Ford posts strong first-quarter earnings of $2.6B

[CARLHAYDEN]

April 26. 2011

Ford posts strong first-quarter earnings of $2.6B

Alisa Priddle / The Detroit News

Dearborn— Ford Motor Co. this morning announced its best first quarter earnings since 1998: $2.6 billion, or 61 cents per share.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110426/AUTO01/104260382/Ford-posts-strong-first-quarter-earnings-of-$2.6B#ixzz1KdwC7NIk

[bullmoose88]

Good for Ford.  Will miss the Mercury brand and its unique grills, but good for an American company.

[MilesC56]

Good for Ford.  Will miss the Mercury brand and its unique grills, but good for an American company.

[opebo]

I'll just miss Mercury for the large, heavy-duty, reasonably priced cars - namely the Grand Marquis.  In point of fact Ford might as well close down as far as I'm concerned when they cancel the last true full-sized car in America.

[bullmoose88]

I'll just miss Mercury for the large, heavy-duty, reasonably priced cars - namely the Grand Marquis.  In point of fact Ford might as well close down as far as I'm concerned when they cancel the last true full-sized car in America.

You're so melodramatic sometimes.  The Crown Vics and Grand Marcs look like undrivable beasts.  Regardless, Ford will still produce Lincolns, so those boats will be on the road.

[Senator Napoleon]

I'll just miss Mercury for the large, heavy-duty, reasonably priced cars - namely the Grand Marquis.  In point of fact Ford might as well close down as far as I'm concerned when they cancel the last true full-sized car in America.

You're so melodramatic sometimes.  The Crown Vics and Grand Marcs look like undrivable beasts.  Regardless, Ford will still produce Lincolns, so those boats will be on the road.

Lincoln doesn't offer anything truly special itself.

[opebo]

I'll just miss Mercury for the large, heavy-duty, reasonably priced cars - namely the Grand Marquis.  In point of fact Ford might as well close down as far as I'm concerned when they cancel the last true full-sized car in America.

You're so melodramatic sometimes.  The Crown Vics and Grand Marcs look like undrivable beasts.  Regardless, Ford will still produce Lincolns, so those boats will be on the road.

Have you ever driven a proper car?  They're very, very easy to drive.

[CARLHAYDEN]

I'll just miss Mercury for the large, heavy-duty, reasonably priced cars - namely the Grand Marquis.  In point of fact Ford might as well close down as far as I'm concerned when they cancel the last true full-sized car in America.

You're so melodramatic sometimes.  The Crown Vics and Grand Marcs look like undrivable beasts.  Regardless, Ford will still produce Lincolns, so those boats will be on the road.

Have you ever driven a proper car?  They're very, very easy to drive.

The Crow Vics are fine cars.

Ford is breaking the line down into two different models (no longer to be called the Crown Victoria) for the next model year.

[memphis]

Strange. Who buys these things? Outside of the trucks, I very rarely see them on the road.

[bullmoose88]

Strange. Who buys these things? Outside of the trucks, I very rarely see them on the road.

I've seen quite a few of the ford subcompacts...mostly the focus a few older escorts...I thought they were bringing the fiesta over here...a lot of HS/college kids drive them...some older folks too.

I've seen plenty fusions...a decent number of the hybrid version.  The one car I don't see as much is the "new" taurus.

[opebo]

Strange. Who buys these things? Outside of the trucks, I very rarely see them on the road.

I should think a state like Tennessee would be one that you'd see a fair number of domestic cars - I know I still do see quite a few in Missouri on the rare occasions I visit there (though I have to admit I can hardly recognize the cars anymore, or tell the foreign ones from the domestic imitators).

[DanielX]

- Of the top 20 cars sold in the United States in 2010, 4 were Fords - the F-series pickup, the Fusion midsize sedan, Focus compact sedan, and Escape compact SUV. (Toyota and Chevrolet also sold 4 top-20 models, Honda sold 3, Hyundai 2, and Nissan, Ram, and Subaru each sold 1).

- My dad owns (and quite likes) his Town Car. I find it a pleasant car as a passenger (smooth ride) but a chore to drive (like piloting a boat), and a miserable choice for urban areas. Also, the Crown Victoria/Town Car/Grand Marquis are hilariously outdated - the 4.6L SOHC V-8 has less horsepower and in some cases even less torque than a modern V-6, or even a turbo 4. It has its uses, mostly as a fleet vehicle for taxis, limos and police (as parts are cheap due to being produced for decades, the cars are actually pretty reliable, body-on-frame cars are easier to modify into limos and hearses, and police are notoriously small-c conservative and don't like to change their driving style or tactics for more modern vehicles). Ford intends to replace it with 3 existing models for these purposes:
- For the taxicabs, a passenger version of the Transit Connect small van. This strikes me as a good choice; they are fairly cheap, very roomy for their size, are available using gasoline, CNG, LPG, or electric power (Europeans get a diesel instead of gasoline as well), and are far better suited for urban areas like New York City than the ubiquitous Crown Victoria.
- For limos, the Lincoln MKT. This is funny; the MKT is very roomy - the 5-seat luxury cab version will make the Town Car look cramped inside - and non-body-on-frame-RWD limos have certainly been done before (like the Cadillac DTS/DeVille, used in 1990s-early 2000s Presidential Limos), but the MKT is a pretty ugly fullsize crossover and stretched versions would just look hilarious rather than classy. Don't know what Ford should do here, to be honest.
- For police, the Ford Taurus Police Interceptor. I'm not sure about this one, police are very attached to RWD and the Taurus is FWD/AWD. This may drive some departments to using the Dodge Charger or GM's weird for-police-only import/rebadging of the Australian Holden Caprice. I personally would suggest a US-market version of the Australian Ford Falcon (which may be coming, but not before 2014-5 at the earliest) or a 4-door stretched Mustang for police use.

