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QUOTE
I'm particulary proud of the track pack tuning.... I had a bit of leaway to develop that one.
Very nice. Sounds like it's being well received...
Off topic, but I notice you're on P Zeros... You wouldn't have any insight into how those compare to the other top street tires, would you? Trying to pick tires to test for One Lap...
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I'd like to meet him. If he wants any info from me, let me know. I'll share what I can.
Porky is a relative term. I don't disagree, but there's only so much I can do about that at my level and with only a re-skin..... For what it's worth, at this price point, I don't see any major shifts in weights, without major shifts in prices. We have a 2011 program that will be lighter, but not the big shift that the car needs.
How do you get my job? It's taken, sorry. It took me quite a few years. I do feel pretty lucky to have this job. There are many people who say that I have the best job in the company. I could have moved to SVT, but I think I'm in a better place in this position. They have a lot of BS to deal with that I don't.
PZeros. I tested a lot of off-the-shelf tires for this track pack. We really wanted to put a wider rear tire on the car, but couldn't convince the $$ people, so I had to find a tire that could stand up to the amount of rear roll stiffness I wanted in the car to get the maximum performance we were targeting. The PZero was the only one that did that, including the mightly PS2. I didn't test any of the "R" compound (Corsa or Pilot Sport Cup). In short the PZero was the only real solution that worked. If we had been forced to use something else I would have had to adjust the stabilizer bar sizes to make it work.
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Ford has the best chance of surviving.....but not with their present product line up. The Mustang is a prime example of corporate thinking....superficial changes. Their European line looks to be pretty slick.....but they weren't designed with US standards in mind......which idiot made that decision?....so we don't get all the good stuff till they are redone.....2011 I hear.
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The Mustang platform was new in 2005, so doing a new platform for it only 5 years later would drive the cost up substantially. I know what you're saying, but the economics aren't good for sub 30k cars.
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QUOTE
The Mustang platform was new in 2005, so doing a new platform for it only 5 years later would drive the cost up substantially. I know what you're saying, but the economics aren't good for sub 30k cars.
The sub 30K cars thinking is what got the big 3 into the shit in the first place. If they can't make any money on them, they're in the wrong biddness. The days of high volume 40-50k trucks & SUVs are over. Maybe the big 3 need to go tits up & save the taxpayers some money.
I don't mean to be an asshole, Kevin, I know that you have about as much pull at Ford as I have at Boeing, but that doesn't mean we can bury our heads in the sand and quote the company line. Your CEO is a major reason that the 787 is a fiasco.....at that he's better than anything GM has got. God help them poor bastards.
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Their European line looks to be pretty slick.....but they weren't designed with US standards in mind......which idiot made that decision?....so we don't get all the good stuff till they are redone.....2011 I hear.
Yeah why not offer limited quantities of the Euro models? Its a shame that we wont see the Focus RS in 2009. It would win an immediate cult following in the US. I'd buy one. 300 HP turbo in stock trim.
...But instead of bringing US more premium and effecient sports sedan they are putting lipstick on a pig.
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That Focus would have every male of driving age standing in line at the dealer with a fist full of money. Except for the green color that thing rocks!!!!!!!
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One of the main reasons our euro focus isn't in the US is cost. More expensive than the current focus.
I know it sounds like the company line, but it costs billions to create a new platform. That money needs to be amortized over the life of the platform. The more you understand this business the worse it looks.
I agree it's an ugly business and the Big 3's problems are mostly self-created. I can't fix that, but I can try to make the best car that I can with the parts I'm given. If you know the fights we have internally, you'd cry. I'm still trying to get adjustable dampers on the track pack... too much institutional inertia, too many scared people.... and that will generate revenue.... but nobody wants to challenge the status quo.
Anyway, I didn't want this to degrade into a philosophical discussion, just wanted you guys to see what I've been up to.
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That Focus would have every male of driving age standing in line at the dealer with a fist full of money. Except for the green color that thing rocks!!!!!!!
I thought the same thing when I saw it. Now, I don't think so. The VW R32 struck my fancy, but after looking at it from plain numbers, the R32 is 50% more than a standard Golf. I can't see 50% 'more' value in the R32. So, I follow the same logic on this Focus. Plus, I could probably buy a lesser model and bolt on 'better' aftermarket stuff for the same final cost. Also, with aftermarket stuff, I could spread it out over a few months -- without the liability insurance increase. I suspect Europe has fewer DIYers and regulations force buyers toward certified tuners or factory options.
