Friday, April 07, 2006

The Auto Prophet sends Ford a reality check

On Thursday the Auto Prophet took a look at sales figures for Ford and his commentary isn't exactly a bullet to the head, but a reality check for FoMoCo. I generally don't post on figures or bad news, just my opinions on what Ford needs to do. But I read the AutoProphet daily and have always respected his writing. Click the link in the header and read his take on the uninspiring numbers.

One thing that shocked me, was the sales of Taurus vs Fivehundred and Fusion combined. If the numbers are right it's a sad situation. But I wonder if the Taurus sales numbers reflect large fleet sales. But AutoProphet's comments are valid, for even with fleet sales, the outgoing Taurus shouldn't have outsold both of it's replacement's combined sales.

Jaguar seems to be having a bad time, but hopefully new models will increase profitability, you know, maybe they'll make a profit. The X Type seems like a loser, but I just can't figure out why the S Type isn't selling. LandRover has the new Freelander coming, so maybe that will help. Volvo? now that's a mystery to me, the lineup seems good to me, but currency exchange does keep prices high.

Without retyping the AutoProphet's article here, sufice to say he's right on the money, and Ford has just let some product spoil and isn't doing enough to bring fresh product to market.

My final thoughts? Focus! Focus! Focus!!!!!

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