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Ford Fairlane greenlighted for production.
Posted Jun 21st 2006 4:07PM by Alex Nunez
Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Wagons/Estates, Etc., Crossovers/CUVs, Ford.
Say goodbye to the Ford minivans.The Detroit News is reporting that the Fairlane concept has been green lighted and will debut in production form during next year's auto show circuit. With its minivan sales in steady decline since 2000, FoMoCo has apparently decided to face the problem head-on by attacking that market segment with the new vehicle.
The Fairlane (in concept form, at least) is an attractive take on the current crossover segment, offering minivan-like carrying capacity without the frumpy stigma those vehicles carry in tow. Its large, wagon-like profile evokes SUVs while its low step-in height is more carlike. Sliding doors are ditched in favor of full-sized, rear-hinged "suicide" doors that provide easy access to the passenger cabin when fully opened. Outside, crisp lines and Ford's three-bar corporate face set the tone stylewise.
The interior offers flexible seating that can be reconfigured to accommodate different types of cargo. Fairlane's dashboard and many of the other cabin materials are pure concept car stuff, but given that Ford has done nice work with the cabins of the Five Hundred, Freestyle, and Edge, there's no reason to believe that the interior of the production Fairlane won't be up to snuff.
Now, the paper also reports that there are several aspects of the car that are still up in the air, such as the name (note to Ford: "Fairlane" is just fine) and the final styling direction. Still, news of its approval is an important development. A well-executed Fairlane should easily surpass the numbers being put up by the current minivans, and could help alleviate the pain caused by slower-selling SUVs, especially if it takes an extended period of time for those numbers to start ticking back upward.
Most importantly, this decision demonstrates that the Way Forward plan is not just empty corporate rhetoric and that "Bold Moves" is more than a throwaway tagline. If these are the kinds of maneuvers -- leaving stagnant market segments, approving compelling new products -- that can expect to see from Ford from now on, then there is reason to believe that good things are in store.
[Source: The Detroit News]
Second article:
Family van busts out of the mold.
One of the first vehicles under new development process offers a bold minivan alternative.
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
Ford Motor Co. has given the green light to the Fairlane, a new "people mover" designed to replace the company's poorly performing minivans, according to sources familiar with the project.
The vehicle will be one of the first created with Ford's new Global Product Development System, and a production model is expected to be unveiled at an auto show next year, though likely not in Detroit, sources said. It is also expected to herald Ford's departure from the minivan segment.
And not a moment too soon.
Ford's minivan sales have been sinking fast in the face of stiff competition from rivals like DaimlerChrysler AG, whose Chrysler Group has long been regarded as the segment's leader, as well as Japanese manufacturers Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.
Ford's minivan sales have dropped from more than 250,000 units in 2000 to fewer than 85,000 units last year. Its Mercury Monterey and Ford Freestar account for just 7.5 percent of the segment.
That segment is full of solid competitors and is unlikely to grow, according to analyst Jim Hall of AutoPacific, who praised Ford's decision to pull out.
"Why do you want to be in a collapsing segment?" Hall asked. "GM should be doing it, too."
The minivan market is becoming a victim of the same demographics that created it.
Minivans were the baby boomer generation's answer to station wagons, offering more convenience and snazzier styling than the wood-paneled behemoths they had grown up with and were anxious to avoid. But the boomers' children have grown up. Some have even left home. And today's families are looking for something different.
"It puts a lot of pressure on Chrysler," said Jim Sanfilippo, who follows the industry for AMCI Inc. "GM has to think about its next minivan, too."
GM controlled 11.4 percent of the segment in 2005 with vehicles like the Chevrolet Uplander and Pontiac Montana.
The company has already tried to distance itself from the minivan segment, choosing to refer to recent crops as "crossover sport vans." But outside its own marketing organization, few have noticed.
DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group dominated the minivan market last year with 27.8 percent of the segment choosing the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country.
Ford would not officially confirm plans to produce the new vehicle, which is expected to be built on the same platform as its Five Hundred sedan and Freestyle crossover utility vehicle. And Ford sources say there is still an internal debate over whether to keep the Fairlane name, which was long associated with sedans.
It is not known how close the new design will hew to the original concept, which debuted at the 2005 Detroit auto show to broad acclaim.
Some analysts expect it to reflect the same tall, slab-sided aesthetic. Others see it as a larger, taller version of the Ford Edge, the company's newest crossover utility vehicle. Either way, it will likely incorporate key elements of Ford's new design language like the three-bar chrome grille.
Company sources describe the Fairlane as a "people mover," and refer to it as a white-space vehicle that will carve out a new segment of the market. But analysts regard the Fairlane more as a blurring of the boundaries between sport utility vehicles and crossovers, minivans and wagons.
"It's the postmodern Explorer," Hall said. "That's functionally what it is in their lineup."
Sanfilippo sees the Fairlane as a direct competitor for the likes of General Motor Corp.'s Buick Enclave and its siblings in the emerging full-size crossover category. He expects Ford to aim the Fairlane at younger middle-class families, with pricing starting somewhere in the mid-$20,000 range.
"Ford's got a pretty interesting idea in the Fairlane," Sanfilippo said. "I don't see anything out there that's really similar."
You can reach Bryce Hoffman at (313) 222-2443 or bhoffman@detnews.com.
