smackkk

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/200...mayendminivans

Small blurb at the end about Gm possibly exiting as well with the closing of its Doraville, Ga. plant in 08.



By Sharon Silke Carty, USA TODAY Fri Jan 20, 7:18 AM ET

In an attempt to exit unprofitable and flagging markets, Ford Motor (F) is expected to say Monday that it will get out of the minivan segment, according to two sources familiar with the plan who didn't want their names used ahead of the official announcement.
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Ford will lay out an overall restructuring plan that will include plant closures, layoffs and executive departures Monday when it announces fourth-quarter earnings.

Ford spokesman Jon Harmon would not confirm a minivan announcement, but he said the restructuring plan includes some changes in the company's product lineup.

The automaker is expected to post a profit for the year but lose money in North America. Through the first three quarters, Ford lost $1.34 billion in North America.

Ford's minivans have been weak performers in a crowded segment. Last year, Ford Freestar sales were down 25.1% from 2004, and Mercury Monterey sales were off 53.1%, according to Autodata. Freestar, formerly known as Windstar, was remodeled for the 2004 model year.

If Ford quits making minivans, "What they're essentially saying is, if you can't be No. 1 or 2 in a segment, then it's not worth being there," says David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research.

"We have to pick and choose where we want to compete," Mark Fields, Ford's executive vice president and president of the Americas, said in an interview last week. "The idea you have to be in all the segments, that's an old way of thinking."

Ford already has announced that new products will be going into the plant where it currently makes the Freestar and Monterey minivans. The company announced earlier this month that it will add the new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossover vehicles to the Oakville, Ontario, plant, starting production in October.

Ford also is considering building a vehicle similar to a Ford Fairlane concept shown at auto shows last year. That had three rows of seating but looked more like a tall station wagon than a minivan.

Crossovers are the hot new segment in the auto industry. Built on car platforms and engineered with SUV-like functionality, crossover sales hit more than 2 million last year, up from zero in 1995.

General Motors also might be thinking about leaving the minivan market. It is closing its Doraville, Ga., plant that makes its minivans sometime in 2008.

The automaker is still trying to figure out what kind of vehicle should replace them, spokesman Tom Wilkinson said. "The reality is, we're looking at a lot of alternatives for people carriers," he said.

slt

I wonder if we are going to see the same thing with the SUV market in the next 10 years. I wouldn't be surprised to see that as the SUV fad fades, the japanese will exit the market and leave it to Chevy and Ford again like it was in the 80's.

jawzforlife

Ford is also going to close its Ford Ranger plant here in Minnesota.

guionM

Any word on the replacement (delayed no fewer than 3 times already), or is Ford moving production?

Ranger (for some reason or another) is still selling well, despite being around unchanged as long as anyone can remember.

grossesexy

I do think it's a good sign for the long term survival of car manufacturers that they start pairing their product lines. There is going to be some pain, but the life of the company is more important.

Caps94ZODG

its simple buy an american car...people still just dont get it still..and we get these POS Nissan Quest monstrosities, heck the Aztek looked better than that thing.

Z28x

SUV will always be around. They were around before the 90's/00's SUV boom, and will be around after.....but there will not be as many. We are already seeing the crossover replace a lot of SUVs and minivans. For towing while carrying the family nothing beats a truck based SUV.

AlfredB18

Actually, the older Quests were Mercury Villagers with Nissan drivetrains, if that's what you are getting at. So, in a sense, being caught with one of those was helping Ford.

I think the newer ones are all Nissan product, though.

The crossover thing....killing the vans. I suppose so, but in Ford's case, no one got fooled by a refreshening of the POS Windstar. Change the displacement on paper of that POS 3.hateL v6 to 3.9L and call it a day. Whatever.