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Ford plans global design for cars
The world headquarters for the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Mich.
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Kai Ryssdal: Speaking of industries looking for a rebound, on now to cars. If you go to a Ford dealer today in, say, Dearborn, Mich., you're going to find cars that are very different from what you'd find in a dealer in, say, Frankfurt, Germany. Or any place else overseas for that matter. But that's not going to be true in a couple of years.
Ford said today it's planning a global design for its cars. So that cute little thing you see in Europe could turn up in a parking lot near you. Marketplace's Alisa Roth explains the idea behind it.
ALISA ROTH: The most obvious reason to sell the same cars everywhere is that it's cheaper.
Moray Callum is in charge of design for Ford's North American operations.
MORAY CALLUM: Well, obviously, it's better for us if we can design one vehicle that can be sold around the world, instead of designing three different vehicles that can be sold around the world, so from a business sense, that obviously makes sense.
You can save money on everything from engineering to manufacturing.
CALLUM: It's also to do with the fact that the time is now right for designing one car for a global clientele.
Ford thinks peoples' tastes are starting to converge because of things like the Internet, Hollywood, and international travel.
Some car companies, like BMW and Volkswagen, already have global designs. But others, like Honda and Toyota, make a point of developing models for North American drivers.
Eric Noble is president of the Car Lab, an auto design consulting company. He says by going to a single design, Ford will have to take the risky step of ignoring what some of its customers want.
ERIC NOBLE: Peru and Western Germany and Chicago are really always going to have different vehicle needs, so if a manufacturer makes the decision to sell the same vehicle in all three of those places, by nature it's a compromise decision.
He says that might ultimately mean fewer people buy their cars. Though presumably Ford's plan is the greater efficiency will make up for that.
Ford's Callum says the new designs will take inspiration from both sides of the Atlantic. The smaller models will be a bit more Euro. The bigger ones a little more American.
I'm Alisa Roth for Marketplace.
I've just arrived back from the U.K. and have been driving a Mondeo Tdci. I would never by an American Ford, but I would by this Mondeo if it was available. It's a large car for Europe (much more interior and trunk space than my Accord) and I averaged 47mpg for 17 days! What have these guys been thinking with the current lineup of cars here in North America?!? The car was quicker/more powerful than most comprable cars in it's class here. Well, actaully we don't have anything in it's class...
This is no-brainer, the direction all the manufacturors are moving albeit at different speeds. As always, the devil's in the details & execution. Ford is getting pretty good at execution under Mullaly, so I predict this time they will be successful in their quest for the World Car.
We had two visitors to UK from New York, they drove the Hummer3 in NY. We drives the Ford C-Max 1.8 diesel. When we took them from the airport; 'they asked what's this truck it's really nice and comfortable, we have never seen these in america'. Shows the American vehicle buyers like our vehicles in Europe.
Great idea! on paper anyway. Ford will still have to customize some vehicles for North American cities that won't work in Europe or India and vice-versa.
We'll see how this plays out before I pass judgment. Let's just say I'm rather skeptical Ford can pull it off, but believe some car company other than BMW and Daimler can pull it off.
This is very welcome news, and their decision to do this is only 10-20 years too late, maybe even more. For years already, Ford (as well as several other major automakers) has needlessly kept many of their best designs out of American customer's reach by claiming that the design is intended only for Europe. This flies in the face of reality when you look at some of the great revues these cars get from the automotive press, as well as Americans who go to Europe and rent the cars over there have to say. The last generation Ford Ka, Ford Fiesta, and even the Focus and Mondeo were all world class cars which could have helped lift Ford out of their predicament when they were caught flat footed with no fuel efficient cars to sell in the US last summer. Not only are these cars much more fuel efficient than the typical offering the make available here, but they are more exciting to drive, and more practical too, since we rarely get the opportunity to buy hatchback versions of the cars here. Whoever the lame brain is in their marketing department that decided American's don't want hatchbacks should take a look at the resale values of Honda Civic hatchbacks, and VW Golfs. These cars regularly bring a higher residual than most luxury brands. You have to pay $3000-$5000 for a good condition 10 year old used Civic hatchback, and more for a Golf, when at the same time you can pick up an old Taurus or even BMW 740 for pennies on the dollar (I literally saw a nice 98 740i going for $5000!!) Its about time the marketing people wake up and stop sabatoging the companies they work for by restricting the availability of their most desirable models. The same goes for always giving the excuse that Americans won't buy a small diesel. Has any of these people ever checked the resale value of used VW TDi models???? They are always in higher demand than the competitors gas powered models!
Hopefully as some more on the ball people infiltrate the ranks of these old fashion stuck in the mud corporations we'll have some reason to hope that reason and sanity will prevail finally in the automotive marketplace.
This is, I think, good news. For awhile now, I've thought that Ford has the better business plan & acumen than GM and Chrysler, in part b/cuz they took responsibility for their poor money decisions and took out private loans rather than look to the govt and taxpayers. Ford seems to have better ideas about car design, both inside and out. Look at the Fusion for example: good fit & finish on the interior, and park it next to a VW Jetta or Volvo S40 or BMW 3 series and you see similar design cues. I think Ford is looking to Europe for inspiraton & will meet with success. GM vehicles like GMC and Chevrolet seem to be looking towards Asia for design ideas, and they don't look all that good. The new Equinox, aside from the ok fuel economy, looks obscenely cheap: poor fit and finish, sad, plasticly materials inside. The 'vette is the only vehicle that looks inspired. I see no hope for Chrysler. Outside the iconic Wrangler, they have nothing, except big cheap ugly vehicles. If Ford will bring over a decent diesel from Europe, they will have a nice 1-2 punch and should be able to bury their domestic competitors, by giving eco-minded folks a choice between the hybrid and diesel options. VW has their diesel over here, Ford needs to follow asap. For those that don't think a global design will work, consider the Golf. Consistently the best selling car in the world. A consistent top seller in Europe. Doesn't do as well state-side, since Americans have a love affair with the sedan, not the hatchback. Good luck Ford
Ford has been trying to save money this way since the 1960's. It was the Cortina...then the Capri of the mid Seventies, the Fiesta of the late '70's. The Escort actually did good, but the Merkur Scorpio and XR4Ti did not. Then it was the Modeo.
The fact is, the largest consumer market doesn't want a cheap tin can of a car, and the world doesn't want what middle America wants to drive an hour to the supermarket.
