Say Goodbye to Most of Ford’s Car Lineup
Earlier this year the Ford Motor Company and their President/CEO, Jim Hackett made a startling announcement that many of New Yorkers weren’t ready for. After reviewing their first-quarter earnings, Ford has decided that by 2020, they will do away with nearly their entire lineup of passenger cars. As a native New Yorker, Frank Camuso was shocked by the news.
New Yorkers are especially taken aback as in recent years many of NYC’s cabs have turned to Ford, and for years, most of the NYPD’s fleet has been made of Ford sedans. In recent years Ford, formerly known for just high-powered V8, gas-guzzlers, has followed the growing trend towards environmental sustainability and opted for clean-air hybrids, like the Ford Fiestas, Focus, and the NYPD’s new favorite, the Ford Fusion. Staten Island native, Frank Camuso, remembers the days when he was a child and almost his entire block drove classic Ford sedans like the Crown Victoria, and the Taurus. Frank Camuso even remarked that it was only a few years ago, as a result of quality low-emissions engines, and amazing finance deals, that there were an amazing number of brand-new Ford Fusions and Focus’ on the road.
However, the last many quarters have seen huge declines in Ford passenger car purchases and lease agreements. While the Ford series of pickup trucks and SUV’s seem to be doing well, at some point the public just seems to have grown tired of Ford’s attempts at hybrid passenger cars, being outpaced, consistently by Japanese manufacturers like Toyota, and Nissan. In general, fans of Ford cars like Frank Camuso, can hardly believe it, considering Henry Ford himself created the first production car ever, the Model T over 100 years ago in 1912. A quote from Ford CEO Jim Hackett himself states, “We are committed to taking the appropriate actions to drive profitable growth and maximize the returns of our business over the long term. Where we can raise the returns of underperforming parts of our business by making them more fit, we will. If appropriate returns are not on the horizon, we will shift that capital to where we can play and win,”. And while the news hits some hard, Frank Camuso was relieved to hear that Ford would of course be keeping its most classic, and popular car around, the Ford Mustang. Despite Ford being owned by Italian conglomerate, Fiat, the Ford Mustang will always be an American institution.