Ford putting SVT on hold until 2005-2006
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Wannabe yuppie
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From: Madison, WI
Ford putting SVT on hold until 2005-2006
Ford Division, planning to take the SVT performance brand to a more premium position, will drop the SVT Focus after the 2004 model year, the company says.
Dropping the car is part of an overhaul of the SVT lineup. No SVT models, including the SVT F-150 Lightning and the SVT Mustang Cobra, will be produced for about 18 months starting in the spring.
Ford will still sell a performance Focus, called the Focus ST, a four-door sedan. That car will debut in the 2005 model year.
http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...._code=04276850
Dropping the car is part of an overhaul of the SVT lineup. No SVT models, including the SVT F-150 Lightning and the SVT Mustang Cobra, will be produced for about 18 months starting in the spring.
Ford will still sell a performance Focus, called the Focus ST, a four-door sedan. That car will debut in the 2005 model year.
http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...._code=04276850
Toyota Racing = Cheaters
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,536
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Originally posted by AcuraFanatic
Not exactly sure why they're doing this...
Not exactly sure why they're doing this...
Toyota Racing = Cheaters
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,536
Likes: 0
Something very interesting:
:eek3:
SEMA 2003: Ford set to spend more money on performance vehicles
LAS VEGAS - Ford Motor Co. will spend more money on performance vehicles as part of its effort to create a slew of products, the heart of Ford's revival plan.
"For the next three to four years, we will invest more in SVT than we've ever invested before," said Phil Martens, Ford's group vice president for product development, at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show here.
Martens would not say how much money is being spent on the performance vehicles, or how much the budget for such vehicles has increased.
Ford's competitors also are putting more money into developing high-performance versions of their cars and trucks to woo enthusiasts and cast a halo over the rest of their lineups. Within the last year, General Motors and the Chrysler group have created units to develop high-performance variants. Import-brand automakers also are touting high-performance vehicles and parts.
Ford's Special Vehicle Team, or SVT, is the engineering unit that develops high-performance versions of Ford Division cars and trucks. It is one of three groups under the Ford Performance Group, created this year, to coordinate high-performance vehicles, parts and accessories for the automaker's various divisions.
SVT is putting the money toward next-generation high-performance versions of the redesigned F-150 pickup, which is badged the SVT Lightning, and the SVT Mustang Cobra, said John Coletti, head of SVT. The current SVT portfolio includes a high-performance Focus.
Ford's current SVT stable includes the SVT Focus, Mustang SVT Cobra and the SVT Lightning.
The introduction of the new SVT Lightning is expected in one year. The new SVT Mustang Cobra will follow the introduction of the redesigned 2005 Mustang within a year of its fall 2004 debut.
Money also is being spent on SVT versions of other vehicles in the product pipeline, Coletti said. "You also have to do more with each new generation of a product to keep it ahead of the pack," he added.
Coletti would not identify which products his group is working on, "but I like the idea of doing a sport wagon," he said. "It's a nice way to get more utility in a vehicle with carlike features."
Ford's future product plans include the Futura and Five Hundred sedans and Freestyle sport wagon.
The 2006 Futura will be one of about 10 Ford Motor vehicles to be based on the platform used for the Mazda6. One reason that Ford chose the Mazda6 as the base for many of its future products is that the platform can be equipped with all-wheel drive, Martens said. "Over time, John's group can take advantage of that," he said.
Martens said he thinks awd will become more popular with U.S. consumers in the future as a performance feature - valued either for its ability to improve traction or driving performance.
Martens said he expects the technology to be available on the Futura as well as the 2005-model Five Hundred and Freestyle.
Ford crates up big-bang V-8s
LAS VEGAS -- Ford Motor Co. is ready to sell a 420-hp, 5.0-liter V-8 engine to performance enthusiasts. The price: $14,995.
The 5.0-liter Cammer engine comes with the engine controller and wiring harness to make it easy to install in custom vehicles, said Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technologies. The engine uses the basic design of the automaker's 4.6-liter, overhead-cam V-8.
Ford highlighted the engine in a Ford Focus that had been converted to rear-wheel drive. Davis said that next year Ford plans to sell a rear-drive conversion kit for the Focus, with an expected cost of about $5,000.
Ford has developed two other variations of the Cammer engine. One replaces the fuel-injection system with four two-barrel Weber carburetors, and the other adds a supercharger to boost engine output to 600 hp. Those engines will be available next year, Davis said.
http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...._code=06906182
LAS VEGAS - Ford Motor Co. will spend more money on performance vehicles as part of its effort to create a slew of products, the heart of Ford's revival plan.
"For the next three to four years, we will invest more in SVT than we've ever invested before," said Phil Martens, Ford's group vice president for product development, at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show here.
Martens would not say how much money is being spent on the performance vehicles, or how much the budget for such vehicles has increased.
Ford's competitors also are putting more money into developing high-performance versions of their cars and trucks to woo enthusiasts and cast a halo over the rest of their lineups. Within the last year, General Motors and the Chrysler group have created units to develop high-performance variants. Import-brand automakers also are touting high-performance vehicles and parts.
Ford's Special Vehicle Team, or SVT, is the engineering unit that develops high-performance versions of Ford Division cars and trucks. It is one of three groups under the Ford Performance Group, created this year, to coordinate high-performance vehicles, parts and accessories for the automaker's various divisions.
