The Fusion is Ford's Future

Cars! Cars! Cars! ruminates on Ford's product lineup and future, pitching in an unflatteringly hacked Ford oval graphic. He seems to conflate the Freestyle and Freestar into one product, which is not entirely his fault, Ford marketing should be spanked for naming two cars under the same nameplate so closely. His basic point is good, though, that Ford hasn't been trying very hard in the car department.

This can be blamed on the management team of the 1990's. Back then, Ford was awash in cash from selling trucks and SUVs, gas was cheap, and people apparently didn't think cars were going to be that important in the future. The strategy for much of the domestic industry seemed to be to pump development dollars into trucks and SUVs, where the profit margins were, and use cars as loss-leaders, like CDs at Walmart. (Man, did they learn their lesson)

The Fusion and its brothers are critical for Ford in North America. If the Fusion doesn't sell well, Ford is as good as dead. Market share will continue to decline, and the business will become unsustainable, if all other trends continue.