This country has an unhealthy obsession with crossovers and SUVs, even though most people who buy them don’t really have a need for vehicles of this size, and less than 1% of them will ever go off-road. But hey, they’re trendy, and gas prices are (currently) cheap, so why not?
Unfortunately, this trend has caused Ford to make a jarring decision that may well reshape the entire auto industry, deciding to jettison their lineup of sedans and hatchbacks (except for the Mustang and the all-new Focus Active crossover) and going all-in on trucks and SUVs.
Yes, so say goodbye to the Ford Fusion, Focus, C-Max, Taurus, and Fiesta, because “given declining consumer demand and product profitability, the company will not invest in next generations of traditional Ford sedans for North America.”
In other words, they’re selling a shit-ton of more profitable trucks and SUVs, so why waste their time and resources on “regular” cars?
Maybe because some people still want regular cars?! I’ve owned a LOT of cars over the past 25+ years, and only one of them was an SUV, way back in 1996. Turns out, it wasn’t nearly as cool as I thought it would be, and I got rid of it a few years later. Since then, I have owned a number of small cars and convertibles, and I’ve never been happier.
“But it snows here, I need an SUV!” Yeah, I currently drive a 2011 Subaru WRX. It has all-wheel drive, seating for 4-5, and a usable trunk. It gets good gas mileage (when driven responsibly), is fast as hell (0-60 in 4.7 seconds), and has gotten me through 7 winters without issue. Not bad for $25,000!
Sadly, unless people wake up and start buying “regular” cars, other automakers will follow suit. And in 5 years time, we’ll all be wondering what happened to sedans and the likes.
It should be interesting to see how this plays out for Ford. Personally, I think this is a short-sighted play, one that doesn’t really take into account rising gas prices. Sure, they can argue that hybrids and electric cars will hedge them against this, but in reality these cars still aren’t getting the mileage that regular sedans do.
What do you think about Ford’s decision to go all-in on trucks and SUVs?
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