Discussion
The cars are nothing special,
the eco boom engine has a bad reputation,
the don’t cater for the budget and value buyer anymore with the ending of the Fiesta,
they are trying to appeal premium with the vignale range but there’s nothing premium about the line up except the price tag.
They have chased pure profit over wider appeal and by pushing the lucrative Puma have ditched some UK favourites such as the Fiesta, Mondeo, Galaxy.
The commercial side is not much better,
They are still selling the 2.0 diesel with a known design fault leading to engine replacement after 3 years (nicely out of warranty),
The custom list price has increase by £9 grand now it’s a rebadged VW transporter
The Transit remains poorly built with bad paint and under seal thanks to its famous Turkish build quality
The transit connect is the best one they sell although it’s a rebadged VW Caddy and expensive compared to the PSA offering,
The Ford Ranger is junk made badly in South Africa
Maybe the new Romanian built Ford Courier will be better?
the eco boom engine has a bad reputation,
the don’t cater for the budget and value buyer anymore with the ending of the Fiesta,
they are trying to appeal premium with the vignale range but there’s nothing premium about the line up except the price tag.
They have chased pure profit over wider appeal and by pushing the lucrative Puma have ditched some UK favourites such as the Fiesta, Mondeo, Galaxy.
The commercial side is not much better,
They are still selling the 2.0 diesel with a known design fault leading to engine replacement after 3 years (nicely out of warranty),
The custom list price has increase by £9 grand now it’s a rebadged VW transporter
The Transit remains poorly built with bad paint and under seal thanks to its famous Turkish build quality
The transit connect is the best one they sell although it’s a rebadged VW Caddy and expensive compared to the PSA offering,
The Ford Ranger is junk made badly in South Africa
Maybe the new Romanian built Ford Courier will be better?
ACCYSTAN said:
The cars are nothing special,
the eco boom engine has a bad reputation,
the don’t cater for the budget and value buyer anymore with the ending of the Fiesta,
they are trying to appeal premium with the vignale range but there’s nothing premium about the line up except the price tag.
They have chased pure profit over wider appeal and by pushing the lucrative Puma have ditched some UK favourites such as the Fiesta, Mondeo, Galaxy.
The commercial side is not much better,
They are still selling the 2.0 diesel with a known design fault leading to engine replacement after 3 years (nicely out of warranty),
The custom list price has increase by £9 grand now it’s a rebadged VW transporter
The Transit remains poorly built with bad paint and under seal thanks to its famous Turkish build quality
The transit connect is the best one they sell although it’s a rebadged VW Caddy and expensive compared to the PSA offering,
The Ford Ranger is junk made badly in South Africa
Maybe the new Romanian built Ford Courier will be better?
That doesn’t read well. Seems a long way from the heyday of the late 70’s / early 80’s sporty Escorts, Capris and my favourite the Cortina in ‘S’ or ‘Ghia’ trim. the eco boom engine has a bad reputation,
the don’t cater for the budget and value buyer anymore with the ending of the Fiesta,
they are trying to appeal premium with the vignale range but there’s nothing premium about the line up except the price tag.
They have chased pure profit over wider appeal and by pushing the lucrative Puma have ditched some UK favourites such as the Fiesta, Mondeo, Galaxy.
The commercial side is not much better,
They are still selling the 2.0 diesel with a known design fault leading to engine replacement after 3 years (nicely out of warranty),
The custom list price has increase by £9 grand now it’s a rebadged VW transporter
The Transit remains poorly built with bad paint and under seal thanks to its famous Turkish build quality
The transit connect is the best one they sell although it’s a rebadged VW Caddy and expensive compared to the PSA offering,
The Ford Ranger is junk made badly in South Africa
Maybe the new Romanian built Ford Courier will be better?
ACCYSTAN said:
The cars are nothing special,
the eco boom engine has a bad reputation,
the don’t cater for the budget and value buyer anymore with the ending of the Fiesta,
they are trying to appeal premium with the vignale range but there’s nothing premium about the line up except the price tag.
They have chased pure profit over wider appeal and by pushing the lucrative Puma have ditched some UK favourites such as the Fiesta, Mondeo, Galaxy.
The commercial side is not much better,
They are still selling the 2.0 diesel with a known design fault leading to engine replacement after 3 years (nicely out of warranty),
The custom list price has increase by £9 grand now it’s a rebadged VW transporter
The Transit remains poorly built with bad paint and under seal thanks to its famous Turkish build quality
The transit connect is the best one they sell although it’s a rebadged VW Caddy and expensive compared to the PSA offering,
The Ford Ranger is junk made badly in South Africa
Maybe the new Romanian built Ford Courier will be better?
