Ford plans Explorer shutdowns

[UpInArms]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050521/BUSINESS/505210327/1003

excerpt:

Explorer sales were down nearly 23 percent through April compared to the same period of 2004. Ford has been trying to match production with reduced sales, said company sales analyst George Pipas.

<snip>

At the beginning of this year, there were more than 100,000 unsold Explorers on dealer lots. The number has dropped to 84,000, but the company wants a further decrease, he said.

<snip>

"Just a year and a half ago, we were working overtime in Louisville" to build enough SUVs to meet demand, Pipas said. "But at the beginning of 2004, gas was $1.50 a gallon."

<snip>

The Louisville plant will begin building the 2006 Explorer on July 18, Pipas said. The new model will offer a more powerful V-8 engine and a six-speed transmission.

...more...

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. How many of these Execs

supported George Bush? Now gas prices are sky high and it's hurting sales. Oh boo-hoo.

[hatrack]

2. And they're so worried about gas prices and efficiency that . . .

"The Louisville plant will begin building the 2006 Explorer on July 18, Pipas said. The new model will offer a more powerful V-8 engine and a six-speed transmission."

Oh, yeah, right, that makes a LOT of sense. :eyes:

[UpInArms]

3. the illogic is astounding

from the article:

Pipas and financial analysts have blamed declining SUV sales on changing consumer tastes. More buyers are choosing smaller SUVs and crossovers, which are sport utility vehicles built on car frames instead of truck frames.

Pipas said high gas prices have accelerated a trend that has been going on for several years.

If you look at the "trend", people are going to smaller more efficient vehicles, but their answer is to make the Explorer larger and less efficient :crazy:

[drduffy]

30. When Iraq

craps out and Middle East eludes American Domination, and Venezeula sells its oil elsewhere....the SUV's will end up rusting in the backyards of America. IF... no, WHEN peak oil occurs all the cars, econo-cars as well, will be rusting in the fields....except those used by the military and civil patrols to suppress the populace.

[catmandu57]

4. Doesn't it

A more powerful v8 to suck down more gas that by the time they roll them out will be three bucks a gallon everywhere, more in other places.
The 100,000 sitting in the lots is going to grow and we'll watch Ford slip under the surface along with GM.
I had it all wrong I should've stayed stupid so I could apply for an executive position with an auto maker.

[tinanator]

7. never anything wrong with a more powerful Ford V8

the level of technology Ford has finally applied to their drivetrains is paying off in efficiency as well as power, there is a correllation there. Their newest trucks are ugly as sin but extremely well done getting remarkable mileage under difficult operating conditions.
Things like six speed transmissions really help efficiency, but that and the modernized V8's they are producing should have been quicker to market by decades, particularly the engine upgrades.
The whole SUV slump is great news, but the Explorer is hardly the worst of the bunch and the ill health of the economy is never anything to get happy about.

[Toots]

12. What do you consider "remarkable mileage"?

18 mpg is not what I would call remarkable. 100mpg is remarkable, do they get that?

[tinanator]

23. im personally more inclined towards remarkable horsepower

if its mileage Im after I'll ride a bike.
who is "they" I keep hearing about "them" but I could almost swear they dont actually exist most of the time?

[havocmom]

5. The people who will have money soon will soon have to run from the rest of

us. They will pay for the power cars. They had best give raises to the guards at their gated communities too. Wonder if they will admit to class warfare when the rest of us start chanting "eat the rich"?

[Coastie for Truth]

8. As their competition says

"Domo arigatoo gozaimasu"
(Japanese)

And as the oil overlords say

"Shukran Gazillan"
{Arabic)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. I thought "Gazillan" was Japanese.

You learn something every day.

[flvegan]

6. Considering how many they must have sold last year that they

were working overtime, I can't help but wonder how those buyers will now be hurt. Cranking them out, buyers must have paid a premium. That means a loan amount at that premium. As a Ford, that suv depreciated at an alarming rate. Now, trade in values on them must also suck. So, what's left is a premium loan, on a severely depreciated item that one can't get market value for. This will be a disaster for many.

[LiberallyInclined]

14. a disaster...?

"...Now, trade in values on them must also suck. So, what's left is a premium loan, on a severely depreciated item that one can't get market value for. This will be a disaster for many."

a disaster? just because they lose trade-in value? boo-fucking-hoo...all that means is that they'll have to keep their current SUV a little longer than they'd like. what a tragedy!

[flvegan]

19. If they were to attempt to trade for a more responsible car

like a Civic, Prius, etc, it would be boo-fucking hoo. Sue me for trying to think a little positively.

[LiberallyInclined]

22. calling something "a disaster" is thinking positively?

those people who can afford a brand new Explorer in the first place, and chose to buy one, probably wouldn't be making a switch to a civic or prius anyway. and if they're also then the type that just have to trade-in their car every year or two, maybe having to hold onto their de-valued Explorer's for an extra year or four might make them into more responsible car-owners as well.

I've never understood the people that buy new cars, or especially the people that buy new cars and trade-in every year or two- what a fucking waste of money...but some sheeple will always do whatever the glowing god-box tells them to, i guess...