Posted Jun 21st 2006 4:07PM by Alex Nunez
Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Wagons/Estates, Etc., Crossovers/CUVs, Ford.
Say goodbye to the Ford minivans.The Detroit News is reporting that the Fairlane concept has been green lighted and will debut in production form during next year's auto show circuit. With its minivan sales in steady decline since 2000, FoMoCo has apparently decided to face the problem head-on by attacking that market segment with the new vehicle.
The Fairlane (in concept form, at least) is an attractive take on the current crossover segment, offering minivan-like carrying capacity without the frumpy stigma those vehicles carry in tow. Its large, wagon-like profile evokes SUVs while its low step-in height is more carlike. Sliding doors are ditched in favor of full-sized, rear-hinged "suicide" doors that provide easy access to the passenger cabin when fully opened. Outside, crisp lines and Ford's three-bar corporate face set the tone stylewise.
The interior offers flexible seating that can be reconfigured to accommodate different types of cargo. Fairlane's dashboard and many of the other cabin materials are pure concept car stuff, but given that Ford has done nice work with the cabins of the Five Hundred, Freestyle, and Edge, there's no reason to believe that the interior of the production Fairlane won't be up to snuff.
Now, the paper also reports that there are several aspects of the car that are still up in the air, such as the name (note to Ford: "Fairlane" is just fine) and the final styling direction. Still, news of its approval is an important development. A well-executed Fairlane should easily surpass the numbers being put up by the current minivans, and could help alleviate the pain caused by slower-selling SUVs, especially if it takes an extended period of time for those numbers to start ticking back upward.
Most importantly, this decision demonstrates that the Way Forward plan is not just empty corporate rhetoric and that "Bold Moves" is more than a throwaway tagline. If these are the kinds of maneuvers -- leaving stagnant market segments, approving compelling new products -- that can expect to see from Ford from now on, then there is reason to believe that good things are in store.
[Source: The Detroit News]
Second article:
Family van busts out of the mold.
One of the first vehicles under new development process offers a bold minivan alternative.
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
Ford Motor Co. has given the green light to the Fairlane, a new "people mover" designed to replace the company's poorly performing minivans, according to sources familiar with the project.
The vehicle will be one of the first created with Ford's new Global Product Development System, and a production model is expected to be unveiled at an auto show next year, though likely not in Detroit, sources said. It is also expected to herald Ford's departure from the minivan segment.
And not a moment too soon.
Ford's minivan sales have been sinking fast in the face of stiff competition from rivals like DaimlerChrysler AG, whose Chrysler Group has long been regarded as the segment's leader, as well as Japanese manufacturers Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.
Ford's minivan sales have dropped from more than 250,000 units in 2000 to fewer than 85,000 units last year. Its Mercury Monterey and Ford Freestar account for just 7.5 percent of the segment.
That segment is full of solid competitors and is unlikely to grow, according to analyst Jim Hall of AutoPacific, who praised Ford's decision to pull out.
"Why do you want to be in a collapsing segment?" Hall asked. "GM should be doing it, too."
The minivan market is becoming a victim of the same demographics that created it.
Minivans were the baby boomer generation's answer to station wagons, offering more convenience and snazzier styling than the wood-paneled behemoths they had grown up with and were anxious to avoid. But the boomers' children have grown up. Some have even left home. And today's families are looking for something different.
"It puts a lot of pressure on Chrysler," said Jim Sanfilippo, who follows the industry for AMCI Inc. "GM has to think about its next minivan, too."
GM controlled 11.4 percent of the segment in 2005 with vehicles like the Chevrolet Uplander and Pontiac Montana.
The company has already tried to distance itself from the minivan segment, choosing to refer to recent crops as "crossover sport vans." But outside its own marketing organization, few have noticed.
DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group dominated the minivan market last year with 27.8 percent of the segment choosing the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country.
Ford would not officially confirm plans to produce the new vehicle, which is expected to be built on the same platform as its Five Hundred sedan and Freestyle crossover utility vehicle. And Ford sources say there is still an internal debate over whether to keep the Fairlane name, which was long associated with sedans.
It is not known how close the new design will hew to the original concept, which debuted at the 2005 Detroit auto show to broad acclaim.
Some analysts expect it to reflect the same tall, slab-sided aesthetic. Others see it as a larger, taller version of the Ford Edge, the company's newest crossover utility vehicle. Either way, it will likely incorporate key elements of Ford's new design language like the three-bar chrome grille.
Company sources describe the Fairlane as a "people mover," and refer to it as a white-space vehicle that will carve out a new segment of the market. But analysts regard the Fairlane more as a blurring of the boundaries between sport utility vehicles and crossovers, minivans and wagons.
"It's the postmodern Explorer," Hall said. "That's functionally what it is in their lineup."
Sanfilippo sees the Fairlane as a direct competitor for the likes of General Motor Corp.'s Buick Enclave and its siblings in the emerging full-size crossover category. He expects Ford to aim the Fairlane at younger middle-class families, with pricing starting somewhere in the mid-$20,000 range.
"Ford's got a pretty interesting idea in the Fairlane," Sanfilippo said. "I don't see anything out there that's really similar."
You can reach Bryce Hoffman at (313) 222-2443 or bhoffman@detnews.com.
