Tim_M
1457
American car companies
are abandoning any plans that don't involve full sized pickups and various SUVs in the US market. In most cases, that's their only profit center, and the products often are unsellable abroad regardless of trade or tariff policies. Overseas buyers will purchase a Fiesta or a Focus, but even trucks considered "compact" here are almost commercial vehicles overseas. To be fair, GM - not Ford - started the practice of withdrawing from any and every overseas market that proved challenging, but you can only gain so much from retreat. And you can't cut your way to growth.
Their sales are cratering in China, and they bet their entire overseas growth on that market. At some point, you need to prove you can win actual market share and succeed outside your safe space if a company is going to prosper in the long run. And they did it to themselves. Take a look at Ford's recent warranty costs in the US market, and you can see another facet of this complacency. A lot of people blame foreign governments that favor domestic industry or regulatory requirements that are hard to meet, but the mass recalls, voluntary retreat from competitive product segments, and plans to make a final stand in a single (US) market are the fault of management and nobody else.
Best,
Tim
Tim
Probably the most sensible choice…
Hopefully Ford will not leave Europe in the meantime 🤞🏻
Very real possibility. GM largely left already…
And Ford‘s presence is hanging by a thread. It’s ironic that Jim Farley used to be head of Ford Europe before getting the current CEO position yet he seems to not have the foggiest of what would be needed in Europe to keep the brand viable 🤷🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️ ...
They‘re at under 3% market share…
With most of the main models pulled (no Focus, Fiesta, Mondeo…)
American car companies
are abandoning any plans that don't involve full sized pickups and various SUVs in the US market. In most cases, that's their only profit center, and the products often are unsellable abroad regardless of trade or tariff policies. Overseas buyers will pur...
Very well put…
And very unfortunate. They were far from doing a bad job as long as they were taking it seriously.
Most importantly
A manual transmission on offer! I've been a donkervoort fan for as long as I can remember.
It is a quite “extravert” car in my opinion
A lot going on, aggressive styling. If on a circuit 👍. But for me on the road it is a bit like a Jacob & co watch, potentially technically brilliant but a bit ostentatious . Obviously just my personal opinion, other people might think completely different...
If I didn't have the pic for context, I would have gone in a different direction 🤣
That is Super Interesting, the Prestige Gap, thank you 😊👍 ...
Wow what a car .
I wonder why i never visited them as they are just 45min away from my hometown.