I'm pissed at Ford.

From 2000 through 2004 they had some kick-butt stuff out, coming, and being dreamed-up. Then the Firestone thing hit and the cop-car thing hit, and 9/11 hit, and gas prices killed the SUV market and... well, you know the story.

However, I still balk at their lack of committment to some REAL stars of the day. The Marauder should have had the Cobra engine - period. The 427 concept car could/should have been to market 2 years before the 300C. The next Lighning should have been offered for sale - it was already developed for Pete's sake. There a slew of goof-ups in the rear-view mirror.

And even this little crossover - the Faction. I just came across some old images of it today and got to thinking... It got snowed-over with other high-profile concepts (that did not make the cut either) and never got a fair shake IMO. Well, I look at the showrooms now and see oodles of vehicles that remind me of this. Especially the imports like the Kia Rondo and Sorento and the Suzuki XL-7 and Grand Vitara that have a "compact" flavor to them.

Why-the-flock didn't Ford build this?!?!
It had European components and flair, the interior is simple, yet basic, and clean, almost elegant.
This was yet another that SHOULD have been, but never was.

Ford Faction



Also, I wonder how much of this ended up finding it's way into the Edge?

Ok - Let it rip guys... let's have some opinion.

 

What is their left to say?

Focus, ranger, minivans, LS, Maruader, Lightning, all abandoned... Came this || close to throwing out the Town Car.

427, Continental, Messenger, all thrown out for the safer cheaper alternative... At least the new CEO seems to have no problem kicking *** and taking names... Otherwise i would say the deserve whatever they get.

 

As you stated, they'd rather live on the Edge.

 

Because it's ugly as hell.

 

That would have been a lot smaller than the Edge. But Ford abandoned the light truck market, look at the ranger...

I will say that the Edge and MKS or whatever is actually quite attractive in person...

 

The front end has an "I'm depressed" look to it but I don't think it's hideous overall.

 

Would the Faction have been Escape size? Maybe it was a design concept to show what the next Escape might look like. If it were Mondeo based I could see real merrit in building it.

 

My friend, you're preaching to the choir here:
http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...highlight=ford
http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...highlight=ford
http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=467913
http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...highlight=ford

I've ripped on each of the big 3 over the years.

General Motors was incomprehensibly slugglish in getting new models to market, had a approval process that was tilted against new models, and when GM did respond to a competitor's quality and design (ie: imports), they based the benchmark on what was around when development started so they ended up perpetually years behind the competition. To top it off, GM tended to "Design Clinic" their new designs to death.

Chrysler first had Daimler gutting their product pipeline while carting off Chrysler's cash reserves to Mercedes Benz and Smart with the leftovers going to bonuses to everyone at Mercedes from the CEO to the guy who swept the shop floor. Now Chrysler's problem is that they overproduced and forced dealers to deal with the problem till they revolted, combined with a drift back to cheap-garbage interior materials, lame marketing, and even worse, seems to have forgotten how to design exciting cars outside the 300 & Charger.


But Ford..... it seems like they have purposely done everything imaginable to destroy themselves. Dismantling a successful and profitable performance division, starting the luxury SUV market then letting it rot, making arguably the best handling American sports sedan (the LS) then letting it rot before killing it, turning a desing overhaul on a long running car (CV & GM) into a barely noticable touchup, and alot more self destructive stuff.... and that's just on vehicles they already had in the market!

Then, as you mentioned, all the programs they cancelled that if continued through the development process, would no doubt kept Ford profitable as these vehicles were due to come out right before and during the time the s*it hit the fan at Ford.

The entire new Lincoln lineup (all RWD) would have been in place. By now, we'd be looking at a refreshening of a Ford Ranger that was all new about 3 years ago. Thunderbird would have been back by now. We'd have a Explorer SVT, a Fusion SVT, and since the Five Hundred turned into the Taurus, instead of an SVT 500, we might be seeing the new Taurus SHO. The 427 was no doubt a Crown Vic redesign idea. Then there was the parade of Lincoln concepts that never made it to production sheetmetal.

And I'm just scratching the surface.

Ford was already ahead of GM in interior design and materials. If Ford kept up on their existing cars, and brought even a fraction of all the great ideas and programs made it to light, Ford would be in a totally different position today.

Then there's the questionable pre-Mullany management of the company. :mad

 

Maybe they need some of the old redneck "Aint Skered!" stickers and t-shirts plastered along the halls in Detroit, lol.

 

that car reminds me of the sad robot in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for some reason

 

Now that you mention it...

 

Looks like an Audi.

 

QFT

This is sad....verry sad..

 

I'll concede that the Edge is positioned in this slot now - the small SUV crossover type vehicle. And I actually kinda like the Edge - they are pretty cool in person, and they are on track to compete with the Nitro for innovation and blending of home/personal technology into the vehicle. But I have no idea how much of the Faction ended up in Edge DNA.

Here's the thing for me though - the Faction above was prototyped and tested prior to the 2003 show season!?!? The vehicle I pictured was shown at NAIAS in 2003, so we are talking 2000-2001 for conceptualization and 2002 to build/test it. That tells me that this thing could have been on dealers' lots by 2004 - WAY ahead of the current trend towards crossovers. And with anything, getting to the market early is the key. As a "stripped", no-frills, low-cost crossover, I think this little thing would have rocked. Today, it's "just another crossover".

Also, the powertrain in this proto and the proposed drivetrain for production would make a nice fit in today's fuel-conscious market. It basically had the engine that the SVT Focus had here, and was the same as the ST Focus in Europe. Very peppy, yet miserly on gas.
"It borrows its Duratec ST engine from the European Focus ST170, an uprated version of the standard 2.0-liter Focus powerplant that delivers 167 horsepower and 143 foot-pounds of torque."

Even today, I think this would sell. Just not make the impact on the market it would have 4 years ago because so many others are there now.

 

I personally don't have a problem with the grill and front appearance.
It has a flair of the Explorer Sport-Trac to it IMO.



There is no reason why they couldn't tweek it a little for production - this WAS a concept after all, but that's a minor thing overall. The main crux of the vehicle was pretty futuristic for 2001/2002 time frame, and I think it would have made waves in the market if produced.

The interior was equally impressive to me due to the simplicity and cleanliness. I think this was one of Ford's first efforts at improving their interiors, and it shows.