Ford do seem to have dropped a massive bthe eco boom engine has a bad reputation,
the don’t cater for the budget and value buyer anymore with the ending of the Fiesta,
they are trying to appeal premium with the vignale range but there’s nothing premium about the line up except the price tag.
They have chased pure profit over wider appeal and by pushing the lucrative Puma have ditched some UK favourites such as the Fiesta, Mondeo, Galaxy.
The commercial side is not much better,
They are still selling the 2.0 diesel with a known design fault leading to engine replacement after 3 years (nicely out of warranty),
The custom list price has increase by £9 grand now it’s a rebadged VW transporter
The Transit remains poorly built with bad paint and under seal thanks to its famous Turkish build quality
The transit connect is the best one they sell although it’s a rebadged VW Caddy and expensive compared to the PSA offering,
The Ford Ranger is junk made badly in South Africa
Maybe the new Romanian built Ford Courier will be better?
k somewhere, I remember we took on a Ford sales person a few years ago, she was amazed with what was coming through for the manufacturer we employed her to sell, she said that there was literally nothing on the horizon for Ford and all they sold was Puma, that was the only model they could get hold of. Though to address a few of your points:
I believe Fiesta was ultimately ditched as it was at end of life and to engineer and design an all new fiesta was just far too costly due to all the ever stringent regulations coming in. Polo is going for a similar reason.
Mondeo and Galaxy were dropped as those sectors are pretty much non existent now.
Agree with Vignale, many "mainstream" manufacturers have tried and failed to tap into the luxury end, they just need to understand where they sit and be happy with it.
I've been in the motor trade now for a couple of decades and whilst Ford have been at the top of their game for a long time, I do feel they have always been given an easy and overly favourable run by the UK automotive press, they always came out on top due to their driving and handling ability, which I have always felt was a wrong way for them to be top, sure I agree they generally drive fantastically but the average person doesn't care about this, they want comfort, practicality and a nice interior, some of which was lacking in their models, but they still sold well as the magazines said they were the best.
During their hey day though they still dropped the odd mistake, Eco Sport, Focus CC and Ka+, to name a couple.
Edited by HTP99 on Sunday 3rd March 09:16
A Ford dealer in my area is selling Chinese ORAs to have a small car to offer. They are not as cheap as you would imagine, but the point is there's no small Ford any more.
Fiesta was dropped because the cost of production in Germany resulted in a small profit margin. Puma and Ecosport come from lower cost eastern European countries.
It was the simple choice to the company to drop Fiesta, especially as Ford & indeed most of the industry have decided we all want SUV type vehicles, which is another thing to discuss. A few short years ago it was people carriers 'are the future'. ! Remember B-Max, C-Max, Grand C-Max, S-Max and Galaxy ?
A lot of decisions and directions are set by planners, certainly not customer demand.
To clarify, the new Transit Custom will also be badged as Volkswagen Transporter for VW, not the other way around. In the same way the new VW Amorok is a Ranger.
The new Transit Courier is a Ford, but the new Transit Connect is a VW Caddy.
Fiesta was dropped because the cost of production in Germany resulted in a small profit margin. Puma and Ecosport come from lower cost eastern European countries.
It was the simple choice to the company to drop Fiesta, especially as Ford & indeed most of the industry have decided we all want SUV type vehicles, which is another thing to discuss. A few short years ago it was people carriers 'are the future'. ! Remember B-Max, C-Max, Grand C-Max, S-Max and Galaxy ?
A lot of decisions and directions are set by planners, certainly not customer demand.
To clarify, the new Transit Custom will also be badged as Volkswagen Transporter for VW, not the other way around. In the same way the new VW Amorok is a Ranger.
The new Transit Courier is a Ford, but the new Transit Connect is a VW Caddy.
Dropping the Fiesta will bite them on the ass I think. It was their entry level car and the first car for many. People often start with a Fiesta and stick with the brand moving up through the range. They should have teamed up with another brand to develop a B segment car, even if it was a small crossover (Puma is more Focus sized). Other than the Puma (and Mustang), their car range is outclassed.
Kia have stuck with a small car and now outsell Ford in the UK and across Europe. Even MG have brought out a totally new Fiesta sized car, can see that becoming a big seller.
Kia have stuck with a small car and now outsell Ford in the UK and across Europe. Even MG have brought out a totally new Fiesta sized car, can see that becoming a big seller.
ACCYSTAN said:
The cars are nothing special,
the eco boom engine has a bad reputation,
the don’t cater for the budget and value buyer anymore with the ending of the Fiesta,
they are trying to appeal premium with the vignale range but there’s nothing premium about the line up except the price tag.
They have chased pure profit over wider appeal and by pushing the lucrative Puma have ditched some UK favourites such as the Fiesta, Mondeo, Galaxy.
