#here’s to hoping for another hoffman centric movie

[sammaxxing]

NEW SAW?!?!?!?!?????!!!!!

[blinkerfluidcars-blog]

Dear Ford, Don’t Forget the Drivers

Pictured above is my ‘14 Focus ST, the first (and only) new car I’ve ever purchased. 

Welcome

First of all, welcome to BlinkerFluid, and thanks for taking the time to check it out. For a long time, I’ve wanted to start some sort of car-centric social media whosamuhwhatsit, with a nice balance of substance and humor (hence the page name), and I finally took the jump. I hope you enjoy it. This first post turned out to be a mini-book, but I needed to get it off my chest after Ford’s recent announcement. After all, it’s what finally got me off my butt and up to the keyboard to write for you fine folks.

I got a bit of shock the other day when, before I’d rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, I came across a post someone shared in an ST Facebook group I joined. Ford announced that it was axing every car in its North American lineup, except for the Mustang. Of course Ford can’t kill the Mustang, and they shouldn’t. They’re axing the cars in the lineup to expand the offerings of crossovers, SUVs, and trucks. I also read that a second car would remain, or rather it would be brought to the American market from Ford’s product lineup in China. They call it the Focus Active. I understand it’s more of a mini-crossover than an actual car. Will there be an ST variant of the Focus Active for the real drivers? One that would replace the current ST? Since Ford plans to offer an Explorer ST, I’d say the chances are good. But will the car be good? It will certainly be taller, which doesn’t help when it comes to performance. Right now it’s hard to say if the car can be worthy of the ST name, but Ford has a lot of questions to answer. And seriously, an Explorer ST? Yeah, there’s a track ready driver’s car. Let’s see how many pennies we can squeeze out of this ST thing before we kill it. And here I thought autonomous cars were the closest threat to drivers’ cars.

Will the real drivers please stand up

So what do I mean by the real drivers? Well, it’s simple really...and if you’re spending your valuable time by reading this, odds are you might be one too. I believe that there are two types of drivers: Drivers and Commuters. Drivers are the glorious misfits like you and me who enjoy the sport of the drive. We get behind the wheel for the fun of the drive, not the destination. We take the long way home to get those few extra minutes on the road (or off). We relish that connection between man and machine. When we’re not behind the wheel, we think about being behind the wheel. We watch Smokey and the Bandit, and the Cannonball Run, and yet another Fastest/Furious movie. Why? Because Vroom. That’s why. And we’re a damn proud bunch.

Then there are commuters. Commuters aren’t bad people, but they just don’t get us drivers. “Why spend all that money on a car?” “Why customize a car?” Commuters climb into a car to get from point A to point B. That’s it. They drive a stock Toyota Camry with mismatched hubcaps. *Shudders thinking about hubcaps*. They drive a car like they use a washing machine. Why? Because a vehicle is really nothing more than an appliance to them. I have to give Motor Trend the credit for that comparison, having read a number of articles where they compare the Camrys/Accords of the world to being automotive appliances. Just soulless. 

What is being lost exactly...

I’m going to focus (the pun really isn’t intended) on the ST/RS vehicles. When Ford launched the Focus ST in 2013, and later the Fiesta ST, they demonstrated that they understood the drivers. A vehicle that offers ONLY a manual transmission? There’s the mark of a real driver’s car if ever there was one. YOU WILL NEVER SEE A COMMUTER DRIVE A MANUAL. EVER. And the STs were affordable. Affordability was what drove the original 1964 1/2 Mustang to such enormous success. The ST was launched at exactly the right time, too. Can you imagine if the previous generation Focus had been given the launch of the ST? That car was hideous. 

The Focus ST is a fabulous car. It’s quick, fun, and always feels like it’s ready for more action. There’s a slew of other things I love about my car. Although I can’t speak from experience, I understand the Fiesta ST is also an excellent car. The Focus RS is in another league, and it’s a highly respected track car. When Ford offered these cars, it demonstrated that it understood there was a market of drivers who were looking for sport in something other than a Mustang. I’m not targeting the Mustang in the least, but it’s influenced to fit the desires of a wide range of buyers. You see, sometimes commuters fancy themselves enjoying a sports car. Good for them. You can see that influence in the Mustang: Auto transmissions are very common, the cars are a bit hefty with some optimization for commuting, and the price tag can climb pretty quickly with the wide range of optional equipment and features. You don’t see that influence bleed over into the STs and RS. You have colors and several trim packages from which to choose and that’s about it. Why? Becuase in this market, cusomization is huge, and creature comforts and little gizmos aren’t the primary concern. That money is better spent in the aftermarket realm.