SVT is putting the money toward next-generation high-performance versions of the redesigned F-150 pickup, which is badged the SVT Lightning, and the SVT Mustang Cobra, said John Coletti, head of SVT. The current SVT portfolio includes a high-performance Focus.
Ford's current SVT stable includes the SVT Focus, Mustang SVT Cobra and the SVT Lightning.
The introduction of the new SVT Lightning is expected in one year. The new SVT Mustang Cobra will follow the introduction of the redesigned 2005 Mustang within a year of its fall 2004 debut.
Money also is being spent on SVT versions of other vehicles in the product pipeline, Coletti said. "You also have to do more with each new generation of a product to keep it ahead of the pack," he added.
Coletti would not identify which products his group is working on, "but I like the idea of doing a sport wagon," he said. "It's a nice way to get more utility in a vehicle with carlike features."
Ford's future product plans include the Futura and Five Hundred sedans and Freestyle sport wagon.
The 2006 Futura will be one of about 10 Ford Motor vehicles to be based on the platform used for the Mazda6. One reason that Ford chose the Mazda6 as the base for many of its future products is that the platform can be equipped with all-wheel drive, Martens said. "Over time, John's group can take advantage of that," he said.
Martens said he thinks awd will become more popular with U.S. consumers in the future as a performance feature - valued either for its ability to improve traction or driving performance.
Martens said he expects the technology to be available on the Futura as well as the 2005-model Five Hundred and Freestyle.
Ford crates up big-bang V-8s
LAS VEGAS -- Ford Motor Co. is ready to sell a 420-hp, 5.0-liter V-8 engine to performance enthusiasts. The price: $14,995.
The 5.0-liter Cammer engine comes with the engine controller and wiring harness to make it easy to install in custom vehicles, said Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technologies. The engine uses the basic design of the automaker's 4.6-liter, overhead-cam V-8.
Ford highlighted the engine in a Ford Focus that had been converted to rear-wheel drive. Davis said that next year Ford plans to sell a rear-drive conversion kit for the Focus, with an expected cost of about $5,000.
Ford has developed two other variations of the Cammer engine. One replaces the fuel-injection system with four two-barrel Weber carburetors, and the other adds a supercharger to boost engine output to 600 hp. Those engines will be available next year, Davis said.
http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...._code=06906182
A little chin music
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,655
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From: Cleveland, Ohio - Rock 'n Roll capitol of the World
Very questionable move by Ford..... why would they put on hold the only segment of cars they offer that can even hold a candle to great cars while GM turning a new leaf as we speak? This is going to set Ford back, so when they bring SVT back it better blow everyone's minds.
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Wannabe yuppie
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From: Madison, WI
Ford has a bunch of new products coming out in more mainstream segments than what GM is doing well in for the moment. Right now people like us like Cadillac, the new 'vette and the GTO. But would anybody here ever consider buying a mainstream GM product other than maybe a truck? I doubt it.
Ford on other hand is coming out with some good cars in bread-n-butter segments. They have appropriated the Mazda6 platform as the basis for pretty much all of their next generation mid sized fwd and awd products--I read somewhere that they have 10 models world wide in the pipeline on this platform. There's the Ford Futura/Mercury Montego sedans, Ford 500 (I think maybe this one is maybe rwd to go against the Chrysler 300C...not sure though because it might be a bigger version of the same platform with awd too), and a sport wagon called the Ford Freestyle which is going to have a Mercury and possibly a Lincoln variant. All of these are coming out for 2005. They also have a new 3.5 liter DOHC 24-valve V6 in the works with output right now at a hypothetical 245 hp.
I do like what GM and to a lesser extent Chrysler are doing with their premium models but I'm not sure if the top-down approach is the way to go. I also don't think Joe Schmoe consumer after seeing a GTO willl want to buy a Sunfire. Ford is starting out with actual good cars in large market segments and then once they establish themselves as capable of building stuff that can compare favorably against Accords and Camrys they can bring out the halo models.
Ford on other hand is coming out with some good cars in bread-n-butter segments. They have appropriated the Mazda6 platform as the basis for pretty much all of their next generation mid sized fwd and awd products--I read somewhere that they have 10 models world wide in the pipeline on this platform. There's the Ford Futura/Mercury Montego sedans, Ford 500 (I think maybe this one is maybe rwd to go against the Chrysler 300C...not sure though because it might be a bigger version of the same platform with awd too), and a sport wagon called the Ford Freestyle which is going to have a Mercury and possibly a Lincoln variant. All of these are coming out for 2005. They also have a new 3.5 liter DOHC 24-valve V6 in the works with output right now at a hypothetical 245 hp.
I do like what GM and to a lesser extent Chrysler are doing with their premium models but I'm not sure if the top-down approach is the way to go. I also don't think Joe Schmoe consumer after seeing a GTO willl want to buy a Sunfire. Ford is starting out with actual good cars in large market segments and then once they establish themselves as capable of building stuff that can compare favorably against Accords and Camrys they can bring out the halo models.
A little chin music
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,655
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From: Cleveland, Ohio - Rock 'n Roll capitol of the World
That's a good point. I would like to see GM get to work on their mainstream as well, although they do have the new Malibu which I've been reading and hearing some good things about. If Ford focuses on the cars that sell (no pun intent) they are still in need of character. I guess for the time being your enthusiasts will head to GM and your soccer Moms will head to Ford.