The commercial side is not much better,
They are still selling the 2.0 diesel with a known design fault leading to engine replacement after 3 years (nicely out of warranty),
The custom list price has increase by £9 grand now it’s a rebadged VW transporter
The Transit remains poorly built with bad paint and under seal thanks to its famous Turkish build quality
The transit connect is the best one they sell although it’s a rebadged VW Caddy and expensive compared to the PSA offering,
The Ford Ranger is junk made badly in South Africa
Maybe the new Romanian built Ford Courier will be better?
The EcoBoost engine changed in late 2019 to being chain driven. Many other improvements also happened around that time - they are now much stronger with more torque, and better fuel economy. the eco boom engine has a bad reputation,
the don’t cater for the budget and value buyer anymore with the ending of the Fiesta,
they are trying to appeal premium with the vignale range but there’s nothing premium about the line up except the price tag.
They have chased pure profit over wider appeal and by pushing the lucrative Puma have ditched some UK favourites such as the Fiesta, Mondeo, Galaxy.
The commercial side is not much better,
They are still selling the 2.0 diesel with a known design fault leading to engine replacement after 3 years (nicely out of warranty),
The custom list price has increase by £9 grand now it’s a rebadged VW transporter
The Transit remains poorly built with bad paint and under seal thanks to its famous Turkish build quality
The transit connect is the best one they sell although it’s a rebadged VW Caddy and expensive compared to the PSA offering,
The Ford Ranger is junk made badly in South Africa
Maybe the new Romanian built Ford Courier will be better?
As a long time customer of Ford I think I'd stick to my prediction on another Ford thread of it being just Ford Commercial within the next 10 years. Ford Europe just doesn't want to be bothered with the car side of things. The Focus estate my wife drives around at the moment will probably be the last Ford we own.
Covid seemed to effect Ford more than any other manufacturer for whatever reason, top to bottom, they were not able to pivot or react to the various pressures of supply restrictions, EV's anything really.
Covid seemed to effect Ford more than any other manufacturer for whatever reason, top to bottom, they were not able to pivot or react to the various pressures of supply restrictions, EV's anything really.
gt40steve said:
A Ford dealer in my area is selling Chinese ORAs to have a small car to offer. They are not as cheap as you would imagine, but the point is there's no small Ford any more.
Fiesta was dropped because the cost of production in Germany resulted in a small profit margin. Puma and Ecosport come from lower cost eastern European countries.
It was the simple choice to the company to drop Fiesta, especially as Ford & indeed most of the industry have decided we all want SUV type vehicles, which is another thing to discuss. A few short years ago it was people carriers 'are the future'. ! Remember B-Max, C-Max, Grand C-Max, S-Max and Galaxy ?
A lot of decisions and directions are set by planners, certainly not customer demand.
To clarify, the new Transit Custom will also be badged as Volkswagen Transporter for VW, not the other way around. In the same way the new VW Amorok is a Ranger.
The new Transit Courier is a Ford, but the new Transit Connect is a VW Caddy.
If they are selling non franchise vehicles, this is a very recent change at the Ford dealer I contract for, then " Ford Aprroved" used cars, has probably ended, a quick look at the forecourt will tell you. Fiesta was dropped because the cost of production in Germany resulted in a small profit margin. Puma and Ecosport come from lower cost eastern European countries.
It was the simple choice to the company to drop Fiesta, especially as Ford & indeed most of the industry have decided we all want SUV type vehicles, which is another thing to discuss. A few short years ago it was people carriers 'are the future'. ! Remember B-Max, C-Max, Grand C-Max, S-Max and Galaxy ?
A lot of decisions and directions are set by planners, certainly not customer demand.
To clarify, the new Transit Custom will also be badged as Volkswagen Transporter for VW, not the other way around. In the same way the new VW Amorok is a Ranger.
The new Transit Courier is a Ford, but the new Transit Connect is a VW Caddy.
A big problem with buying a Ford is the customer service once you have, the service/warranty side is a different company, though outwardly, it looks in house.There is a conflict of interests, that the selling agent cannot win, basically, once you buy, they wash their hands of you. Their hands are tied.
We had a little dig into the first " new" Connect Tourneo that arrived, everywhere we looked there were VW part numbers, the only thing " Ford" were the decals. Even the over mats were VW labelled.
The Hybrid Kuga, is a Toyota hybrid system, could be true of others in the range. Probably is.
The rush to meet emmission standards, with smaller, so called, " efficient " engines, and being very slow to correct issues with them, has been a massive fail. That is down to poor planning, design, and testing.
Is there a FORD engine that has not had major issues in recent years? Except maybe the big V8?
If you wanted to wring 125bhp from a 1 litre engine, it was called a " Race Engine" and did not come with a warranty.
Ford’s Explorer EV (based on VW ID.4) is open for orders, starting at £45,875 https://www.ford.co.uk/shop/buy-online/build-your-...
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