on the internet as usual and for fun but now that I am older and got myself the Dark Horse Premium! Good memories for me when I was looking for one! Ford should’ve brought it back into the future as well!

 

[MAGS1]

Just bring cars back in general. It’s stupid that the only car that Ford offers is the Mustang. Everything else is an SUV or truck. And that’s not even limited to Ford. So many manufacturers are getting away from affordable sedans and coupes.

Bring the Fusion back, bring the Focus back. I had just gotten my license when the Probe came out and loved it, bring that back. I know there’s more profits in trucks and SUV’s, but I’m tired of them to be completely honest (and we have an SUV in our garage).

 

[MAGS1]

@Ford Motor Company pay attention to this thread, your customers are speaking. I have a soon to be 16 year old that I’ll be car shopping for and it won’t be an SUV or truck. He wants a car and he’s not alone. A lot of his friends are foregoing SUV’s and trucks and going with cars. The Civic and Corolla are popular at his school. Take notes for what the next gen is buying right now…

 

[Supraman]

Ford isn't done making 'boring' cars but done making affordable cars. Ford wants to focus on more expensive cars with a higher margin and yet almost everything they do is far away from premium, except pricing...

Henry Ford would certainly not be proud...

Anyone in the DFW area will remember Ed Wallace on the radio on Saturday mornings. It was a couple years ago before he announced he would be retiring, in the early morning segment where he would have a dealership general manager or two on to talk about trends in the market. They discussed this very thing on multiple episodes. Entry level cars were going away and it was a deliberate decision.

In general, new cars are expected to have much longer service life than most of us remember. When I was graduating, we fully expected a complete engine overhaul by about 75,000 miles on any Ford product (maybe 100K on a Japanese car). Now most new cars will get two or three times that with fewer minor repairs (and almost no difference between domestic or Japanese anymore). For young people now, it makes more sense to buy a larger, more comfortable and well-optioned car with 75,000 miles and an extended warranty or even certified pre-owned program than to buy a tiny little econobox. Plus with the average price of a new car near $50,000, most young people would have to do the 7-year balloon notes to buy anything really nice. Again it makes more sense to buy a used car and pay it off with less interest. And safety-wise, especially here in Texas where half the population is driving a crew-cab pickup as their family sedan, driving around in a tiny car, looking up at all the other goliaths on the road can be scary, especially for girls which are half the market.

So the manufacturers and dealers all got together and decided they didn't need to build and sell tiny little entry-level, low-margin cars anymore because young people were instead preferring to buy used cars that were bigger with a lot more luxury features and optional equipment. They would simply buy an extended warranty to go with it or maybe if they were in a higher paying field, maybe they'd buy a certified pre-owned car. And they'll still get another 75 to 150K miles out of it, pay a lot less interest, enjoy more features and have a greater sense of safety.

 

[MAGS1]

Except bigger SUV’s and trucks are not inherently safer. They sit higher so are greater risk of a rollover in an accident. And because they sit higher, it’s sometimes harder to see shorter objects (or pedestrians) in front of you.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

Wishful thinking but I feel like they should bring back SVT and have the Mustang be the flagship to it. They also should bring back some iconic names from other Ford markets to take on the world since those markets created something special.

For example:
Mustang (2 door sports car flagship)
Falcon (performance sedan)
RS/Focus (AWD)

Ford has the potential to do cool stuff but they make weird decisions.

A number of people brought up the Mercury Marauder. Now that I think about it, if Ford decides to green light a performance sedan, Falcon or Marauder would be the perfect name for it! (Mustang Marauder perhaps, if Ford has to insist on the "Mustang as a sub brand" ordeal? It sure sounds a lot better than Mustang Mach-4.)

 

[MaddNomad]

A number of people brought up the Mercury Marauder. Now that I think about it, if Ford decides to green light a performance sedan, Falcon or Marauder would be the perfect name for it! (Mustang Marauder perhaps, if Ford has to insist on the "Mustang as a sub brand" ordeal? It sure sounds a lot better than Mustang Mach-4.)

If they want a sub brand it just makes more sense to bring back SVT. Then you're adding more than just styling to the cars. So far, “Mustang” as a sub brand to Farley means tri bar taillights and a mean face.

 

[DeluxeStang]

Let's just use the perfect example of Ford's strategy here. The maverick hybrid. Let's talk about how excitement and passion are relative. I love my maverick hybrid, it's the return of the small, affordable, reliable truck. Is it exciting relative to a mustang gt or Ford gt supercar? No.

Is it more desirable and unique than the Corollas and civics driving around? Fuck yeah. The maverick is hands down the best affordable entry level product on the market, and it's not even close. Most of the people buying them actually traded in their civics and Corollas. The civic is the most traded in vehicle for the maverick. So Ford is still appealing to that demographic.

The maverick isn't expensive, it's arguably the best value on the new car market. It's not exciting compared to high end sports cars, but it's more exciting that blob hatchbacks on wheels.

That's the sort of thing we're talking about when it comes to exciting products, that it's all relative.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

Let's just use the perfect example of Ford's strategy here. The maverick hybrid. Let's talk about how excitement and passion are relative. I love my maverick hybrid, it's the return of the small, affordable, reliable truck. Is it exciting relative to a mustang gt or Ford gt supercar? No.

Is it more desirable and unique than the Corollas and civics driving around? Fuck yeah. The maverick is hands down the best affordable entry level product on the market, and it's not even close. Most of the people buying them actually traded in their civics and Corollas. The civic is the most traded in vehicle for the maverick. So Ford is still appealing to that demographic.

The maverick isn't expensive, it's arguably the best value on the new car market. It's not exciting compared to high end sports cars, but it's more exciting that blob hatchbacks on wheels.

That's the sort of thing we're talking about when it comes to exciting products, that it's all relative.

I think this is what I felt when test-driving the 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid. Far from mind-blowing performance, but very nice driving dynamics for a compact crossover from my perspective.

 

[DeluxeStang]

I think this is what I felt when test-driving the 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid. Far from mind-blowing performance, but very nice driving dynamics for a compact crossover from my perspective.

Exactly. Here's the thing, unlike sports cars like the mustang, there isn't much that's special, and unique about most mainstream affordable cars. An electric mustang coupe would be detrimental to the mustang, because it would take away from the car's identity. But for most mainstream affordable cars, the engine is an afterthought.

EVs will make those mainstream EVs better cars. They'll handle better, they'll look better, they'll have much better low end acceleration. EVs detract from the sports car experience, but improve the mainstream crossover/hatchback/sedan experience.

I personally can't wait for the day when we can walk into a Ford dealership, and see a 5.0 mustang next to an electric crossover, and both are good cars in their own way.

 

[Ricketts]

I would buy a 5.0 4 door tomorrow if I could!

If they built a 4 door, 5.0, manual

Ditto, 4 door Mustang with a 5.0 and a 6spd. Sign me up!

 

[MaddNomad]

Ditto, 4 door Mustang with a 5.0 and a 6spd. Sign me up!

Naw, Farley can keep that.

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