How to Improve Ford Motor (or any car company)
Posted in Money by George
Looking for a nice commuter car or a cheap car that gets the job done for a small family or college student? How about a car that gets 35 plus miles per gallon (city/highway average) and costs very little? Since there are many people in this market, I think Ford Motor Company could capitalize - big time - by bringing back the Ford Escort that existed in the mid 1990s.
I recently took a trip to New Jersey with my girlfriend, and we took her 1994 Ford Escort. Over the course of the trip from Herndon, VA to Oceanport, NJ, which was about 270 miles, we sat in a TON of traffic. For the first 1.5 to 2 hours, we crawled through stop and go traffic on the DC beltway and interstate 95. However, at the end of the trip when we filled up the gas tank, we found that the average fuel economy was 36 miles per gallon for the trip. It was awesome. Furthermore, the air conditioner worked like a charm, we had more than enough space in the car for two more people (although I wouldn’t recommend bringing five people on a trip in the Escort). Also, the car has 111,000+ miles on it already, accelerates fine, and handles great. Furthermore, it has never had any major mechanical problems. I know of very few modern day American cars that can boast such great qualities.
If Ford would just re-release the Escort with a few minor changes (update safety features, maybe add power windows and locks, and upgrade the stereo system), WITHOUT making any changes to the engine, they could probably sell the darned thing for under $10,000. I guarantee Ford could turn it around with just this one car. It would be huge with college students, commuters, and just anyone looking for a reasonably priced car.
This goes for any car company. Just make a car that is CHEAP, gets DECENT FUEL ECONOMY, and is RELIABLE and EASY TO MAINTAIN and you will have unlimited success.
Jessica and I
May 21st, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Actually, many cars on the road that are domestic are reliable and very easy to maintain, you just have a bias against them for some mainstreamed reason. It would be impossible for Ford ar any car company to introduce an outdated model, it simply wouldn’t appeal which is why the company replaces certain models in the first place. Case-in-point: Saturn eliminates the S (40mpg) with the ION as part of a program to pick up recent dwindling sales.
Why do you want an average car when you could have more?
The Cobalt gets 34 mpg starting at 12.5K
The Aveo gets 35 mpg starting at about 9,995K
May 21st, 2006 at 10:25 pm
well…ford has the focus as their low level car. As for my current car picks, I am probably leaning to a subaru very similar to charlie’s car… From test drives I just liked the subaru better than the toyota, but i have yet to test drive the toyota (only its more expensive brother the pontiac vibe).
As for the points about american cars, the aveo is like a geo metro. Don’t get on the highway infront of a 16 wheeler…you won’t be able to get out in time. The cobalt is like a new cavalier.
I guess the idea is that if most people can afford a civic or corolla at 13-15k, then the focus can go at that price.
What cars are cheap these days:
Toyota is doing this Yaris, Honda the Fit, trying to infuse their reliability into the mini-budget car market, because the only cars that are really really cheap are kias, and hyundais. Kia hasn’t had a good reliable car yet, and hyundais are getting better.
May 22nd, 2006 at 12:14 am
I’ll respond to Jon’s reply rather than Benny’s GM advertisement.
Jon, what kind of Subaru is it? I don’t know much about Subaru’s but I thought they were a little pricey. I wasn’t really talking about Ford cars in particular, I’m just saying that cars that Ford made in the past would sell pretty darned well today. And in that little Ford Escort I DID get out in front of a 16 wheeler with plenty to spare… horsepower is such a moot point these days since every car has way too much of it.
I’m interested to see what happens with Hyundais. I don’t know much about them, although I have seen good reviews lately on reliability… plus they have 100,000 mile warranties which is pretty impressive (even if it’s not on the whole car). Anyways, let me know what else you test drive.
May 22nd, 2006 at 8:02 am
I drove a Pontiac Vibe for a week when my Altima was in the shop in Newport News. For the record, I hated it.
In high school, I used to drive my parents’ Chevy Tracker…small, efficient, reliable, and American, although both brakes and accelerator seemed to require a lot of pressure for any response.
May 22nd, 2006 at 12:52 pm
The early to mid-1990’s Escort was of horrendous quality and durability. Consider yourself lucky to get past the infamous 95K mile head-crack.
It wasn’t after Mazda came in and assisted with the 1997 re-do that it became a decent (but still cheap) vehicle. The new 2.0l engine was decent & durable and still lives on as the base Focus model.
The last Escort model continued in production until 2001 (I think) and was then retired. At that point no one wanted a small fuel efficient car and prefered the big SUV.
Ford should’ve fought the UAW harder and brought in the European version of the Focus which is way more trendy. There is even now a comvertible version in Eurpope that would sell like crazy here (but the UAW would fight the importation). However, we won’t have to worry about the UAW much longer as they’re about out of steam and will be lucky to have a $15/hr job 10 years from now (as some Indian fellow will do the same
work for 0.50 cents/hr.)