Wow, I'm surprised at the reaction here to this news. Ford reaches out to their employees for ideas about several of the favorite topics here, rewards those employees for good ideas, and sets up systems that encourage open discussion and free thinking about efficiency. I should think there would be, at worst, a sense of guarded optimism.
Speaking for myself, I think it's great news.
Nobody's saying it's not great news, we're questioning the true motive. There is, if the past is an indication of the future, some ulterior motive.
PlainJane - '12 Toyota Tacoma Base 4WD Access Cab 90 day: 20.98 mpg (US)
Thanks: 504
Thanked 226 Times in 173 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Christ
Nobody's saying it's not great news, we're questioning the true motive. There is, if the past is an indication of the future, some ulterior motive.
We only question exactly what that motive is.
Uhhh, selling cars. Even when they were building moving horror shows like the Pinto and (early) Explorer, selling cars was the motivation.
I admit to being a bit of a 'Ford guy', having grown up loving racing and in the 60's, when Ford and Shelby were joining forces and beating the world; I still think the original GT40 is one of the most beautiful cars ever made. But these days it really does seem to me that FoMoCo has their act pretty well together. Truly innovative advances, real products instead of delayed promises, not having to take government handouts. Pretty impressive to me, considering it's the same company that gave us the Mustang II. But like I said, I'm a bit biased.
Uhhh, selling cars. Even when they were building moving horror shows like the Pinto and (early) Explorer, selling cars was the motivation.
I admit to being a bit of a 'Ford guy', having grown up loving racing and in the 60's, when Ford and Shelby were joining forces and beating the world; I still think the original GT40 is one of the most beautiful cars ever made. But these days it really does seem to me that FoMoCo has their act pretty well together. Truly innovative advances, real products instead of delayed promises, not having to take government handouts. Pretty impressive to me, considering it's the same company that gave us the Mustang II. But like I said, I'm a bit biased.
I hope that's all it is. It just seems more like an inept shot at getting attention from "upper" echelon, i.e. Gov't.
Any time someone does something that draws attention to themselves, the question "why" will always come to light. And there will always be that guy defending it to the end days.
Cordelia - '15 Mazda Mazda3 i Sport 90 day: 37.83 mpg (US)
Thanks: 72
Thanked 35 Times in 26 Posts
This is Ford we're talking about here. I doubt if they care what the current Gov't thinks about their goals. And if Ford can make money selling efficient cars I doubt the stockholders will care either. Exploders were a big thing back in the day. (They're fatter and not as popular now.)
Companies have to sell what the customers will buy. It's pretty dang simple.
If improved FE sells, who cares how they discover how to do it. To us ecomodders it makes total sense in alot of ways (environmental, national security, etc.) to improve FE to the maximum extent possible. We want modern Metro XFi's and Civic VX's. The rest of the US market wants more refinement, bling, gadgets, power and space than those examples. As more of an afterthought they want to know they are getting good mileage, like 30+. Ecomodders want like 50+.
The other part of the deal is the perceived value by the customer. The freakish Smart paves the way for small cars being a safety issue with alot of safety marketing, but if it was priced at under $10K everyone would think it was a joke. If the Fiesta contains adequate features and delivers a quality experience at it's price point it will provide a good value for the customer, oh and it will get 30+ mpg. The new Ford is getting good at the car game.
They made what the customer really wanted with the Mustang in the '60s, the Taurus in the 80's. The stupid SUV's in the '90s. It just so happens that quality small cars align with ecomodder philosophy (thank goodness) right now and Ford just happens to have a good shot at satisfying much of it with the Fiesta, Fusion and improvements with other models. Let's just hope the corporate philosophy holds to fuel efficiency like Honda used to and Toyota does often, it will probably serve them well in the future.
__________________
Good design is simple. Getting there isn't.
Uhhh, selling cars. Even when they were building moving horror shows like the Pinto and (early) Explorer, selling cars was the motivation.
.
Having owned 2 pintos, I genuinely can't see what peoples' problem is with them. They were perfectly pleasant to drive, comfortable, useful little machines. And both of mine lasted >20 years without exploding once, even the one that died in a high speed collision. Just because Nader is in love with the sound of his own voice doesn't mean everything (or anything) he says has merit.
And the only explorers that don't suck are the early ones, that actually still had the flexible suspension and small exterior dimensions necessary to visit the great outdoors & fit between trees & other obstacles. Which is presumably why someone would own a 4x4 right? What kind of dipstick owns a 4x4 just to drive around town?
Oh, yeah, the kind of dipstick who blames their 4x4 for not being a good in-town car....
I do agree that the motivation of companies is to be profitable, and the 2 most significant ways to be profitable are sell more and spend less. Anyone who still believes that car companies are sitting on 200mpg magic carburetors or whatever has a very active imagination. Ford, and every other company, wants to sell you exactly the car you want - they're not holding back on anything cool unless it's a huge cost or a safety risk.
__________________
Work From Home mod has saved more fuel than everything else put together.
The 2.3 used in the Pinto among other things was a very good engine. Other than being rust buckets- and EVERYTHING was in those days- and the a/t models being saddled with old school transmissions- as EVERYTHING was in those days- I'm not aware of any huge shortcoming. Oh, they explode you say? What were the odds of any particular Pinto exploding- 1:1,000,000?
Today
Other popular topics in this forum...
