Ford temporarily shuts down Michigan plant

In a move that makes a lot of sense considering the latest in automotive developments, Ford has shut down it's Michigan plant until August. With sales of previously popular large vehicles taking a dive and the price of raw materials going through the roof, Ford's Michigan plant currently builds the Navigator and Expedition models, both large gas guzzling SUV's.

Ford has also announced that it plans to lay off 15% of it's white collar work force and reduce overall truck and SUV production for the year. All of these moves, along with increasing small car production, are signaling a largely reactive move towards recent customer trends.

While Ford is in the process of retooling it's current plants to build small cars, the Wayne plant will remain primarily a truck plant. This is being done in anticipation of the future F-100 pickup which will be rolled out with a short development span.

2009 F-150 delayed, loses Boss engine option

With truck and SUV sales down considerably, Ford has announced that the new 2009 F-150 will be delayed, at least until the fall. Ford is already shutting down truck facctories and retooling others to build cars instead. This is no doubt due to the fact that F-150 sales are running 18% down and Focus sales are up around 35%. Apparently the real reason for the delay is the fact that so many 2008's still reside on dealer lots.

Along with this somewhat depressing news comes even more depressing news: the development of a Boss V8 for the F-150 is dead. The powerplant, which was to be a 6.2 liter, was originally designed to be an answer to the larger GM truck powerplants. This is actually the second time this program has been cancelled, last time seeing the axe in 2005.

With all of this bad news coming out of Detroit recently, there are a few good things that have spawned from the latest gas crisis. Ford has recently announced that it will base the next US Focus on the European model. This model has long been revered by American fans and has achieved an almost cult status based on it's legendary handling and solid performance.

Lots of folks have wondered for years why Ford has stuck us with the boring and horrendously ugly version of the Focus. Europe gets to have all the fun with multiple performance packages and a good solid chassis that goes along with the frugal gas mileage. Meanwhile we get by with a reject from the Kia factory.

In other related depressing news, automakers don't forsee a change in the trend toward smaller vehicles any time soon. Ford is talking like their shift towards building more small cars is permanent, as is the focus of American to downsize. They are hoping to top 280,000 in Focus sales, compared to 173,213 in 2007.

AmericanTrucks.com is your online retailer for Ford F150 Parts.

Will Ford bring back the SVO?

GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz recently caused quite a stir amoung muscle car fans when he suggested that the Camaro could one day sport a turbocharged four cylinder engine. Critics say this is preposterous. I say it's been done before!

The original Ford SVO, built between 1984 and 1986 has a distinct cult following to this day. It was powered by a 2.3L four cylinder turbocharged/intercooled fuel injected engine and was designed by Ford to be a "driver's car." The car featured many specs and unique styling attributes that make it drastically different from your average GT, but with similar performance with half the cylinders.

Some of it's unique features included:

WC T-5 manual transmission with unique gear ratios
7.5" 3.73 ratio Traction Lok axle (1984 models had a 3.45 ratio)
Hurst shifter
Functional hood scoop
Functional air dam with integrated fog lamps
"European" grill-less front end
Unique headlight arrangement
Unique tail lights (later used on the 1993 Mustang Cobra)
Functional biplane spoiler
Flares ("spats") in front of rear wheels
Unique sail panels
Wider track than a standard Mustang
Improved suspension geometry
Koni adjustable shocks
Large 4 wheel disc brakes
16x7" 5-lug aluminum wheels
Goodyear Gatorback tires (NCT tires on 1984 models)
Unique charcoal trim interior
8000 RPM tachometer and "illegal" 140 MPH speedometer
"Recaro style" seats
Suede-effect dash panels
Leather trimmed controls
Repositioned pedals to facilitate heel-and-toe shifting
Dead pedal for driver stability during high speed cornering
Fuel octane switch to modify boost level and fuel map
All power and convenience options standard

Unfortunately the SVO missed it's sales target of 10,000 cars per year, selling only 9,844 in it's entire production run. This was due in large part to it's $6000 price premium over a standard GT.

Naturally after Lutz's comments and Ford's announcement that it may build an Ecoboost V6 turbocharged Mustang there is a lot of speculation that Ford could bring back the SVO. I say this is a great idea.

Original SVO's have developed a rabid following. There are numerous websites and registries dedicated to the four banger. The engine itself lends well to power increases and many applications can easily see 400-600 horsepower. One has to believe that, if produced, the car would lend itself well to those who currently own one or want to own one. Ford just has to follow the original formula but have it priced similarly to below the cost of a new GT.

Another thing to consider is the current generation of "boy racers" who have grown up on 4 cylinder tuning. This would appeal to them as well, except for the fact that they have a penchance towards import models. These views are being softened, however, in light of the popularity of drifting and the fact that Amercian cars perform well in this sport.

So my message to Ford is, just build it!