Ten years ago, Volkswagen and Toyota competed for the world's first sales volume, followed by Ford, which has deep roots. At that time, Ford still maintained its hegemonic position in North America, and the outstanding performance of several generations of Fox in Europe gradually opened a breakthrough, and the Southeast Asian and Latin American markets were not very active, but still maintained the face of a big factory. Sales in the Chinese market are not the top, but they definitely start with the First Group. Ten years later, Ford still maintains its own rhythm, but such a slow development and replacement of new products is now incompatible with China's fast-growing emerging market.
"Well, look at your posture this article is a tome?" Colleague Xiao Zeng looked at my screen and scanned a few lines and couldn't help but marvel.
"No, it's just a little touching to see that the new model has changed a lot," I glanced at him, and my thoughts were still stuck on the manuscript.
"This kind of American brand is still written by you who are American fans, haha"
"Make no mistake, I'm a fan of American cars, but I'm not a Fan of Ford"
"Makes a difference?"
"The difference is great."
To be honest, I've never really been a Ford fan, maybe I'd put the Ford Mustang Mustang on my wish list, and I also like the very classic Ford Victoria Crown, but the brand doesn't count as a reason for me to like American cars. American cars, like the so-called JDM, are no longer in their highlight moments. What really makes American fans yearn for is the American car of the 70s, the disappeared Prinmouth and Pontiac, the "all-over" seat without headrests that do not consider whipping tests, and the steering wheel and the rudder-like but classic drive lever. The Ford of that golden age was just a "big and ugly monster" in the mouth of Enzo Ferrari, and the gamble-like work of the Ford GT40 after the failure to acquire Ferrari was the most meaningful model for Ford in the entire Golden Age of American automobiles.
Today, in the face of rapid changes in consumer demand, the challenges for Ford are no better than the mess that Henry Ford II faced. Under the huge capital pressure of Wall Street, Ford has finally changed its stubborn strategy, splitting the fuel vehicle and electric vehicle businesses into independent operations, and investing more resources and energy in the research and development of electric vehicles. More importantly, Ford has changed its previous cooperation model with its partners, and partners in various regions have more say in the research and development of new products. Several notable examples are that the three-cylinder Fox is about to be equipped with a four-cylinder engine, whether it is a rumored Blue Whale power engine independently developed by Changan, which is a performance of Ford's no longer arrogant, and another example is the upcoming new model Ford Lingrui.
Since the Ford EVOS from the Ford Mustang Mach-E reverse research and development of the operation has received positive feedback from the market, Ford's performance in China seems to have opened up, and EVOS with the same design language of the Lingrui looks like there is no ford model's consistent sense of clumsiness, the design in the emphasis on the sense of science and technology at the same time in the details of the details are full of exquisite and sharp atmosphere, although the interior does not use the EVOS on the same ultra-wide horizontal through the large screen, But it's also easier for today's consumers to accept than the old-fashioned interior design of previous Ford models. Intelligent driver assistance systems that support cruise control, lane parallel assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, and other configurations that were previously seen on top models have also appeared in more models.
The three-cylinder 1.5T, which has been criticized by many consumers, has also disappeared, and the new car is equipped with an engine called EcoBoost170, with a 1.5-liter displacement of four-cylinder turbocharged in an inline and a maximum output of 179Ps. The transmission part is still a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. It's not unthinkable that such a powertrain would have appeared on a Ford midsize SUV before. Sales are the most real market feedback, and when Ford's consistent approach has not worked, following China's market characteristics is Ford's best choice in China. Such a lingrui is a model with real sincerity.
"However, the traditional big car companies do not seem to be in an optimistic situation now, do you think Ford will fall?" Xiao Zeng obviously did not understand the significance of American fans who did not like Ford, and diverted the topic.
"Before the economic crisis, GM was forced to reform the palace, and the result was that GM finally eased up."
"So you think Ford will be okay too?"
"At least Ford is in a much better position now than GM was then"...
Write at the end:
When Ford launched the two separate divisions of Ford Blue and Ford Model e, it was indeed a compromise to the will of capital, and the split listing also gave Ford new opportunities. At present, Ford's fuel vehicle performance is mainly supported by the anti-weather performance of the North American market Ford F150, and other market segments are miserable. Making electric vehicle research and development independent is not only to let go of the shackles, but also to give the traditional fuel vehicle sector an opportunity to be reborn. For Ford under the new strategy, Lingrui is undoubtedly a sincere answer. Higher configuration, in line with the national dynamics, 158,800 yuan to 188,800 yuan pre-sale price, at least this time Ford is no longer arrogant.