Better late than never to the game I guess. Maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel after all.

Most readers would infer that it means it’ll be available on 43 North American nameplates…just a small typo, give the poor people a break.

i think it’s supposed to be “4″ or “3.”

i really hope ford can perform a successful recovery. the auto industry in the united states would just seem wrong without ford present.

“You don’t design for the masses; each vehicle has a target audience.”

Is Ford just figuring this out?!

They made this statement 2 years ago with the beginning of their Bold Moves….whatever.

What? No more decades long production of the same models? You’re kidding me: are there really Ford loyalists out there who want vehicles that were designed after their now college bound offspring were born?

Comes the f*cking dawn…

they should just change their name to “Bord” cause that’s how I feel everytime they make a “bold move.” You know what’s a real “bold move?” Shut down your operations!

Fairlight, keep reading until the word “nameplates”. It would have been better if they put “American” instead of “America” but it got the point across.

*AHHHHHHHHH*

When did the light finally shine down and bring this realization? It’s about damn time.

There’s a caveat to this statement. If by “model cycle” they mean time to another refresh, then it might be 10-15 years before each real new model is unveiled. Case in point: the Focus.

Ah, DimwitBJ, didn’t you “read?” It states “vehicle life-cycle…on a similar schedule as the leaders in the industry.” This means they refresh an existing model, if need be, at the three-year marker. New models should follow suit. Maybe you need to Focus (all puns intended) on the article?

gbb, that is an international motor just like the 6.0, if anything I feel sorry for Ford for having to deal with their b.s. and making them look bad.

Way to go, Ford!

Wow! This all sounds pretty exciting! I don’t care if Ford should have realized all this aeons ago. As long as they have finally seen the light, that’s all that matters. It has been really aggravating watching Ford let models stagnate in the market for years and become totally irrelevant. I guess this means no more Ford Crown Vic or Mercury Grand Marquis sedans with 17 year old body styles built on 30 year old platforms. AWESOME!

It’s great to see that the Verve (is that the official name now, or not?) is coming to the U.S. Ford is wise to use this great looking vehicle (hopefully it is not diluted too much when it transitions from concept to production) to jump back into the subcompact “B” class segment in the U.S.

All the technology surrounding the EcoBoost engine programs sounds exciting and should help Ford survive and thrive in the future U.S. market with its upcoming CAFE standards.

I think Ford is finally showing it has some fight left. “BOLD MOVES” is finally becoming a reality.

This sure sounds like a step in the right direction.

I agree with some of you that the quotes of Mr. Kuzak sound like stuff that I’ve known for years, and I suppose that lots of folks within Ford have known it for years as well, but they haven’t been allowed to act on that knowledge until Alan Mullaly was hired as their CEO.

In any case, I really, really hope this helps. I’m seriously worried about Ford’s future, and America without a Ford just wouldn’t be America.

By the way—I saw the Verve concept in person at the auto show in Detroit a few days ago, and it really IS a nice design. So the trick now is to bring it to market in the U.S. without stripping it of all the little details that make it a cool car.

Ironside almost had it. Ford is on the Verve of Disaster!
Ford mamagement makes G. W. Bush look like FDR.
Their statement should read as follows:
“Bold Moves: Damn. Another loser. There was a problem with the copy. It was supposed to say “Bad Moves”. My bad!
Ok, onto more pressing matters.
The F-150 is a lovely rehash, isn’t it?
We’ll have some competitive engines in 3-5 years
What have we been doing about that for the LAST 3-5 yeasr?
Your welcome.
What….huh….EcoBoost? Like it? 3-5 years
Verve? Looks promising? On sale this year, unless you are an American. 3-5 years.
Ford Focus? Don’t like it? We’ll get right on it! In 3 to….
DrFill

And in other news, Ford Senior Management decreed today that henceforth the earth should be considered round and not flat.

Ford to shorten life cycle! I guess this means their cars will break down even sooner and end up in the junkyards before its first oil change! lol How can Ford shorten the life cycle of cars already so unreliable?

The only thing that makes me believe in Ford is Alan Mulally and “the way forward”.

So Ford learned from the Taurus and Panthers and Focus and …well, their whole car line….not to let it whither and die.

Ford is late to the game, now Ford may die.

Ricardo brilliant!
Ford FOcus is only 12 years old, 8 if you take ovals away. In Newark NJ residents have new generation of children at younger age!

blah blah blah ford ALWAYS has a good idea…….probably made the board happy, now its time to slack off til the next investor meeting. bold moves? there were no moves. way forward? into bankruptcy maybe. shorter life cycles on..yeah we’ll see? until i see rather read, these guys make me sick-BLAH!

