loses asian adult buyers which is a big population

But they have the S-max and Galaxy in Europe and the C-max and proposed b-max

Maybe they’ll have enough unsold minivans by April 07 to last them till the Fairlane comes.

But isn’t the fairlane another example of a gussied up old platform like the bronco and caliber

Bingo! #3.

who needs minivans? Every company should delete them from their lineup.

wooord Jon’O

Good.

Keep going, Ford.

One part of me says yes no more stupid Mini vans but the other part goes ouch that is pathetic just giving up on a whole market segment for a year.

well… trhey arent really giving up now… its not like theyve really been trying for years…

lol, thats funny, i never liked ford’s minivans anyway theyre just a pice of junk, i’d prefer a Toyota Sienna

lol, thats funny, i never liked ford’s minivans anyway theyre just a pice of junk, i’d prefer a Toyota Sienna

I love minivans – just not Ford’s. How about one in a diesel please.

Dump ass move, agree with #8, how can Ford just simply give up this huge segment.

I think instead, Ford should kill the entire Mercury brand, and concentrate more on the Lincoln and Ford brands.

What are the chances of Ford USA importing the S-max or Galaxy from Europe? They’ve been getting rave reviews over here.

Toyota and Honda are going to gain HUGE market share if Ford puts all their chips somewhere else for a year. Chrysler/Dodge will make some gains as well. I am not sure that is the right move to make. Going back on the hybrid commitment, scrapping the minivan…what’s next?

Toyota should import the Alphard and Noah if they can pass the safety regulations in US. That’s what the CEO of a very well known US company told me when I delivered his unit. Now he’s using 2 instead of a BMW 5 series.

Yes: Alphard
No: Noah, Estima Hybrid instead

The Noah is ugly as sin… Nissan should get the Presage, Lafesta and Serena here though
http://press.nissan-global.com/EN/PHOTOGRAPHS/jp_minivan.html

I like Ford”s euro minivans, they should bring some to the U.S…

#15
the chances are low … but there are some, especially with C-max once the Focus is redesigned on the new C2 platform

#14
I could go to lengths about how Mercury attracts completely different customers, despite having very similar product, and how it is currently a money maker for Ford – in short, Ford (even with cars) needs to cater to the heartland, bluecollar truck buyer – this allienats the white collar, coastal/metropolitan (snobbish) buyers – so they instead buy Mercury. Ford strayed from this path for a while, but they are back and sales are up.

#4
Failane is on the D3 platform which is getting long in the tooth, but ist still relevant – the EUCD is not a replacement platform a smuch as “co-patform.” The EUCD2, developped off of the upcoming C2 platform will likely replace both CD3 and D3 in US when he current vehicles need redesign. Bronco was originally on the old Fiesta platform, but was moved to the brand new B1 platform currently being finished by FoMoCo (hence the delay). The US Fiesta was moved along with it – Reflex was originally designed on this new platform.

#13
Diesels are coming – Ford is currently the closest to releasing a full lineup of 4 and 6 and 8 cylinder diesels capable of the new US emissions. Some brands like VW and Jeep will come back sooner (08 MY) than Ford with slightly modified Euro diesels, but these will barely meet the norms. Ford is instead completely reworking their in-house Euro diesels, keeping the blocks, but making the head with new EPA developed technology, that will not only deliver emissions suited for the years to come, but also better mileage… unfortunately as one person said ” the ETA of these engines is the best kept secret in Detroit”

Igor

Ford should hold on to one of these models, preferably the Freestarrather than abandon the segment altogether. There are still fleets and some “Buy American only” folks out there who could be potential customers if the price is right. The ideal sceneario would be to rebadge the higher styled Monterey as the Freestar and obliterate Mercury all together. Just too much redundancy here.

I WANT A FORD S-MAX

20..they are not crap…..they are just in a segment that is going away. Other manufacturers will soon follow. Van sales have been sliding wih CUV’s becoming more popular. Not a question of a crap product, just a market changing condition.

The van market will ALWAYS be there… the question is, what direction will it go.

The offerings from toy, honda, and nissan are nice… but their combined sales do not touch the DCX vans (whos platform goes back as early as 1998)

I am intrigued to see what DCX really has up its sleeve for the next gen GC and T&C. some rumors include:
choice of IRS or twist beam
engines: 3.8, 4.0, AND 5.7 (possibly a 3.0 Bluetec)
S&G v2

It should be interesting to see what happens, and what new direction (if any) these new oferings take the market.

Will that make my Windstar a Classic?

Good, and maybe Ford will be history next year to. People should smarten up and buy GM.

so fairlane is replacing the freestar, what about freestyle? They may chose the fiesta as the new name for fairlane & I guest the S/D-max may not have a chance to come here since ford has fairlane soon & freestyle. The c-max may come after new focus arrives US in 2009.