The dramatic rescue plan Ford Motor Co. is to announce Monday is
expected to include a number of new vehicles to fix its flagging
brands, including a radical new direction for its minivans.
Ford is likely to move away from the traditional minivan look
epitomized by its slow-selling Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey
minivans, according to company and industry experts familiar with the
plan.
It will replace them with one or more new vehicles similar to the
Fairlane concept wagon that won wide praise at the 2005 North American
International Auto Show in Detroit.
The Fairlane could go into production at Ford’s assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, as soon as next year.
The
Fairlane won praise for its combination of car-like looks with the
practical three-row seating that has made minivans the vehicle of
choice for a generation of U.S. families.
Ford expects the
production Fairlane to match a minivan’s interior space and kid-hauling
capability in a stylish package that will appeal to more buyers.
The concept vehicle featured a large and luxurious interior and was clearly destined for production.
The
Fairlane will probably share its structure with a new family of
full-size vehicles in the works for several of Ford’s brands, including
Volvo and Lincoln.
Ford also is developing at least one new
full-size luxury sedan for its Lincoln brand, and a smaller Lincoln
sport sedan is likely.
In addition, Ford has five new midsize
vehicles coming from the program that produced its new Fusion sedan and
the Edge SUV the company unveiled last week at the auto show in Detroit.
Ford
executives have repeatedly said that the Way Forward plan will present
a wide-ranging strategy that not only includes cost-cutting measures,
such as closing plants, but initiatives to improve the automaker’s
products.
"I think it’ll be a little bigger than most people
expect," David Cole, an industry expert who runs the Center for
Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, said Thursday. "I think this is a
very important time, and maybe the most important time at Ford Motor
Co. in the past 50 years. They have to get this right."
Although
most of the discussion about Ford’s plans have focused on which plants
it will close, ending production of slow-selling models — like the
Freestar and Monterey — would also be a big step in the right
direction. But even at this late date, not all decisions have been made.
"The situation is still fluid" as to which plants and vehicles will go, a source familiar with the discussions said Thursday.
Ford
executives have said they believe a vehicle like the Fairlane could
become the defining entry in the fast-growing market for family
transportation that combines the practicality of a minivan with the
styling and upscale appeal of SUVs like the Lexus RX330.
Ford’s
current minivans have struggled since the Freestar and Monterey debuted
in 2003. Panned for lackluster styling and a paucity of new features,
the two minivans have never been as popular as the Ford Windstar model
they replaced.
Combined sales of the Freestar and Monterey were a
paltry 85,751 last year, making Ford virtually irrelevant in a minivan
market dominated by models like the Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge
Grand Caravan, Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.
The minivans’ failure is a particularly bitter disappointment to Ford.
The
automaker regularly sold more than 200,000 Windstars annually. The
Windstar won five-star crash ratings and became so successful that
Chrysler Group executives privately admitted they feared it could
displace their models as industry leader.
Ford squandered that
strength with a number of product-planning mistakes. It missed out on
the move to add dual sliding doors, which cost it sales.
In
addition to the Fairlane, Ford has a new flagship luxury sedan in the
works for its Lincoln brand. That car will look a lot like the MKS
concept car at the current auto show and will share its basic
engineering with the new Volvo S70 sedan that goes on sale in Europe
later this year.
Lincoln also is reportedly developing a compact sport sedan based on the phenomenally popular Ford Mustang.
Ford,
which made $1.9 billion through the first nine months of 2005, has
refused to comment on speculation about which plants it might close,
causing anxiety to mount in cities where tens of thousands of workers
build Ford cars, trucks and auto parts.
Union workers are
planning to gather in plants across the country Monday morning to learn
the fate of their facilities on a telecast from Dearborn.
Analysts
say they expect Ford to close four or five of its 18 assembly plants in
North America as well as several plants that build parts.
While
there is disagreement among the experts, most of the attention has
focused on assembly plants in Wixom; St. Louis; St. Paul, Minn.;
Atlanta, and Cuautitlan, Mexico.
The Ford Fairlane concept vehicle debuted at the 2005 North American International Auto