NYCshopper
03-22-2007, 04:40 PM
Ford To Debut Flex Crossover, Aiming To Redefine Minivan
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200703220820DOWJONESDJONLINE000705_FORTUNE5.htm
http://i10.tinypic.com/4i6mjbr.jpg
DETROIT -(Dow Jones)- Ford Motor Co. (F) next month will take the wraps off its new Ford Flex, a crossover vehicle intended to give the company a boost in an evolving segment that was once dominated by minivans and has typically returned profits to U.S. auto makers.
Multiple sources at the company familiar with the plans said Ford will debut the vehicle, which mirrors the Ford Fairlane concept crossover, on April 4 at the New York Auto Show. The unveiling comes more than two years after the company first unveiled the boxy Fairlane at the Detroit auto show, and four years after the vehicle was conceived following conversations between Ford's Chief Designer J Mays and legendary apparel designer Ralph Lauren about such a vehicle.
Ford first said it would build a vehicle resembling the Fairlane concept on Sept. 15, when it announced a revamped version of its "Way Forward" North American restructuring plan. Four days earlier, the company filed for a trademark on the Flex name.
The name, along with a production-ready design, will be Ford's big news at the New York auto show, the sources said. Ford spokesman Jim Cain said the company is not disclosing specific plans for the New York auto show. "Ford promises big news at the auto show, but we're keeping our cards close to our vest."
Ford aims to sell approximately 100,000 Flexes annually starting in 2008, according to one union source who was shown the vehicle in January at Ford's Dearborn design studio along with other union representatives. The vehicle will be built in Oakville, Ont.
Dealers Expect Strong Demand
Executives and dealers say the vehicle, known internally as the D-471 program, could potentially pull in a new generation of utility-hungry buyers who don't like minivans, and are eager to drive something more unique than the traditional SUV.
In an interview this week, Bert Boeckmann, owner of Galpin Ford in North Hills, Calif., said key dealers have seen the vehicle and "are very positive on the product." He believes the vehicle will do well among the "anti-minivan crowd."
Boeckmann, whose dealer claims to be the No.1 Ford store in the world in volume terms, says the vehicle will attract women, who have been key in driving demand for high-profit SUVs and grown sour on minivans in many cases. "These women say `I would rather go on a bus than buy a minivan,'" he said. Demand for SUVs has shrunk in recent years, sending many family-car purchasers into the growing crossover vehicle field.
Even as it potentially woos non-Ford loyalists, the Flex could help the auto maker keep current buyers from leaving the brand in search of more innovative products. Ford has lost more than seven percentage points of U.S. market share since 1995, with much of the erosion coming as one-time buyers of domestic car labels flock to models made by Asian car companies.
"To the extent that we can capture existing Ford buyers with this vehicle, that is a step to stabilizing market share," Ford sales analysis manager George Pipas said in an interview.
Part Of Revamped Portfolio
Sources say the Flex's design will be very similar to the Fairlane, which was crafted under the eye of one-time Aston Martin design chief Henrik Fisker. Ford is also creating a more-curvaceous Lincoln version that will not be unveiled at the New York auto show.
The Flex carries three rows of seats and unique side doors that open from the middle - in opposite directions, much like French doors do - and are intended to be a modern alternative to the sliding door popularized by the minivan. In a press release announcing the original concept, Ford Design Chief Mays said, " We're rewriting the people-mover story, offering a more upscale vehicle for American families."
The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker does not currently sell minivans in North America. It pulled the plug on its minivan lineup in 2006 amid poor market demand for the vehicles.
The overall minivan market fell 10% in 2006, according to Ward's Automotive Reports, and the segment is primarily dominated by three players - DaimlerChrysler AG's (DCX), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), and Honda Motor Co. (HMC).
With the Flex and its Lincoln counterpart, Ford hopes to take another step toward offering a wide array of products that generate a reliable stream of revenue, rather than relying on one or two big-hit products - such as the Ford Explorer SUV once was - to carry the entire U.S. business in terms of profitability.
In recent years, the company launched the Ford Fusion sedan family of vehicles, and the Ford Edge crossover family as part of this strategy. The two vehicle lines are built outside the U.S. and are on track to sell at least 300, 000 units in 2007, including sales of Lincoln and Mercury versions.
