DETROIT AUTO SHOW: Finally a Busy Day For Ford- Getting Their Money's Worth From Volvo

DETROIT January 4, 2004; Justin Hyde writing for Reuters reported that after four years of neglect, Ford Motor Co. aims to boost its Ford car business with a new flagship sedan and wagon unveiled on Sunday, along with an update of its classic Mustang sports car.

Ford, which could see Toyota Motor Corp. usurp its place as the world's second-largest automaker soon, also showed off a small concept SUV that revives the Bronco name, and could go into production as a low-cost entry model.

Company executives tout the new models -- the 2005 Five Hundred sedan and the Freestyle wagon -- and the updated Mustang as a sign of the blitz of new models Ford is planning over the next few years, part of a plan to stop market-share losses to foreign automakers and boost annual U.S. sales of Ford-branded vehicles by roughly 200,000 to 3 million.

Ford plans to sell about 270,000 Freestyles and Five Hundreds a year once production ramps up from a July launch, with interior space as their main calling card. The Freestyle targets the hot market for car-based sport wagons, promising seating for seven, including a third-row seat that can comfortably handle adults.

The Five Hundred will be billed as Ford's new flagship sedan. While it's about as long as Ford's midsize Taurus, it offers more leg room than nearly all its competitors and a trunk as large as the one in a Lincoln Town Car, able to swallow eight golf bags.

Both vehicles were based off Volvo body structures, with a Volvo engineer in charge of development, and designed to get top marks in safety tests. They will be built in Ford's Chicago assembly plant in a new flexible system that allows Ford to switch volume easily between models.

On paper, the main drawback for both models is their engine -- a 200-horsepower, 3-liter V6, which has to haul up to 4,100 pounds in an all-wheel-drive Freestyle. Ford has developed a larger, more powerful V6, but it won't reach production until late 2005.

Ford has tried to blunt concerns by offering each vehicle with a six-speed automatic transmission or a high-tech continuously variable transmission that it claims maximizes the engine's power. To demonstrate its case, Ford has given journalists off-the-record test drives of preproduction vehicles, a rare step in Detroit.

But it's a weakness that consumers will note, said George Petersen, vice president of industry analysis company AutoPacific.

"For vehicles of this class and this size, they need larger engines with higher horsepower," Petersen said. "Depending on how they drive and feel, that will really have a lot to do with acceptance."

Petersen also said Ford would have to price the vehicles carefully. Ford executives have said the Five Hundred would compare favorably with a V6-powered Toyota Camry, or around $25,000.

OLD HORSES, NEW TRICKS

Petersen and other experts say the Mustang is a surer bet. Ford sells more than 130,000 Mustangs a year, and the concept unveiled last year was warmly received by pony car fans for reviving the styling cues from the late 1960s.

The original Mustang used parts from several other Fords to keep its costs low. As Ford switched to front-wheel-drive cars, the Mustang had fewer parts to borrow from, and the current model dates back to a design from 1979, an eternity in the automotive industry.

For the new Mustang, Ford took the basic parts of its Lincoln LS and Jaguar S-Type sedans and made extensive changes to lower costs, such as using a solid rear axle. Ford says it will still offer a V6-powered Mustang for under $20,000, with an optional 300-horsepower V8 available.

The Bronco concept unveiled Sunday is a two-door, rugged-looking sport utility based on the Brazilian-built Ford EcoSport. Ford executives have said the EcoSport could be brought to the United States as a competitor to the Chevrolet Aveo, a Korean-made car targeting entry-level buyers.