Ford Cars Future in Question

Ford Stakes Future 2 Major Redesigns

Ford Motor Co. is now attempting to redesign the Focus small car and the Five Hundred full-sized sedan. The remodels are an important endeavor; if the designers and engineers fail the automaker could run out of money.
The company plans to unveil the cars, which should have a new look and feel but the same basic “frames and footprints,” at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. They will be in showrooms later this year as 2008 models and are looking to compete with trucks and sport utility vehicles. The popularity of trucks and sport utility vehicles poses a threat to cars being produced by Ford Motor Co., whose future will be determined by the consumer reaction.
The Focus, which first debuted in 1999 has lost its initial appeal and now seems clunky and outdated while the Five Hundred is considered underpowered and pedestrian in comparison to its competitors. The reaction to these views was market research to target the necessary changes.
In store for the Focus is a shorter, sportier look as well as the Microsoft “Sync” system which features the integration of cell phones and mp3 players into the cars electronics. In addition to changes in appearance, the Focus is also getting an internal boost. The cars acceleration time is 1.5 seconds faster and it should have a fuel efficiency of at least thirty seven miles per gallon on the highway. The five hundred is also undergoing a renovation that hopes to turn around its sales which nose dived last year, going down by approximately 24,000.
Ford Motor Company was founded by automaker Henry Ford in 1903 and has since become a multinational corporation. Ford was one of the few companies that was able to survive the Great Depression.
In 1908 the Ford Company introduced the Model T., which was some popular that an additional plant was needed in order to keep up with the demand. Just over a decade later Ford was producing fifty percent of all cars in the US. IN 1920 half of all the cars in the United States were the highly successful Model Ts.
The company is a family company and has been in continuous family control for over one hundred years.
The company has a strong history and hopefully the redesigns of the focus and the five hundred will be able to salvage their car sales and provide an equally successful future.