DEARBORN, MICH. — Customers are just taking delivery of the first versions of the 2009 Ford Flex and already Ford is planning an update and new styling for the made-in-Canada crossover wagon.
"We're moving much more quickly" to update designs, says Peter Horbury, Ford's North American design director, adding that design changes that used to take five years are now being squeezed to three.
While other parts of the company work at paring costs and improving manufacturing efficiency and quality, the designers and product developers at Ford are moving faster with more frequent product updates and styling changes. The days of letting Ford vehicles grow stale in the showroom are gone, says Horbury.
"The time period for one model staying on the streets will be much shorter. We have to keep it fresh."
This new product approach will result in frequent and steady launches of new models at three-year intervals.
Ford is also expanding its model range. For instance, a sedan and hatchback version of the new Fiesta small car will come in 2010.
Ford will build the hatchback and sedan at its Cuautitlan, Mexico, plant starting in early 2010 as part of a $3-billion (U.S.) investment in the country. The Fiesta will compete against fuel-thrifty models such as the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Chevrolet Aveo and Nissan Versa.
To speed up product renewals, Ford is cutting the number of platforms, engine architectures and transmissions it uses globally. Ford is also simplifying products into packages of features not unlike what Toyota and Honda do.
Another model critical to Ford's future is the next Ford Focus, which will be a European-developed vehicle, though built in Michigan. The 2011 Focus will most likely be built in Wayne, Mich., and Louisville, Ky.
The Louisville plant currently makes the Ford Explorer, which suggests there might not be much of a future for that traditional SUV.
The company, reports say, is also developing a lightweight, more fuel-efficient pickup truck to slot in below its flagship F-150. Automotive News says the new pickup, code-named P525, is being engineered on the F-150's platform. But it will be lighter and slightly smaller.
The pickup, reports say, will go on sale some time in 2011 and could serve as a replacement for the Ranger compact pickup, though the new model will be larger. The Ranger is built in Ford's Twin Cities plant in St. Paul., Minn., and that facility is scheduled to close next year.
The slimmed-down version of the F-150 would have its own styling and could be powered by a version of Ford's new V-6 EcoBoost engine, which uses turbocharging and gasoline direct injection to reduce fuel consumption while maintaining performance.
Other future Ford models include re-skinned versions of the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and the Lincoln MKZ. Ford has confirmed that 2010 versions will go into production late this year, with an early 2009 on-sale date.
The 2010 Fusion and Milan will be available in gasoline-electric hybrid versions for the first time.
Also, a restyled and re-engineered Ford Mustang is expected early next year as a 2010 model. Though unchanged in size, the next-generation Mustang will have a design that makes it look smaller than rivals such as the new Dodge Challenger and the upcoming Chevrolet Camaro.
Ford is also moving to outfit a variety of pickups, vans and SUVs with a diesel engine the company is developing. Details about the 4.4-litre, turbocharged V-8 were leaked after being revealed at a dealer show in Las Vegas.
Reports say the new diesel, closely related to the 3.6-litre turbo-diesel used in European Land Rovers and Jaguars, delivers 9 per cent more power than the 5.4-litre gasoline engine.
Ford plans to use a urea injection system to control emissions.
