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REPORT: Ford Kuga could come in Lincoln, Mercury flavors, replace Escape, be built in USA
Ford Kuga - Click above for high-res image gallery
How's this for an odd twist – Ford essentially kicked off the SUV craze with its Explorer, an embiggened four-door Ranger. And man, did we go crazy. Before the cheap-gas bubble burst, slightly more than half of all passenger vehicles sold here in America were SUVs. Just below the Explorer was and is Ford's little truck (which is no longer little) the Escape. And almost ten years later, the Escape pretty much looks like a body-on-frame SUV, even though people stopped associating SUVs with mud during George W Bush's first term.
So what if the next Escape looked more like the CUV that it actually is, and less like the SUV it isn't? And what if Lincoln got a version? Mercury too, though they already have the Mariner, a rebadged Escape. Also, what if the next escape was built here, but then badged as a Kuga and sold in Europe? According to CEO Alan Mulally and some other, more chatty Ford folks, it's all more than possible.
The latter is really interesting, and shows you just how far the dollar has fallen against the Euro. And it also shows you Ford's One Ford strategy at work – wherein starting very soon, most Ford cars are going to be global in nature. Aside from essential legal parts (like standard stability control in U.S. vehicles) the cars can be sold wherever. Built wherever, too. For instance, the Ford Fiesta, which will be coming to our shores next year, is Ford's best selling car in Europe and will soon be built only in Mexico and shipped both across the border and across the Atlantic.
Back to the Kuga, the plan is to begin building the Kuga in Louisville, Kentucky in late 2011 for export to Europe. Sometime after that, the Kuga will replace the Escape and the Lincoln/Mercury editions. Moreover, this could be the start of a trend – Fords being built in the U.S. for export across the pond.
Gallery: First Drive: 2008 Ford Kuga
[Source: Automotive News sub-req]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
P.V. 7:13PM (11/02/2009)
I'm liking all of this except for the possibility of sharing among all 3 brands.
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iamhoff 8:44PM (11/02/2009)
Personally, my thought was to get the Kuga and Escape on the same platform, keep the Escape styling more or less as is (rugged, all-American, yadda yadda yadda) and bring the Kuga over pretty much as is to replace the Mariner. See my blog here: http://hereshowiwoulddoit.blogspot.com/2008/05/mercury.html. In this blog, Lincoln was envisioned as a much more upscale-oriented brand. Granted, I wrote this before the Carpocalypse, and if Lincoln and Mercury ultimately formally merge, then it would wind up in a formal Lincoln-Mercury lineup. But I agree that there should only be one version...the Kuga as a Mercury. Lincoln doesn't need another 5 passenger CUV (and it's too small to replace the MKX), and the Kuga doesn't play upscale enough. Give Mercury some unique product.
Randy 12:14AM (11/03/2009)
Why not? They won't look anything alike anymore! I think Ford is doing a good job differentiating the brands! The MKZ / Fusion and Milan look almost nothing alike! MKZ and Taurus don't look a think alike! The Navigator (ugly grill and all) and Expedition look nothing like other than the side! It's all working, I say give it a shot!
But hey, I don't think Lincoln should even have a little SUV. I think Mercury and Ford should share it! Lincoln needs a HALO car, a sports car and convertible! Like ASAP! AND SVT variants in their lineup! Like MKZ SVT and MKS SVT!
My reasoning is that Lincoln needs to get the LUXURY parts nailed down! Not the eco / small parts! Leave that to Mercury and Ford!
Clavius 7:15PM (11/02/2009)
Go go rebadging...... erm.. wait a minute? Its nice to know we'll be getting this (though I wish they'd stick to the Kuga name) but having it across all 3 brands is a bit much isnt it? I hope new sheet metal is coming with that beyond just grill treatments.
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DKB_SATX 7:47PM (11/02/2009)
Well, if they make it as hideous...er...distinctive as the MKT then few people will guess that it's the same vehicle as the Escape.
inline6 8:19PM (11/02/2009)
Maybe they'll keep the Kuga name for the Mercury version...
Autblogist! 7:18PM (11/02/2009)
Well, thanks for starting to listen 2 years later after, we have been screaming " make the Kuga a Mercury" So f*cking lame.
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Tyler 7:18PM (11/02/2009)
I'm liking this idea, but if it does go to Lincoln I'm begging Ford not to give it the grill, ugly rear lights, and odd proportions like the rest of their line-up.
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cit09 7:25PM (11/02/2009)
I like the Kuga! I hope that the other two versions will have more than just an interior and exterior styling tweak. I hope that Lincoln and Mercury does their own version uniquely there's and not just a knock off of the original.
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Matt 7:26PM (11/02/2009)
Ford...build and sell something desirable here?
It can't be!
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Matt (that likes ford) 7:31PM (11/02/2009)
Would you like me to list current desirable Ford products?
Chris 7:33PM (11/02/2009)
Can be!
It's such a good year to be a Ford fanboy :D
Matt 8:29PM (11/02/2009)
"Would you like me to list current desirable Ford products?"
Well...there is NOTHING from N/A but bland, boring appliances that are like the American version of Toyotas.
But overseas they have the Falcon, Euro Focus, Kuga, Mondeo.
There...I did your work for you.
ivanotter 2:15AM (11/03/2009)
Oh your totally right matt.
You know...
Raptor
SVT Mustang
Taurus SHO
totally, TOTALLY undesireable *sarcasm*
Matt 10:35PM (11/03/2009)
Ivan:
In that list, you have two overweight bland looking pigs...that guzzle gas...and a goofy truck with some fancy shocks and an ugly grille...that can hardly do what trucks do...WORK.
Try again.
Al 7:37PM (11/02/2009)
So, what does this mean for the Mazda variant?
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Jimbo 7:41PM (11/02/2009)
There's no need for the Tribute with the CX-7 in the lineup.
jmc8387 7:42PM (11/02/2009)
Yuck. I think the Escape looks better than this.
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KC 7:44PM (11/02/2009)
Did everything on planet Earth shrink or something?
"Just below the Explorer was and is Ford's little truck (which is no longer little) the Escape."
How is the Escape no longer little when it is exactly the same size it has been since day one of it's existence. What you think the current Escape is anything more then a previous escape with some modest changes to the sheet metal and a new dash? The escape did not grow an inch in 2008, it just got a freshened face and new tail lights.
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Paul 7:55PM (11/02/2009)
Its a really handsome CUV. Better than the Escape by far.
http://everyroadtaken.wordpress.com
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