The success of those vehicles has been surprising, Pipas said, and helped the company balance its product portfolio on the backs of more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers. He said 70% of Ford's retail sales were composed of trucks and SUVs in 2004, but the share of SUVs and trucks are on track to fall to 50% in 2007.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200703220820DOWJONESDJONLINE000705_FORTUNE5.htm
http://i10.tinypic.com/4i6mjbr.jpg
DETROIT -(Dow Jones)- Ford Motor Co. (F) next month will take the wraps off its new Ford Flex, a crossover vehicle intended to give the company a boost in an evolving segment that was once dominated by minivans and has typically returned profits to U.S. auto makers.
Multiple sources at the company familiar with the plans said Ford will debut the vehicle, which mirrors the Ford Fairlane concept crossover, on April 4 at the New York Auto Show. The unveiling comes more than two years after the company first unveiled the boxy Fairlane at the Detroit auto show, and four years after the vehicle was conceived following conversations between Ford's Chief Designer J Mays and legendary apparel designer Ralph Lauren about such a vehicle.
Ford first said it would build a vehicle resembling the Fairlane concept on Sept. 15, when it announced a revamped version of its "Way Forward" North American restructuring plan. Four days earlier, the company filed for a trademark on the Flex name.
The name, along with a production-ready design, will be Ford's big news at the New York auto show, the sources said. Ford spokesman Jim Cain said the company is not disclosing specific plans for the New York auto show. "Ford promises big news at the auto show, but we're keeping our cards close to our vest."
Ford aims to sell approximately 100,000 Flexes annually starting in 2008, according to one union source who was shown the vehicle in January at Ford's Dearborn design studio along with other union representatives. The vehicle will be built in Oakville, Ont.
Dealers Expect Strong Demand
Executives and dealers say the vehicle, known internally as the D-471 program, could potentially pull in a new generation of utility-hungry buyers who don't like minivans, and are eager to drive something more unique than the traditional SUV.
In an interview this week, Bert Boeckmann, owner of Galpin Ford in North Hills, Calif., said key dealers have seen the vehicle and "are very positive on the product." He believes the vehicle will do well among the "anti-minivan crowd."
Boeckmann, whose dealer claims to be the No.1 Ford store in the world in volume terms, says the vehicle will attract women, who have been key in driving demand for high-profit SUVs and grown sour on minivans in many cases. "These women say `I would rather go on a bus than buy a minivan,'" he said. Demand for SUVs has shrunk in recent years, sending many family-car purchasers into the growing crossover vehicle field.
Even as it potentially woos non-Ford loyalists, the Flex could help the auto maker keep current buyers from leaving the brand in search of more innovative products. Ford has lost more than seven percentage points of U.S. market share since 1995, with much of the erosion coming as one-time buyers of domestic car labels flock to models made by Asian car companies.
"To the extent that we can capture existing Ford buyers with this vehicle, that is a step to stabilizing market share," Ford sales analysis manager George Pipas said in an interview.
Part Of Revamped Portfolio
Sources say the Flex's design will be very similar to the Fairlane, which was crafted under the eye of one-time Aston Martin design chief Henrik Fisker. Ford is also creating a more-curvaceous Lincoln version that will not be unveiled at the New York auto show.
The Flex carries three rows of seats and unique side doors that open from the middle - in opposite directions, much like French doors do - and are intended to be a modern alternative to the sliding door popularized by the minivan. In a press release announcing the original concept, Ford Design Chief Mays said, " We're rewriting the people-mover story, offering a more upscale vehicle for American families."
The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker does not currently sell minivans in North America. It pulled the plug on its minivan lineup in 2006 amid poor market demand for the vehicles.
The overall minivan market fell 10% in 2006, according to Ward's Automotive Reports, and the segment is primarily dominated by three players - DaimlerChrysler AG's (DCX), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), and Honda Motor Co. (HMC).
With the Flex and its Lincoln counterpart, Ford hopes to take another step toward offering a wide array of products that generate a reliable stream of revenue, rather than relying on one or two big-hit products - such as the Ford Explorer SUV once was - to carry the entire U.S. business in terms of profitability.
In recent years, the company launched the Ford Fusion sedan family of vehicles, and the Ford Edge crossover family as part of this strategy. The two vehicle lines are built outside the U.S. and are on track to sell at least 300, 000 units in 2007, including sales of Lincoln and Mercury versions.
The success of those vehicles has been surprising, Pipas said, and helped the company balance its product portfolio on the backs of more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers. He said 70% of Ford's retail sales were composed of trucks and SUVs in 2004, but the share of SUVs and trucks are on track to fall to 50% in 2007.