Ford wants to become America’s leading provider of all-wheel-drive vehicles, reports the Detroit Free Press. The automaker hopes to challenge Subaru’s decade-old lock on the market for reasonably priced all-wheel-drive vehicles, the report said. “We could be a very dominant player very quickly,” Brett Wheatley, a product marketing and strategy manager at Ford, told the Free Press in a recent interview. “We think this is going to give us a real competitive advantage.” The plan will bring all-wheel-drive to the company’s Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ mid-sized sedans in August and to the new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers this fall. Ford
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05/22, 11:24 AM
posted by:
TW
If they make a vehicle the size of the Focus AWD with quality, they may have a chance.
05/22, 11:30 AM
posted by:
Jesse
For some reason that just made me laugh uncontrollably
05/22, 11:35 AM
posted by:
TW
I know… fat chance.
05/22, 11:41 AM
posted by:
culture.detox
did the chance of a Turbo’ed Focus RS pop into anyone else’s mine?
05/22, 11:44 AM
posted by:
RCoaster
I wonder what kind of AWD system will Ford use? Or that crap from what Honda calls “Realtime 4WD”?
05/22, 11:56 AM
posted by:
Jon
One things for sure: it won’t be as good as Subaru’s AWD system, or Audi’s Quattro, or even BMW’s X-Drive. Ford should start making cars that:
1) Look good
2) Have good interiors for the price (no one is expecting RR quality in a $25K car), but what Ford currently calls ‘quality’ is a joke
3) Have the engine placed behind the front wheels
4) Make the cars either RWD or AWD, and stop (for the love of all that is holy and good on earth) making FWD cars with the engine placed as far as humanly possible towards the front of the car
Jon.
05/22, 1:06 PM
posted by:
1c3d0g
Jon nailed it. ‘Nuff said.
05/22, 1:32 PM
posted by:
David
Regardless of the type of AWD they use, all I can say is It’s about time.
05/22, 1:46 PM
posted by:
Anonymous
Why with eighty gazillion employees in Detroit does it take a decade later for good idea to come to the surface. To them a good idea is: “Hey! Let’s build another Mustang!”
We have an Escape: actually not a terribly bad rental vehicle, but made with really cheap materials and needed over 30 shop-days to sort out basic Ford bugs.
j i m
05/22, 2:05 PM
posted by:
TW
Ford did have a AWD Tempo, but did nothing with it.
05/22, 2:46 PM
posted by:
RCoaster
That’s good to know. Glad that I drive a Subaru…
05/22, 3:19 PM
posted by:
Jim
AWD Focus is the first thing I thought, it dosn’t even have to be the RS, although that should be included in the lineup as well. AWD should not automatically mean 4 doors or an SUV. 3 door hatch with AWD that dosn’t cost 30K would really get my attention.
05/22, 3:21 PM
posted by:
Jake
Ford already is a leader in truck all wheel drive, while its Volvo subsidiary is a leader in passenger/crossover all drive. If Ford has the dedication to do it and then stick to it, the vehicles will be competitive. Ford may be onto something…
On a side note, the breadth of the ignorance demonstrated in this blog (see above) never stops amazing me.
05/22, 3:55 PM
posted by:
Jon
Jake,
What ignorance are you referring to?
Jon.
05/22, 7:06 PM
posted by:
jake
Jon,
Look at #2 above for reference. Or you can look at your initial post where you said “One things for sure: it won’t be as good as Subaru’s AWD system, or Audi’s Quattro, or even BMW’s X-Drive.” Why are you so sure? Bias? It can’t be because Ford has no experience in world class all wheel drive systems, it must be because of bias.
05/22, 8:03 PM
posted by:
Steve
I’m sick to death of everyone pretending American car makers are retarded. Everything they have done has been based on what has always worked for them in this market. Suddenly they have to adjust and that’s not easy. Look at how long it took for Japaneese and Korean car makers to be considered first rate. Now they are the standard and the US has to adjust. They tried to copy the foreign automakers with FWD. They have now realized that forming and maintaing their own identities is more important. The AWD plan is part of this adjustment. They know how important it is to have this be a success. It will be done well because it has to be.
05/22, 8:07 PM
posted by:
Phil McCrackin
Subaru = niche marketer
Ford = volume marketer
While I applaud them for their attempts to make better products, I do hope that Ford is more concerned with the many, many larger issues that they must deal with.
05/22, 10:22 PM
posted by:
Ryan
Anyone think of the AWD system of the Mazdaspeed6? Throw that in ALL your models with EVERY engine option, with RWD as the standard choice, and Billy can keep his job.
05/22, 11:11 PM
posted by:
anonymous
Well put, Jake and Steve.
05/23, 7:47 AM
posted by:
JohnnyBlazE
Ford are making an AWD Focus… the Euro Focus RS Mk 2.
2.5 5 cylinder again I think, with 300ish bhp and AWD from Volvo’s S60. Been spied in testing with people asking about it again and again .
I’ll keep you posted…
Don’t know if it will hit the US though!
Now that they have Volvo’s AWD running gear in their umbrella they can do magic things
Gone are the days of the wonderful Sapphire 4×4 Cosworths… All in good time though!
Watch this space.
05/23, 7:48 AM
posted by:
JohnnyBlazE
Also there is an AWD Focus coming out here in C-Max or whatever, form, not just RS.
Also, I agree, the Mazda 6 MPS should be fun with it’s 2.3 engine and AWD.
05/24, 11:16 PM
posted by:
anonymous
You _are_ a bunch of morons, Ford has been using the same HALDEX AWD system as Audi and other Euro cars for a number of years now in Jag, Volvo, Ford and Mercury. Typical idiots posting crap about something you know nothing about…shut up if you don’t know facts.