Wednesday, April 03, 2019

Do you remember my mentioning that Ford might be heading toward bankruptcy?

Last week or the week before...

well, anyway, after pulling out of Brazil, and Russia, closing plants, and deciding that they won't manufacture cars that aren't called Mustang, and some unknown electric or hybrid, maybe the Fusion, I got a comment from someone (pardon my shit for brains memory, but I'm posting too much to retain water) that they are only in business in the USA while they maintain their federal mandate to keep the fleet mpg high enough to meet the CAFE standard of 30 mpg, or whatever.

So, by getting rid of all the cars they were stupid enough to make that never sold well, and never making a lot of cars that COULD compete with Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, and especially Hyundais, like, ohhhhh I dunno, a cheap small 2 door (ring a bell? 1964 Mustang, 1956 T Bird, Model A, Model T) like the many that Ford created and built an empire on (Henry Ford was worth 400 billion in todays money by selling the cheapest cars to the most people)

as I was saying before I ran my train of thought off the rails: Ford went away from making cheap 2 door cars, and now won't be making cars anymore (cept the Stang and a hybrid) and well, they have a big ol problem, they just shot themselves in the damn foot, and without that fleet of cars that get raise the average MPG to the federal minimum, how do they intend to keep their business license?

Well, here's todays news!

"Ford Motor Company’s lobbying of the Trump administration to roll back fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, popularly known as the clean car standards." 

"last April – at the request of Ford and other automakers – then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed the decision, and the Trump administration proposed a new rule that would freeze the standards at 2020 levels and revoke California’s waiver under the Clean Air Act" 

So, the fix and the remedy may already be in! Ford may have planned ahead to get the laws changed so they don't have to make a fleet of poorly planned bad decision cars no one was buying, that weren't competitive in mpg or quality, and possibly can meet the CAFE requirement of whatever they got it changed to so they can quit wasting time making undesireable cars. Maybe they have it figured out, as long as the current regime works to lower the standards, they won't have to improve their products, not make the old ones no one wanted.

Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing invested in the competition, hell, I just posted what a lack of quality Mopar is putting on dealership lots, but you can bet I want to know that SOMEONE is making a better new car with higher MPG so that if I ever buy a new car again, it will be 45 mpg or better so it won't cost as damn much for gas every week. The current 3.40 or higher per gallon is ridiculous. 

3 comments:

  1. outrageous and short sighted.

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  2. 2.58 a US gallon bargain £5.76 (7.59 US) over here and Ford plants have been closing to many cars produced world wide every day. Some diesels although disliked by government are doing 60 mpg +

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  3. Interesting info Jesse, thanks for the update. Your $3.40 a gallon is crazy yet we've seen it higher, and may see it again if the dems get control in 2020. Thus the whole reason why current admin wanted the pipe line.

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