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Ford is way off.
They need to let the luxury car companies compete with tesla and they need to sell electric cars that are affordable.
Why would I spend big money on a ford badge when I could spend the same on a tesla or Mercedes?
Could they? Maybe. Can they afford to. Not really. If you look at investment in infrastructure that the big three have to do yearly to just keep up is immense and would be required to be on going. They would have to invest big $$ to be competitive while continuing to push ICE products. Kind of like fighting a war on two fronts. Transition of plants or the downsizing that would be required to really use it effectively to drive profits would be against all the recent promises made to the UAW thus continuing the expense . So I just think that they are kind of handcuffed. I am sure they would love to work on the technology and are already to some degree as a hedge.
A luxury S like? No way. Dealers won't know what to do, as they won't see them in the service bays all the time like they like them to be... So the follow through would be lacking which = a gimmick car like the Volt.
Ford allegedly has a luxury division. It is called Lincoln. Maybe you have seen the Mathew McConaughey commercials.
And they are expanding into China in a big way.
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If you think Ford does not have the technical ability you are kidding yourself. They have been studying aluminum manufacturing now for ten years and ready launch their aluminum F-150. And they also have the cash. They received a freaking $5.9B low interest loan from the DoE for advanced powertrain manufacturing for crying out loud. On top of cash flows from their current car business. What they don't have is the vision nor the will.
The opposite of fighting this two front war is being over run on one flank. Some wars are of choice some are thrust upon you. Tesla is not going to stop. Nissan is not going to stop because Ford chooses not to fight. We all know the future of automobile is BEV. The sooner they jump in the better of Ford will be.
Ford already has a Volt like car. Ford C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi. Just not as good.
And they have Ford Focus BEV.
Ford would be better positioned with Lincoln than GM with Cadillac. Because Lincoln is absolutely in the cellar. Some Navigator sales are keeping the doors open. Escalade is kicking their butt right now.The profits on the other lines is minimal. Lincoln salesman,IMO, would be one of the most open to selling something new because they ain't selling much of anything now.
My favorite quote of the article:
"Ford said it has no plan to emulate the Tesla Model S -- a big, four-door hatchback sedan. But a larger vehicle of some kind, with greater range and better performance than the Focus electric, would fit Ford's lineup and its emphasis on technology, the automaker said."
So can we hold you to that vague assertion? How many years away is a "vehicle of some kind?"
This is an important thing to remember, just because someone says they're going to compete with Tesla doesn't mean they have any plans to build a real EV. The ELR is a "tesla killer" as is the i3, and i8. Some places say the Volt is... We all know that a) none of these are harming Tesla in any way, and b) these aren't really long range electric vehicles.I'm sure CEO is talking about a PHEV with "larger range" and "better performance" than FFE. Just like GM built ELR to compete with S. Yes, Ford wants to build a ELR competitor. That is why he says "some kind of vehicle" - not exactly an EV.
Some of these guys don't even understand that pure EV range not the same as PHEV range. Their answer to a larger range EV is a PHEV.
They certainly could use the Volt transmission and just remove the engine control aspects of the computer firmware. The ELR is using the Volt transmission electric motor at up to 154 kW (217 HP). However, it would be cheaper to just use or upgrade the new dedicated 97 kW motor they designed for the Chevy Spark EV (119 MPGe combined city/hwy). Chevy is widely rumored to be building a 2017 model year BEV with a 200 mile range using new battery cells from LG Chem.I don't think the planetary gearset will work very well for the Volt without the ICE. I would think a whole new motor->wheels linkage would need to be developed.
Ford allegedly has a luxury division. It is called Lincoln. Maybe you have seen the Mathew McConaughey commercials.
And they are expanding into China in a big way.
- - - Updated - - -
If you think Ford does not have the technical ability you are kidding yourself. They have been studying aluminum manufacturing now for ten years and ready launch their aluminum F-150. And they also have the cash. They received a freaking $5.9B low interest loan from the DoE for advanced powertrain manufacturing for crying out loud. On top of cash flows from their current car business. What they don't have is the vision nor the will.
The opposite of fighting this two front war is being over run on one flank. Some wars are of choice some are thrust upon you. Tesla is not going to stop. Nissan is not going to stop because Ford chooses not to fight. We all know the future of automobile is BEV. The sooner they jump in the better of Ford will be.
Ford already has a Volt like car. Ford C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi. Just not as good.
And they have Ford Focus BEV.
Ford would be better positioned with Lincoln than GM with Cadillac. Because Lincoln is absolutely in the cellar. Some Navigator sales are keeping the doors open. Escalade is kicking their butt right now.The profits on the other lines is minimal. Lincoln salesman,IMO, would be one of the most open to selling something new because they ain't selling much of anything now.
I don't think the planetary gearset will work very well for the Volt without the ICE. I would think a whole new motor->wheels linkage would need to be developed.
Remember gm was to produce EV with over 200 mile range and 30 K dollars this year. Yes talk is cheapSo why don't they? Talk is cheap.
Didn't see this posted yet.
Ford considers building Tesla-like vehicle
Fields [Ford CEO Mark Fields] said Ford could build a car similar to the Tesla Model S and has the engineering and manufacturing sophistication to do so. "We drove it. We took it apart. We put it back together and we drove it again," he said.
I'll believe it when I see it.