It's no secret that Ford is not doing well at selling its cars lately. With the decline of pickup sales due to high gas prices, long in the tooth model refreshing, and quality issues that seem to repeatedly plague the manufacture, it's a wonder they still have hope that a bright light even exist at the end of the sales tunnel. The fact is, I believe Ford has forgotten how to design desirable vehicles for the American public.Ford seems to be putting out models that would have look great 5 years ago, but are behind the design trends of its competitors. On top of that, it seems that the philosophy of "Jack the Nife" former president Jack Nasser still lives on in cost cutting. If you going to cut cost, don't do it with visible tactile pieces that are obvious to the most uninformed buyer.
GM figured it out 2 years ago that by capitalizing on its well designed cars from its foreign divisions it could turn itself around. Ford still can't seem to get its act together. Even more embarassing, is that other brands under its umbrella, Mazda and Volvo, to name a couple, are designing and engineering better cars. I don't understand what cloud its executives have their heads above.
I have compiled 4 things that Ford could change in design that would at least help point them in a new direction.
- C-pillar Quarter Windows: Delete those Quarter Windows in the C-pillar that you've
tacked on almost every car design over the last 20 years.
- Slab-Sided Designs: More creative shillouets to the slab-sided 3-box designs of their recent cars: Taurus, Fusion, and MKX.
- Corporate Radio: I think this is one of the most telling piece of evidence that Ford is out of step with other mainstream automakers. Their corporate radio uses tiny buttons and a dated display instead of the more erogonmic and easy to use knobs that are the current trend. Also, don't use the same corporate radio in your entry-level cars as in your upmarket luxury brands.
- Modern Interiors: The title says it all.
-A. Carter
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