The timing for the ST/RS cars was right because then CEO Alan Mulally, the man who deserves every bit of credit he received for saving Ford, brought over the long-desired European Focus that American drivers actually wanted. His philosophy was straightforward: build the best damn car because that’s what the customers want. It involved globalizing the Ford product line and using its strengths from each geographical market to produce the best cars (and cut costs drastically). If you get the chance, I recommend reading “American Icon” by Bryce Hoffman. It’s got a slight feel of being Ford propaganda, but the company gave the author unprecedented access that revealed how close the company was to total collapse, and what it took to save it.

Let me get to the point

Ford’s recent announcement feels like they’ve forgotten Mulally’s philosophy. And their deep-rooted history in racing. Just look at the Henry Ford II/Carroll Shelby fight to defeat Ferrari in the 1960s at Le Mans (read Go Like Hell, by AJ Baime). The decision feels like an affront to those of us who would have remained loyal to the ST/RS brand. It feels like the company’s primary goal is to make money, not cars. Let me be clear: I know the company needs to make money, and take care of the stockholders, and bla bla bla. I get that. And I don’t like to brag, but I own literally tens of dollars worth of Ford stock. I’m sobbing into some Jacksons as I write this.

What bothers me is that the move to an almost entirely crossover, SUV, and truck lineup is a decision that was driven by the hoards of commuters who flock mindlessly to dealer showrooms demanding such utilitarian vehicles. But here’s the thing: Commuters are flaky. They want the trendy, shiny object, regardless of what it is, and regardless of the brand. They buy their cars like they buy paper plates. They consider them disposable. The case is not so with drivers. But we are on the losing end, because we will never be a majority in the buyers’ market.

History repeats?

What really grinds my gears about this whole ordeal is that according to one article I read, Ford is cutting billions of dollars from its engineering budget. It’s unclear whehter they’re moving the investment away from engineering, or if they’re saving that much by cutting the cars. But if they plan to add models that don’t currently exist, I don’t see how they’re going to do that without investing in the engineering budget. They must not have long memories in Ford’s boardroom, because the Big 3 nearly went extinct when the economy tanked in the late 2000s. Ford, GM, and Chrysler had been neglecting what was important (the customers) for decades, and the cars they were building (with some exceptions) reflected the lack of investment the companies made in them. They were in the money business, not the car business. 

The only reason Ford didn’t have to take a bailout was because they finally woke up and saw the disaster looming (losing billions of dollars each quarter). The other 2 had to declare bankruptcy and were actually owned by the U.S. government for a while. Part of the price that GM had to pay was killing some of its brands in an effort to cut costs. The long-neglected (and recently resurgent) Pontiac was killed and it was a damn shame. Just as the G8 was launched. And yet Buick survived. The only reason Buick survived was because it was making serious money in China, it sure as hell wasn’t making that much off of Grandma and Grandpa back here in the states. Either way, Buick was making money now, and that was the ticket to live. It didn’t matter that Pontiac had a bright future. 

In response to Ford’s recent announcement, GM says that it remains committed to cars, whatever that means. They’re all a bunch of appliances, minus the Camaro/Corvette. Good appliances, but appliances nonetheless. I'd love to see a Cruze SS, I think it could be a really great car. Dodge showed serious potential with the Dart, but killed it before it really had a chance to solidify itself in the small car market. An SRT Dart could have been killer! I love the Challengers, but like the Mustang, they're heavy, and expensive. Committed to cars or not, it seems all 3 American automakers are far more focused on building utilities and pickups. Even Mazda has moved away from its long and rich history of building driver's cars to building cars aimed at the commuter market.

I finally got to the point

Unfortunately, it appears that the bean-counting has begun again, at least at Ford. And as a true-blue Ford man, I am so disappointed in that. I’m not stupid, I know the company has to make money. A small, sad, soulless part of me almost admires how bold the move is...I just don’t like what that move is. So the big question for me is, will the Focus ST survive, when the new model arrives from Ford’s China lineup, and will it be any good? I sure hope so, but right now I’m just waiting on answers. Meanwhile, the drivers who came to Ford for the ST and RS are already eyeballing other brands for their next ride. Brands that will continue to offer true driver’s cars.

I didn’t write this inaugural post to bash Ford, by any means. I wrote it to make a point...that the drivers of the world shouldn’t be forgotten. We aren’t all racecar drivers, but driving is a sport for us, nonetheless. And that matters, plain and simple. As I develop this blog and add more writers, I plan for it to be about all things cars. Stories, photos, fun, whatever. 

Thanks for reading!