rickhamilton620
has a fetish for terrible cars
Autocar via TTAC said:Ford goes less global
Despite expressing continued faith in the One Ford policy last year, Ford?s global design chief Moray Callum told Autocar that the concept has ?peaked.? Callum specified that the global method isn?t being abandoned, though future models will be tailored more to individual regions.
The company?s One Ford plan ? consolidating dozens of platforms into a globally-friendly handful ? always included the option for models to be tailored somewhat to individual markets. The future changes that Callum referred to will be more than just a few tweaks, especially for vehicles that receive less love in specific regions.
Callum says the next Focus will likely be different depending on the market. ?It?s an entry-level model in the US, but not in Europe,? he said. ?They will be visually similar but there will be less content for the US model.?
Autocar says that in addition to a reduced level of standard equipment, the upcoming U.S. Focus could also feature a ?less sophisticated? suspension, given that the need for strong driving dynamics isn?t hugely important in that vehicle class. Ouch. While it may not make sense to pour money into a stalled segment, this is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Whether this means we?ll eventually have more unique models by region is debatable. Most likely, we?ll see certain platforms receiving market-based favoritism. Ford knows that entirely abandoning its global stratagem would be a mistake. One Ford allowed the Mustang to become the world?s best selling sport coupe last year and many have attributed the program to keeping Ford competitive during the recession. It sounds as if Ford is simply unwilling to pump any additional money into small cars for the U.S. market.
Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/10/ttac-news-roundfca-calculated-mess/#more-1441354
Hopefully that doesn't mean we'll get a 2008-2011 North America Focus part deux: