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http://www.forbes.com/vehicles/2005/06/14/ford-minivan-fairlaine-cx_dl_0614vow.html
NEW YORK - The minivan, as we know it, appears to be headed for extinction at Ford.
Ford Motor (nyse: F - news - people ) has found itself unable to compete in the minivan market. Its two vans, the Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey, had a combined total of 43,701 American sales in the first five months of 2005. This was a decline of 14% and a fraction of the sales of the vans' competitors.
The Freestar and Monterey, through the end of May, matched 70% of the sales of Toyota Motor's (nyse: TM - news - people ) Sienna minivan this year, 61% of the sales of Honda Motor's (nyse: HMC - news - people ) Odyssey and only 24% of the combined sales of DaimlerChrysler's (nyse: DCX - news - people ) Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan.
Ford has therefore decided to scrap the Freestar and Monterey at the end of the 2007 model year, according to supplier sources familiar with the automaker's plans. In its place, Ford and its Lincoln subsidiary will sell new van-like crossover-utility vehicles inspired by Ford's Fairlane prototype from January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The new vehicles are likely to arrive as 2008 models.
The Fairlane's roof shows the influence of BMW's Minis and uses stretched canvas. When pulled tightly enough, the canvas is also nice enough to use on the rear passenger seats instead of cloth (the front seats are in leather). With a dashboard and other interior pieces of interesting-looking unfinished oak, the Fairlane is far more upscale than a typical minivan.
An upscale, minivan-like vehicle would make sense as a Freestar replacement. Lincoln tries to cater to a more upscale audience, and the higher-end versions of the Sienna and Odyssey are equipped like luxury cars.
But the new Ford and Lincoln will not look like the Freestar or like any other minivans. The Fairlane prototype did not have a sliding rear door, and neither will its production equivalents. Instead, the new cars will be more like crossovers, such as the Chrysler Pacifica, than minivans. Their size is likely to be somewhere between those of full-size sport utility vehicles and mid-size SUVs. They will ride on Ford's Volvo-based D3 architecture (also known internally as P2X), which underpins the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego sedans and the Ford Freestyle wagon. The architecture, or "platform," can handle front- and all-wheel-drive vehicles.
Although Ford builds the Five Hundred and Montego at Chicago, it will build the new Ford and Lincoln crossovers at the factory in Atlanta, where it has built the Taurus sedan.
The idea behind rethinking Ford's minivan strategy is to disrupt the triumvirate of the minivan market's most successful entries: the Sienna, the Odyssey and the Chrysler/Dodge minivans. The Freestar and Monterey have had ho-hum sales because they are conservative, risk-free competitors--perhaps too risk-free--that have failed to capture the public's imagination, particularly as the best minivans have become more and more fancy.
If Ford executes its minivan replacements properly, the models could be among the hottest cars in the industry in 2008 and 2009. People are looking for more civilized and flexible utility vehicles with better fuel economy--but they still like sizeable SUVs. What they don't like are the bad gas mileage, the difficulty fitting them into garages and the crude chassis dynamics. The Ford and the Lincoln could make great strides in these areas, and could be aimed at people moving down from larger SUVs as well as out of conventional minivans.
The Lincoln, in particular, could break new ground for the automaker. It would give Ford’s luxury brand a direct competitor to such new premium utility vehicles as Daimler's forthcoming Mercedes-Benz R-Class.
Frankly--and speaking in terms of comparative sales performances--nearly anything would be better than the Freestar. :wink:
NEW YORK - The minivan, as we know it, appears to be headed for extinction at Ford.
Ford Motor (nyse: F - news - people ) has found itself unable to compete in the minivan market. Its two vans, the Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey, had a combined total of 43,701 American sales in the first five months of 2005. This was a decline of 14% and a fraction of the sales of the vans' competitors.
The Freestar and Monterey, through the end of May, matched 70% of the sales of Toyota Motor's (nyse: TM - news - people ) Sienna minivan this year, 61% of the sales of Honda Motor's (nyse: HMC - news - people ) Odyssey and only 24% of the combined sales of DaimlerChrysler's (nyse: DCX - news - people ) Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan.
Ford has therefore decided to scrap the Freestar and Monterey at the end of the 2007 model year, according to supplier sources familiar with the automaker's plans. In its place, Ford and its Lincoln subsidiary will sell new van-like crossover-utility vehicles inspired by Ford's Fairlane prototype from January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The new vehicles are likely to arrive as 2008 models.
The Fairlane's roof shows the influence of BMW's Minis and uses stretched canvas. When pulled tightly enough, the canvas is also nice enough to use on the rear passenger seats instead of cloth (the front seats are in leather). With a dashboard and other interior pieces of interesting-looking unfinished oak, the Fairlane is far more upscale than a typical minivan.
An upscale, minivan-like vehicle would make sense as a Freestar replacement. Lincoln tries to cater to a more upscale audience, and the higher-end versions of the Sienna and Odyssey are equipped like luxury cars.
But the new Ford and Lincoln will not look like the Freestar or like any other minivans. The Fairlane prototype did not have a sliding rear door, and neither will its production equivalents. Instead, the new cars will be more like crossovers, such as the Chrysler Pacifica, than minivans. Their size is likely to be somewhere between those of full-size sport utility vehicles and mid-size SUVs. They will ride on Ford's Volvo-based D3 architecture (also known internally as P2X), which underpins the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego sedans and the Ford Freestyle wagon. The architecture, or "platform," can handle front- and all-wheel-drive vehicles.
Although Ford builds the Five Hundred and Montego at Chicago, it will build the new Ford and Lincoln crossovers at the factory in Atlanta, where it has built the Taurus sedan.
The idea behind rethinking Ford's minivan strategy is to disrupt the triumvirate of the minivan market's most successful entries: the Sienna, the Odyssey and the Chrysler/Dodge minivans. The Freestar and Monterey have had ho-hum sales because they are conservative, risk-free competitors--perhaps too risk-free--that have failed to capture the public's imagination, particularly as the best minivans have become more and more fancy.
If Ford executes its minivan replacements properly, the models could be among the hottest cars in the industry in 2008 and 2009. People are looking for more civilized and flexible utility vehicles with better fuel economy--but they still like sizeable SUVs. What they don't like are the bad gas mileage, the difficulty fitting them into garages and the crude chassis dynamics. The Ford and the Lincoln could make great strides in these areas, and could be aimed at people moving down from larger SUVs as well as out of conventional minivans.
The Lincoln, in particular, could break new ground for the automaker. It would give Ford’s luxury brand a direct competitor to such new premium utility vehicles as Daimler's forthcoming Mercedes-Benz R-Class.
Frankly--and speaking in terms of comparative sales performances--nearly anything would be better than the Freestar. :wink:
