Ford to set global style for its cars

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Autonews.com


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Reuters / March 28, 2002

NEW YORK -- Ford Motor Co. plans to use the same basic styling cues for all its high-volume Ford passenger cars worldwide, its chief designer said on Thursday.

"For the first time in 40 or 50 years, Ford will have a global look for its vehicles," J Mays, Ford's vice president of vehicle design, told Reuters in an interview.

Ford's car design "is perfect in Europe, perfect in Australia and in the next two years it will be perfect in the United States," he said.

Mays said Ford will take the look of its newest European models -- including the Mondeo, the Fiesta, and the Focus -- and use them as the basis for its global look. He said the cues will show up in the design of the Ford Five Hundred, a new sedan Ford will begin building in 2004.

The world's No. 2 automaker has had a mixed record in recent years in designing high-volume cars. While the Mondeo and Focus have enjoyed some success, Ford was forced to do an earlier-than-expected update of the Taurus after a redesign was rejected by U.S. consumers.

The new style won't be applied to trucks or Ford's low-volume specialty models such as the Thunderbird. But getting a consistent look throughout its flagship passenger car lineup should help Ford's standing among customers, Mays said.

"You don't want to disappoint customers by saying we're not sure of ourselves. It doesn't help to be changing all the time," said Mays, who spoke on the sidelines of the New York Auto Show.

"We can show people we have a vision, and making changes one step at a time helps build a brand people can trust."

As part of its $9 billion plan to restore profits, Ford has pledged to unveil 20 new or freshened vehicles a year across all its brands by 2005.

While many of those efforts in the next couple of years will be for updates of current models, Mays' biggest test will come next year when Ford unveils the new version of its F-Series pickups -- the best-selling vehicles in the United States and the cornerstone of Ford's profits.

Mays said the next generation F-150 pickups would use a "modular" design that allows Ford a wide variety of designs, from basic hauler to near-luxury, at minimum cost.

"It became clear to us that if we created a flexible, modular strategy ... it would allow us to appeal to different customer groups," he said. "We will be the first manufacturer with that kind of strategy."

Mays also said the Five Hundred sedan would not replace the Taurus in Ford's lineup, and that Ford was working on ways to freshen its top-selling passenger car.
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