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These are the attitudes that keep Ford in sub premium low margin space. A limited run of these in the US would help Fords image tremendously. And help to push perception of Ford into more of a premium small sedan space that so many others are slaying. Subaru doesnt mass market the SYi. Its all about developing perception and drawing new buyers to the Ford brand.
Crazy 300 hp RS Focus woould pull people into the showrooms. I can tell you if I could buy one for under $30K I'd buy one now. I'm not interested in a single other core Ford offering. Have to go to Mazda for anything that interests me.
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Nice. I guess I won't bother sharing. Too many haters who think this is a lot easier than it is. Sure, just bring over a car from Europe, it'll sell like hotcakes and fix everything. It's not that simple, unfortunately.
Remember the SVT Focus? Good price, great value, rave reviews. Only 8000 units/year..... I bought one. Loved it. They sat on dealer lots for years. BTW... the RS is more than a $30k car in the US.
I wondered if I should post this at all. Now I know not to bother.
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I ammire your work and the fact that you have the abilities to earn such a job....tho I'm less that thrilled about the material you have to work with.
What I "hate" is to see such great American companies go down the tubes due to inept managment....possibly unable to survive a finanacial "perfect storm". Surviving such an event would require long range planning and execution of a sound business plan .....NOT wasting time & effort blaming everyone else for the disaster. The big 3 has been loosing market share at a steady rate for 20 odd years. Big bucks were paid to folks that couldn't stop the erosion and now we have what we have.
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QUOTE
Nice. I guess I won't bother sharing. Too many haters who think this is a lot easier than it is. Sure, just bring over a car from Europe, it'll sell like hotcakes and fix everything. It's not that simple, unfortunately.
Remember the SVT Focus? Good price, great value, rave reviews. Only 8000 units/year..... I bought one. Loved it. They sat on dealer lots for years. BTW... the RS is more than a $30k car in the US.
I wondered if I should post this at all. Now I know not to bother.
Its not hate. Its frustration with Ford not getting it! FWD Turbo 5 cylinder cant be built and sold at a profit for under $30K? Damn man Subaru fights a high Yen and sells plenty of turbo WRX's with AWD in low $20K range? Even Audi can make a compact car with apeal for close to $30K You would think Ford would be able to pull that off with all its years of expereince.
SVT Focus was a joke. Take a nasty platform and put lipstick on it. Its similar to Mustang appoach. Thats not the type of product differentiation I'm talking about or that consumers are looking for when wanting a premium compact car. My boss bought one of those SVT Foci and fit and finish of my $8000 Toyota Echo was better. Funnier yet is that their roof lines and hieghts were almost the same when parked next to each other. And to add insult to injury bet profit on that car was terrible.
Its clear that across the company people dont get it. If Ford wants to compete with higher margin products they need to make some winners. This downturn may force Ford and others to abandon their volume sales approaches. The turn crap out in volume and then discount strategy isnt working anymore. Market is telling Ford it isnt working. Its not the haters its consumers voting with their pocket books.
There is a reason why the Japanese, Korean and European car manufacturers are winning marketshare from Ford and GM. They get it. Ford seemed to be getting it for a while but they seemed to be happy laening on aging platforms and and ideas that worked in the 1960's.
I think your work is great but youre unfortunately just working with the crap that Ford product teams deliver. I think its excellent that they have somone with your background working on suspension. Just should be upstream in design cycle.
O well ....I'm pretty sure we will get something similar to the European RS in the new 2010 Mazdaspeed 3. Mazda apparently knows how to build the same car for less than $30K for US market and thats building in high cost Japan.
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I hear you JP. I can't diasgree there. Let me also say that Ford has screwed me personally by laying off my wife this summer, which I think was a huge mistake. But, I will not slam the company I work for in a public forum, because I want to keep my job. Meet me at the bar and I'll talk all night long, but not here.
Grant-you show your ignorace. Did you know that the "platform" under the SVT Focus is the same one that under the RS and MazdaSpeed 3? Very minor changes between those. Things like damper top mounts and that... no geometry changes at all.
2010 Mustang with Track Pack, Articles are out
Dec 21 2008, 09:54 AM
