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Ontario plant could be saved by 1 shift, Ford of Canada says

Associated Press

Latest comment posted at 8:01 AM EST 21/10/07

Strong demand for the Lincoln Town Car next year could justify continuation of one production shift ...Read the full article

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  1. roger price from Andorra writes: Don't wait, start looking for another job NOW...
  2. Patriots in 2007 from Toronto, Canada writes: The only people who buy Crown Vics / Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Cars are police forces and retired old men in their 80's.
  3. allenparkpete * from Canada writes: There is a strong market for them in the limousine services. The tooling at St. Thomas has been paid for a long time ago. That's why the plant makes $$$. All good things eventually come to an end.
  4. Borys Nijinski from Canada writes: Could also be saved if Ford knew how to build a well engineered, well built, fuel efficient car...imagine that if ther was NA manufacturer that makes a engineered, well built, fuel efficient car...hang on...that would be Toyota and Honda.
  5. allenparkpete * from Canada writes: Borys...Honda and Toyota are North American now. You mean you didn't get the memo? Ever hear of the United States of Toyota?

    Have some fun with this.

    www.autoextremist.com
  6. allenparkpete * from Canada writes: Poor Ford Motor Company. They scored very well according to Consumer Reports and they still get no respect.......but whatever happens to that plant it sits strategically in a very good part of the province to get access to many markets. It would not surprise me that somehow, somewhere, sometime soon Frank Stronach and his new bud, Basil Hargrove will have a sit down with Dalton Do-right and come up with some cash to put a new product or two in St. Thomas. I know the Ford folks will like that very much.
  7. E K from Canada writes: Borys Nijinski, you are totally out to lunch. Put away your pro-Japanese blinders and actually admit to the quality improvements made by Ford Motor Co. which actually puts them on par with your beloved Japanese.

    Here is a story you won't find in the Globe anytime soon.

    http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/AUTO01/710170333
  8. E K from Canada writes: allenparkpete,

    Toyota and Honda have plants in NA, however, more then half of their vehicles sold here are still made in Japan.
  9. allenparkpete * from Canada writes: Point being E K, that many of the vehicles sold as Toyota and Honda are actually designed and engineered in North America. This includes the Toyota Tundra (Ann Arbor, MI) and Honda Civic (Raymond, OH) as examples.

    I would not count out any of the Detroit automakers just yet. What surprises me is that the Globe did not pick up on two major stories concerning Chrysler that were reported elsewhere this morning. What they are doing will eventually put comments such as Boris's and others in the redundancy pile.
  10. Borys Nijinski from Canada writes: Quality of build has little to do with quality of engineering. Ford's manufacturing quality may be good, but if you engineer a technological throwback to the stone age, the best you are going to get is a well built technological throwback to the stone age. When we refer to quality, we have to differentiate between build quality and quality of engineering. You don't honestly think that any 4 cyl engine manufactured by Ford can really compete with a Honda or Toyota engine? In addition to quantitative measures such as hp/litre, emissions etc., qualitative factors need to be considered such as noise, harshness and vibration.
  11. E K from Canada writes: Borys Nijinski,

    Give me a break. Ford engineering back to the "stone age"?

    No doubt Honda builds excellent 4 bangers, but I am not arguing that the imports are not quality vehicles. Just that Ford deserves some credit and it isn't fair to apply labels that just aren't true.
  12. allenparkpete * from Canada writes: oh Lord, Boris. Ford spends more on R&D than any other car company in the world and the third most of any corporation in the world.

    look it up.
  13. bill johnson from Quebec, Canada writes: Many points above are correct....Ford spends enormously on R&D. Thus far, this spending is not evident in North American products, although the european Focus is an awesome vehicle. The Modeo sells extremely well in the UK, and offers a huge diversity of power trains (so does Focus). Why do we North Americans get the pig with a coat of pink lipstick (Focus) and no Mondeo at all? This is absolutely crazy marketing, and an inefficient use of global resources. The new pres. says this will change. Make sure the products flow from Europe here, and not vice versa. This strategy is working reasonably well for Saturn and Opel. I am impressed with Ford's improvement in quality. Keep up the good work.
  14. Borys Nijinski from Canada writes: Ford may spend a lot on R&D, but I don't see the results on the street. Honda's involvement with motor racing in the form of motorcycles and automobiles (namely F1) constitutes a lot of R&D money being spent.

    Educate me. What benefits has Ford realised with all their R&D money spent? I don't see anything ground breaking or revolutionary in their product line.

    When I used the term "stone age" that was hyperbole to illustrate a point. I didn't intend it to mean that what Ford builds is a technological throwback to the stone age (I leave that for Harley Davidson). The point I was trying to make was that even if you design a bad product and build it really well, you can claim that your quality is excellent because build quality has little to do with the quality of the design/engineering. To use hyperbole again, you can build the world's best stone wheels, but in the end all you have is a stone wheel which from an automobile design perspective is useless. A car built with the world's best built stone wheels is not a very good design.
  15. E K from Canada writes: Boris,

    Ford's products are no less revolutionary then anything coming from the import brands. Sure Toyota and Honda have more hybrid models, but what else?

    The new Edge and Taurus have 6 speed transmissions with V6 engines cranking out over 265 hp. The Fusion comes with AWD and next year a hybrid version. How is that any less modern then the competition?

    In 08 the new F150 appears, and it will crush the Toyota Tundra into oblivion.

    You give the impression that import cars use technology that doesn't even exists today. Get off your pro-import bias, and stop inferring that the domestics build vehicles that are reminisent of the Tempo/Topaz anymore.
  16. Borys Nijinski from Canada writes: EK, I see your problem. You think that a powerful V6 engine is be-all and end-all. Like I said, None of the Detroit 3 can make a decent 4 cyl engine. This is the trap they fell into in the 1970s during the oil embargo -- they could not build a fuel efficient engine. Honda makes an advanced AWD system (SH-AWD) that is revolutionary. They use noise cancelling technology the reduce the noise in the cabin of the Acura RL and TL. Honda makes engines with variable valve timing and lift control (i-VTEC). VTEC and the subsequent i-VTEC were incredibly revolutionary in that a small engine could perform like a much larger engine -- low end torque, high end power, willingness to rev, fuel efficient... The SH-AWD is revolutionary in the world of AWD whereby torque is aportioned to the left and right...not just front to back. Honda was the first to bring a hybrid to market. Low lets talk diesels...not big truck diesels, but those for passenger cars. Sure Honda doesn't have one yet, they are close...I haven't heard a thing about a Ford diesel. Re the F150 crushing the Toyota. The problem with Ford is they are hanging their hat on the success of the F150. With Toyota, the Tundra is just another vehicle in their lineup. It remains to be seen, however, that the F150 will, as you say, crush the Tundra...Toyota is afterall the largest automobile manufacturer and they did not get there by being stupid. PS: I do not own a Japanese car or truck. I would like to see the NA auto manufacturers do well, but until they get their collective heads out of thier @sses the will continue to get their collective @sses kicked.

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