Unless you've been living under a rock, you know Ford and GM are having a rough time. Granted, these are big (more like huge) companies with tremendous resources at their disposal, but things are looking serious. I don't normally worry too much about business affairs or financial issues, but what's happening now could greatly affect what types of vehicles we get down the road or what types of option packages are available right now. Of the two companies, Ford is probably having a tougher going. F-150 sales have recently fallen considerably and for the first time in close to 15 years, at this point in the year the Ford Explorer isn't the best-selling SUV in North America. Last month, the Toyota RAV4 sold more than any other SUV or crossover, with Honda CR-V and Pilot running close behind. Things are changing, and not in a good way.
The word on the street is that Ford is looking for a partner, a big car company to help shoulder some of the mounting debt and plant capacity (actually overcapacity) issues. Practically speaking, this would mean the type of relationship where vehicle platforms could be shared to limit engineering costs as much as possible. Sounds logical, but what this really means, as it directly relates to pickup and SUV choices down the road, is that we may get watered-down versions of our favorite autos. Does this have to happen? The short answer is no, but it could.
Seems to me DaimlerChrysler (our own real-world example of what a "partnership" can look like) has taken its sweet time in producing any measurable results in product and quality. Clearly, the Germans understand the Jeep brand is strong, and Jeep guys know what they're doing (the possible exception being the Compass). Likewise, the Dodge brand seems to be flourishing. The Charger, Magnum, Nitro, and Ram pickups are strong players in their respective categories. However, the union has taken a toll on Mercedes-Benz, with some of its products suffering unusual quality problems in the several years since the merger. But the second-generation SUVs like the ML and new GL show that Mercedes may be back on track from an engineering and quality-control point of view. So it seems successful mergers are possible; it just takes a lot of time.
Although this isn't much more than a hunch, whoever the partner is for Ford (Nissan, Hyundai, bankers), the truck end of the company will be all right. We've spent quite a bit of time with Super Duty chief engineer Pete Reyes and his team to know there are some good truck guys in that group ready to go to the wall to keep payload, GVWR, and towing numbers where they should be. And this new model is no exception, the Super Duty F-450 is going to stir things up in a segment where buyers can't get enough of the monster towing machines. The King Ranch version we saw will make long-distance hauling as comfortable as a drive across town.
Likewise, the new Expedition and Expedition EL look strong and well executed. Chief Ford Truck Guy (not his real title) Frank Davis and his team worked wonders on the last redesign of the F-150 (our 2004 Truck of the Year winner), current Gen-III Expedition, and all-new Expedition EL. In fact, we'll have the long-wheelbase Expedition EL pitted against the all-new Chevy Suburban in our next issue. We thought an epic battle like this one, where Ford finally has a direct competitor with the long-time full-size champion Suburban, would be appropriate for our 10th Anniversary issue. (You can also look forward to our 2007 Sport/Utility of the Year Award, where 22 vehicles compete for the crown.)
The third member of the Dynamic Trio at Ford Truck is Harry Rawlins. You saw some of his work in our last issue in the form of a lightly modified 4x4 F-250 Super Duty making short work of just about every trail Utah had to offer. Harry, mainly stationed at Super Duty, is another guy who gives us confidence in the ability of Ford to stay on track when planning and making Ford trucks.
Of course, this all depends on their bosses being smart enough to know these folks should be allowed to play, experiment, compete, and build whatever they want. And nine times out of 10, what they want is the same thing truck guys in the real world want. That makes me optimistic, albeit just slightly; however, we've seen good ideas and products (not to mention people) devastated when well-meaning accountants and lawyers get too involved. We hope Ford will keep the right executives in power to allow the right people to build what they adore--power, payload, and performance. Lord knows they're going to get all the competition they could want, especially since Toyota's new Tundra plant is opening up in their own backyard: San Antonio, Texas. And GM isn't just standing around, either. It's got some equally impressive experts in the right places. The new Tahoe and 1500 Silverado are strong, and the Silverado/Sierra HDs are looking to be even stronger. Likewise, Dodge has its new 6.7-liter I-6 Cummins ready for the Ram HD. I think we smell a new Super Duty/Silverado HD/Ram HD road test coming up. Maybe we should get the gasoline and diesel versions of each. I love this job.