- One of Ford's big strategies is, contrary to what Opebo might want, bringing European cars to America. The Fiesta, Transit Connect, and 2012 Focus are already out, while the C-Max mini-minivan is coming and in 2013 the Escape and Fusion are going to be revised to be more like their European counterparts, the Kuga and Mondeo respectively. For the most part, they're big improvements over previous models. Sadly, they're not bringing the good international-market Ranger because its almost as big as an F-150 (my response is 'drop the F-150 then' but Ford's not likely to listen to me given how well the F-150 sells).

Incidentally, in my absence I've finally bought a new car: a metallic blue 2011 Ford Focus SE, discounted because I bought it about a month before the 2012s arrived.

And Opebo: the news for you gets worse. Cadillac is dropping the DTS and STS in ~2012 and replacing them for MY 2013 with a V-6-powered XTS based on the Epsilon II LWB platform (same as the 2010 Buick LaCrosse and 2011 Saab 9-5); they've already stopped building new NorthStar V-8s. Buick is dropping the Lucerne if it hasn't already, leaving the LaCrosse as their biggest vehicle. If you don't like the Dodge Charger/Chrysler 300 duo or won't settle for a 2-door muscle or pony car, my suggestion is to move to Australia and buy a Holden Caprice.

And finally, I can't end a car rant without denouncing the NHTSA and the Chicken Tax, but that's mostly off-topic.

[bullmoose88]

Blast from the past.  WB.

[bullmoose88]

The police I've talked to love the Crown Vic because they claim the thing can take a huge beating and keep on rolling.

[opebo]

The police I've talked to love the Crown Vic because they claim the thing can take a huge beating and keep on rolling.

Yes, obviously traditional full-frame V-8 rear-wheel drive cars are superior to what is built today.

[memphis]

Strange. Who buys these things? Outside of the trucks, I very rarely see them on the road.

I should think a state like Tennessee would be one that you'd see a fair number of domestic cars - I know I still do see quite a few in Missouri on the rare occasions I visit there (though I have to admit I can hardly recognize the cars anymore, or tell the foreign ones from the domestic imitators).

Most common cars on the road are Japanese. Flashy people go for German. Most domestic cars I see are older and driven either by olds, blacks, or those unable/unwilling to get a newer ride. Old rich white people do love shiny new Caddys and Lincolns though. Hicks are obsessed with their domestic trucks. Plus, there are still quite a few Suburban/Explorer mommymobiles around, but high gas prices have made them much less popular than they were 5 years ago. All in all, I'm surprised Ford has weathered the last decade as well as they have, with improved durability of all cars and the fact that theirs are pricey for what they are.

[True Federalist]

I hope the Carbon E7 gets off the ground, even if their current plans are to have no private owners.  Unlike opebo's fetish for V-8's, when it comes to engines, mine is the straight-6.

[opebo]

...the last decade..., with improved durability of all cars...

Myth there.

[memphis]

...the last decade..., with improved durability of all cars...

Myth there.

Not at all. Cars last nearly forever today as long as you take care of them. There was a Toyota commerical when I was a kid, with pics of toyotas running over 100,000 and 200,000 miles. And that was impressive. You'd never have that ad today because everybody's car lasts that long. A car with 100,000 can still sell  for quite a bit of money becuase they last so long. Especially true for Japanese cars.

[opebo]

...the last decade..., with improved durability of all cars...

Myth there.

Not at all. Cars last nearly forever today as long as you take care of them. There was a Toyota commerical when I was a kid, with pics of toyotas running over 100,000 and 200,000 miles. And that was impressive. You'd never have that ad today because everybody's car lasts that long. A car with 100,000 can still sell  for quite a bit of money becuase they last so long. Especially true for Japanese cars.

All sorts of old GM full sized cars routinely went 300,000 miles in the 70s and 80s. 

Cars like these were easy 300,000 mile 20-30 year cars, and incredibly cheap to fix:

[Platypus]

Coincidentally, Ford plans to turn the Falcon into a Mondeo.

I'm very much a Holden man, but this saddens me: at present, there is a genuine debate about the comparative quality of the two cars. If the Falcon morphs in to a Mondeo, the Commodore will be the obvious winner.

BTW, this is the current Falcon:



and Commodore:



and Commodore: