Autoblog

For reasons that everyone is aware of, American carmakers have been shutting down and idling plants that make trucks and SUVs. According to AutoSavant, however, Ford is not going to simply shutter plants, it is going to retool some of them to build its Euro-market cars for the American market.

If this is true, we're so giddy we don't even want to paraphrase it, so we'll just quote directly: "Our sources at Ford say that Mr. Mulally has already made the decision to convert at least three truck/SUV production facilities in North America as soon as possible to produce Ford models currently sold in Europe.... The timeline Mulally prefers, according to insiders, is 'yesterday'."

The reasoning is ostensibly that with the American market going to more frugal cars, it's time for Ford to start spending the money to provide them -- even though cash is tight right now. What might make the leap across the water? The Euro Focus, the Focus Coupe, and the C-Max (pictured) are candidates. The Mondeo is, supposedly, not. But it's a start, hey? It only took spiraling gas prices and plummeting truck sales to get us what we have been begging for. If we had known, we'd have done it sooner. Thanks for the tip, Daniel!

[Source: AutoSavant]

One of the intrepid editors at Motor Trend snapped off a few shots of a manufacturer plate-equipped Ford S-Max making the rounds in Los Angeles. Yes, it is the exact same S-Max that Autoblog reader Ku Kim snapped back in late July. So, what does this mean? Currently: nothing. But we do know that Ford CEO Alan Mulally is hot on bringing some Euro-only models here to the States as a way to spread development costs. And a few of us around the Autoblog offices have maintained for a while that the S-Max would be a prime candidate for a people-mover revival here at home. We've even been told that it's an entertain steer, something that the Freestar could never be accused of.

[Source: Motor Trend]

Alert Autoblog reader, Ku Kim, spotted an odd-looking van in Los Angeles traffic. With his always-handy mobile phone, he snapped a couple of pictures of Ford's new S-Max.

But wait, you say, that's not supposed to be here! You're right. The S-Max is Ford's middle-tier European minivan, uh sorry, MPV. (The C-Max is positioned below it, while the Galaxy is the big MPV above it in the heirarchy.)

Could this lone, white S-Max prowling California streets be validation of our January import prediction? With its 5+2 seating, sportier feel and modern lines, the S-Max might be able to carve some sales out of the MPV segment here, but will have stiff competition from the increasingly more CUVs offered by almost every carmaker, including Ford.

Hopefully, this really is an indication of Ford's intention to bring its (at least perceived) superior European offerings across the pond.

Then again, it could be nothing more than a photo shoot in trendy L.A.

Thanks for the tip and photos, Ku Kim!

If Martin Smith – the designer of the new Mondeo and S-Max – has his way, the next Ford Focus in Europe will be drawing heavily from the styling of its upmarket siblings.

While we're stuck with the new Focus coupe that was unveiled earlier this year, European consumers will be getting a thoroughly reworked version of Ford's compact sedan. In addition to the Iosis-inspired sheetmetal, those lucky blokes across the pond will also benefit from a freshly styled interior, complete with a cabin control system inspired by the Human Machine Interface in the Mondeo.

If AutoExpress' crystal ball is to be believed, the new Focus may debut at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, with sales likely to begin sometime in 2008. If this particular five-door does become available, the hue and cry from those of us in the States will be heard yet again, and summarily dismissed by FoMoCo execs.

[Source: AutoExpress]

The first Mondeo has made its way down the production line at Ford's production line in Genk, Belgium. The Genk plant has undergone a big upgrade and is one of the most flexible in Ford's production arsenal. The plant was already building S-Max and Galaxy vehicles, and now with the Mondeo added to the mix, there are five different body styles being turned out at a maximum rate of 1,200 cars per day. Keeping it interesting for the workers, the different body styles can come down the line in any order, as well. It looks like Ford's investment of over 700 million Euro will be paying off as they ramp up full production on their lauded European offerings. While 98 percent of the Genk plant's output will be for export, the United States is not one of the 60 countries these cars are headed. A shame, as we really dig the Euro Fords.

Press release after the jump

[Source: Ford]

As previously reported, Ford intends to begin sharing both platforms and vehicles, originally developed for Europe, with the U.S. We've already been informed that the Transit Connect, a small commercial vehicle, is headed our way, but during an interview with Automotive News, FoMoCo CEO Alan Mulally hinted at the prospect of bringing over the Mondeo sedan and S-Max people mover.

Both you and most of the Autoblog staff have been smitten by the Mondeo's style, but the question remains: where will it fit in? The sedan would directly compete with the Ford Fusion, so the possibility of moving the Mondeo up market and slapping a Mercury badge on it is one possibility.

As for the S-Max: most will agree that the people mover segment is in desperate need of a makeover. While minivan sales remain stagnant and consumers move on from the SUV-craze, there would seem to be a market for a nicely designed, well-equipped vehicle that can hold the kids and the prerequisite soccer supplies.

If and when all this would come to fruition is up in the air, but if Ford decided to make this kind of move, we wouldn't expect much before 2009.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Ford has begun running a pilot program in Germany and Switzerland that would allow buyers to customize their rides in ways currently unavailable to customers in Europe.

The program, imaginatively called "Ford Individual", is similar to the packages available through Volkswagen and BMW, and will consist of a few distinctly different styling directions.

One is entitled the "Sporty Line" that's primary focus will be more on modern-looking additions, like exterior styling bits, wheels and interior accoutrements. The "Luxury Line" will allow buyers to add leather and wood grain, while the "Hitec Line" consists of in-car entertainment packages, rear-view cameras and other techy tidbits.

Initially the only vehicle that will benefit from these additions is the Ford S-Max, however, demand may allow Ford to broaden the vehicles available for customization.

[Source: Motor Authority]

A Ford spokesperson has told auto industry trade paper Just-Auto that the U.S. automaker is "eyeing Ford Europe products" but that no decisions have been made to import any of those models to the U.S. market. Motor Authority, which has a subscription to the trade news site, states the article particularly mentions the Mondeo, Focus, S-Max and Galaxy as possible imports for Ford's North American division. Many of us have waited for news like this a long time, and if Ford's turnaround is truly product driven then its competitive wares across the pond could be the jump start its recovery needs.

Not to spoil the speculative fun, but we have to mention that Ford's current line up is chock full of product except at the low end where a Fiesta or Festiva might do the most good, neither of which were mentioned in the Just-Auto article. As great a car as the Mondeo supposedly is, we're finding day after day how good the Fusion is, as well. The S-Max and Galaxy, both people movers, would enter a showroom already crowded with the Freestyle, Edge and upcoming Fairlane. The European Focus... well, that's a no-brainer. The current U.S.-spec Focus is old and due for a replacement, and Focus fans have been patiently awaiting the C1-based Focus car's arrival for some time now.

As much as Ford fans and even analysts might think it's a good idea to start importing models from the company's European arm, the Blue Oval must choose wisely which cars it wants to bring over. The North American lineup is full in some places and lean in others, so hopefully Ford can find appropriate places for these Euro models to fit.

[Source: Just-Auto: sub. required via MotorAuthority]

Ford Motor Company can use all of the good news it can garner these days. On the heels of the positive announcements regarding the Fusion and Milan quality, a panel of 58 automotive journalists from 22 European countries voted the Ford S-MAX the 2007 European Car of the Year.

The S-Max earned its crown by boxing out the Citroen C4 Picasso and Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, which were also very close in the running. The rest of the short list included the Fiat Grande Punto, Honda Civic, Skoda Roomster and Volvo C30. Not bad company to keep; even better company to beat!

Thanks for the tip Alberto B.!

[Source: Autoblog Spanish, Reuters]

Using the 'kinetic' design language introduced at Frankfurt in 2005 with the Iosis concept, Ford of Europe has just unveiled its new flagship, the Mondeo, at Paris today. The wagon is the first to be debuted, with a production launch scheduled across Europe in the second quarter of 2007. Ford of Europe considers the Mondeo a critical step forward to expanding its product portfolio, and it complements their other new vehicles, the S-MAX, Galaxy, and Focus Coupe-Cabriolet.

The new Mondeo will be built at Ford's Genk plant in Belgium along side the S-MAX and Galaxy. These vehicles all share much of the same architecture and technology, as well as assembly process, allowing the Genk plant to be more flexible in terms of vehicle production.

With GM getting serious about taking its investment in Opel and porting the European flavor into one of its brands, we wonder why we can't see more of the same from Ford. Sure, the Fusion is a nice car, but the Mondeo shown here is just phenomenal. Why not take a brand like Mercury and bring these more expensive European models over in limited numbers?

You can check out more of the photos that Eric Byrant has acquired, as well as Ford's own press release, after the jump.

[UPDATE: Swapped in some cleaner shots. Sorry 'bout the first ones, folks! - EB]