BTW does this mean there’ll be a new mustang every 3 years?

This midmodel refreshening is what Ford has been lacking for years. Honda does it, Toyota does it, Nissan does it, etc, etc… This is all good news. Why does everybody jump on Ford when they finally get it right? Maybe they should be silent with their plans and everybody would be in the dark until it just happens…like Honda, like Toyota, like Nissan…etc…

Ford should shorten Mark Fields’ employment cycle instead.

They did this in the late ’80s and then lengthened them again in the ’90s. They got a way with it for a while, but they got to do this in todays market.

Stig you got it right Mark Fields is a sheister at best over at Ford. He does’nt belong at the Top of Ford’s Brass much less Head janitor anywhere else. Yeah he’s got a degree from Harvard outside of his degree he has no grand plan for Ford. Have you ever listened to that guy talk he’s a complete Bull Sh*T artist and a half! He’s got to go with this multi-million dollar pay package he’s managed to get out Ford’s treasure chest and he could careless about folks at Ford except numero uno.

Hey Trooper kiss off. The New F-150 you can be sure will pump out more than 425 HP and still be eons ahead of GM slipshod truck with Allison transmission that take 25 years to engage and then crack and breakdown under the lightest load

On subject: with 3 year redevelopment times at Ford Motor Company and the attitude possessed when Ford created 5 of the ten best selling Vehicles in America is exactly part of the formula they need.

I’m sure the Skunkworks at Ford can come up with an Engine More Fuel-efficient, Reliable, and much more Powerful than a GM hunk of Junk

Another of Ford’s dumb ideas!
Why does Honda and Toyota stick with 4-5 year product cycles?
Because people finance cars for 4-5 years!
If you leased 100% of the time, it may make sense as a business case.
The GOOD COMPANIES build a car, and Year 1 shakes out any quality issues unforseen in testing. And as their novelty wears off in year 3, the car is refreshed with new features, but quality is usually peaking, and the work on the reoplacement is ramped up.
If you redesigned a car every 3 years, quality would drop, as you have Year 1 problems more often, as you are constantly trying new, unproven designs, parts, and services.
Ford’s Ranger, Crown Vic, and Focus lifespans are a joke. They only show Ford doesn’t know what they’re doing!
They make GM look like Toyota.
DrFill

No Dr Phil and hey has’nt your license been suspended and now your considered a quack!

Toyota and Honda’s Life Cycle is 2 to 3 years they no longer wait 4 or 5 years the market shifts too fast. Besides if you know how to quality control from the inception of new product you should have no issues later on. This hold True for even 1st year products. If you have measure in place. But if your a GM worker that drinks 4 40oz on the line then you have issues. No don’t you Drfill er up :<)

Who said Ford knows quality control?
Now they are Lexus all of the sudden?
Civic/Accord is 4 years
Corolla just went 6 years
Camry 5 years
DrFill

Ford should just shut down completely. Maybe just keep the European operations and move Ford headquarters to Europe. Honestly, its just getting a little worse everyday for this company.

No I have a better idea. As for GM they should move no where. Instead GM should shut down all its factories and turn them over to demolition company to be junked scrapped and burned. And have the ground salted throughly so no piles of garbage ever come crawling out of a GM Assembly Plant ever again. And ergo will no one will be troubled by turning their GM vehicle into a Flower Pot within the first week of owner ship.

hey a New 2008 Camaro could be a very stylish flowerpot at that. And make sure you fill the back and front seats with Pure Manure before planting roses in there; then it could be like one with the car. Sh*t plus Sh*t = Sh*t

tell the government and the general public finally the truth behind every GM vehicle sold that blows up, all And tell the Public all GM vehicles are complete lemons-they breakldown constantly, red necks love em, and they are death traps waiting to happen.

Ok Ford, produce the Interceptor to replace the Crown Victoria.

Ford spent the money, then didn’t build it, and now say they will design new cars.

Ford is a crazy company.

The headline on this one is stupid. “Reducing life cycles,” sound to me like making cars that don’t last as long.

Stig: “Ford should shorten Mark Fields’ employment cycle instead.” Yep.

Heart64: “And tell the Public all GM vehicles are complete lemons.” Not the ones I’ve been driving. Though I can’t complain about the Fords I’ve had.

-

I love how GM claims the look of the Malibu as anything but original. All of its Styling cues are taken from the Ford Taurus. This is now like the 20th clone that GM’s brand names have done on the Ford Taurus.