[Mythsaje]

25. A lot of the short term owners

do it to keep the vehicles within their warranty rather than have to deal with high mechanic rates down the road. Most backyard mechanics don't have the tools or the knowledge to deal with the modern vehicles and all the computer components.

It actually makes sense, considering they've designed the market that way. They don't WANT the average consumer to be able to fix it if it breaks down.

[LiberallyInclined]

27. tell me about it-

we bought a we bought a used "new" VW beetle...only to find out that you have to take it to the dealer to have any of the lights changed- brake/tail lights and headlights- they have to remove body panels to get to them...and, oh- the headlights stay on ALL the time. i f the engine is on, you cannot turn off the headlights...that won't wear them out any sooner, will it?

[flvegan]

26. Those ... probably ... if ... maybe...

Like I said, this could be a disaster for some. Hey, we all had a point of awakening, didn't we?

I sure as shit wasn't born seeing clearly. Maybe you were.

[saigon68]

28. kick

[w4rma]

9. So their tactic to respond to rising gas prices is to manufacture a less

efficient vehicle? You couldn't make this BS up if you tried.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Ford's decision makers are overrun with brainwashed Repugs. Only a Republican could think so illogically.

[UpInArms]

10. "Who cares what you think" GWB 7/1/01 Philadelphia

*Co is the epitomy of these morans. He is the poster child of the non-thinking GOPigger.

I would imagine if the US automakers don't respond to the "free market" need and recognition of the continuing high cost of fuel, they will go the way of the dodo.

The response to logic is taking on an obstinate perspective and they (the decision makers) refuse to reverse a Custer decision.

A line from Little Big Man comes to mind:

You go down there, General, if you've got the balls. But those are not helpless women and children. Those are Cheyenne Braves. When they get done with you there won't be anything left but a grease spot.

[barb162]

11. I feel sorry for the workers who will lose their jobs but I hate SUVs

The US auto makers need to start working on attractive fuel efficient smaller vehicles

[Coastie for Truth]

17. Some times they "ask for it"

1. A sure vote getter in Michigan is to scream "Raising CAFE will cost auto worker jobs."

As this story - and the ongoing down spiral of both Ford and GM - show the opposite is true.

2. A sure way to go down to defeat in Michigan is to say anything bad about American cars - or anything good about foreign cars.

Senator Jack Faxon, a liberal, progressive Senator, was the subject of a recall - and the real issue was that his wife drove a Saab.

3. The Macomb County "Reagan Democrats" are ....

a unique phenomena -- and I will leave it at that

[sadiesworld]

29. Thankfully, these are temporary shutdowns...

not plant closings.

[Robb]

13. Isn't the Explorer the single most popular vehicle, like, ever?

Seems I read there are more of them on the road than any other brand model out there. :shrug:

Regardless, there's a freakin' ton of them. At some point peoples' tastes change. I'm not confident enough about the level of discourse we as a species enjoy when discussing new vehicles to lay it all at the feet of people starting to think about gas prices.

[LiberallyInclined]

15. Fleet sales usually account for "popularity" numbers-

rental agencies, cab companies, police forces, etc...when they find a car/deal that they like, they buy A LOT of cars. as far as the Explorer- my guess would be that the likes of Hertz, Avis, Budget and the rest accounted for a big chunk of sales.

[Puzzler]

18. Power and more power...

Yeah... gotta have even more horsepower in the ol' SUV. Hell... you might lose a stoplight drag race to a Honda Civic right?

It requires a lot of extra horsepower to make an SUV competitive performance-wise with a far lighter "normal" car (since SUVs weigh so much).

Of course, if SUV owners wanted performance, then they could always buy a much lighter, faster, more fuel-efficient "normal" car. But then, how could they intimidate... no make that "terrorize" the other smaller vehicles in their regular morning commute?


-P

[gratuitous]

20. Gee, nobody's buying our 15 mpg crapmobiles

Let's build some, uhhhh, more 15 mpg crapmobiles on lighter frames and lay off a bunch of those lazy workers who were so stupid as to build those big 15 mpg crapmobiles!

Brilliant strategy, GP! Raises all around for the executives!

[realFedUp]

21. howabout just replacing engines with hybrid engines...

seems to be the problem area...not to put
in a more powerful one that eats even more
gas...

[fortyfeetunder]

24. I agree...and improving availability of alternate fuel tech.

We squandered that opportunity thanks to Raygun and his response to the early 80's oil glut.

I have no sympathy. Ford employees aren't living in a vacuum. They can see world economics. They could have pressured Ford management to respond to changing times. Adapt or lose market share.

[Danmel]

31. You really need that extra power in bumper to bumper traffic

on the Long Island Expressway. I see these "powerful" people, riding "high over the crowd" in their mammoth SUVs going 5 MPH in bumper to bumper traffic on the LIE and I just have to laugh.

My stupid sister in law (Her husband is a real ditto head) told me she drives one of those monstrosities because "I like the power". Well, I suspect it's really the only power she's ever gonna have. I guess I shouldn't deprive her of her pathetic "superiority" as she lords over me in my Camry from her Navigator.