Zastava_101

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2007/01/...ord-freestyle/

Knight Rider

i thought the freestyle was going to be discontinued

97svtgoin05gt

Okay, here is an obvious Fordism. The languishing Freestyle gets the Duratech 35 but the Escape doesn't??

VERY confused. Very.

jsaylor

Arguably the logic here is that the much larger Freestyle needs it more, no doubt because the 3.0L that seems okay in the Escape is horrible in the much larger, much heavier Freestyle. Also, the fact that the Freestyle is the squeaking wheel here means it was likely to get the grease.

The spy pics make this look much more like a Five Hundred wagon than the seperate model Ford has been trying to spin it as previously. Frankly, I think they'd be better off to merge the two nameplates anyway. It seems unlikely to vause any harm, but it could help somewhat by allowing them to combine sales figures for the two vehicles, and advertising for that matter.

It would also serve to cut down the perception that Ford has suv's coming out of the woodwork, making the lineup less confusing and creating good press. Frankly, it's a joke to call vehicles like these suv's anyway. Again, market it a version of the Five Hundred and spin this as an Outback/Cross Country style take on the same.

97svtgoin05gt

I won't disagree with you completely, however, with virtually ALL of the small SUVs out there sporting anywhere from 220hp to 270hp, the Escape is left to soldier on with 200hp. The only thing that will keep any sort of decent sales numbers up will be Ford loyalty and/or a significantly lower cost than the rest. I do not expect Ford to sell the Escape XLT with the v-6 for like $23,000. The new Hyundai Santa Fe has 263, the new Rav4 has like 250 (and probably advertising better mileage) and the small ones from DMC are slightly ahead with like 220 as I recall.

Zastava_101

Isn't Santa Fe same class as Explorer? Mid-size SUV? Isn't Tuscon same class as Escape?

Some small SUV, like Honda CR-V, don't even offer V6.

97svtgoin05gt

No, the Santa Fe is exactly the same size as the Escape. Not only that but the Santa Fe can be had for about $26,000. Even the least expensive Explorer will price out above that.

And correct, CR-V = no V-6. They can't put one in there cause they don't have a V-8 for the Pilot.

V10

I think it's the Freestar that has been discontinued.

You bring up a good point, Ford has too many similar sounding model names so the average consumer doesn't have a clue what Ford is selling.

Ford's continued dropping of old names that have great consumer recognition (Taurus, Lincoln Continental, etc.), while they bring out new dumb model names with no brand name recognition (Freestar, Freestyle, MKZ, MKX, etc) is another of Ford's many problems.

Zastava_101

Good point.
Ford pays a lot of attention to some models (F-Series, Mustang, Fusion) and they're very succesful and leaders in their classes. But Ford also completely ignores other vehicles (Freestar, Ranger, Taurus) and they fail (or will fail) on the market.

How can't they pay equal attention to all vehicles?

Moosetang

Freestar had no brand equity, are you kidding? The Aerostar and the Windstar were at one point profitable and competetive, but the Freestar was nothing but nailed to the showroom floor. They could have paid more attention to minivans as a segment, but the nameplate itself was dead. I'd rather they just move on with Fairlane/Explorer than try to delv back into the minivan brand pool.

I think paying attention equally to all vehicles is what a healthy company with a robust catalogue can do. Ford's none of the above, so they're hoping Ranger can hold on long enough for them to jump-start other parts of their lineup or keep the market-kleaders up top. It's not good, its just what it is.