I hear this more and more often from people, that the logical progression of events is for Ford to be bought by another company. And I saw someone mention it here, too. I'm just wondering if you think that might be a good thing? I think it can only happen in the distant, distant future when most of us are no longer here.
16 replies (most recent on top)
DieHard FTW
Possible suitors for Ford include Kmart or Sears. DieHard battery packs in the F-150 Lightning would be a brilliant marketing strategy.
@3vup+1eMtzFon Maybe not the "whole" Ford, but the trucking side of the business can be tempting for a handful of companies. I believe that Chinese companies would be interested in acquiring Ford just to put a known nameplate to their cars in NA.
What credible auto maker would want the train wreck that is Ford?
Poster hit the nail on the head. Ford is cooking its F150 golden goose in an EV air fryer.
@2qtv+1eMtzFon Is spot on
Another issue is Ford still thinks it is the king and can dictate to other companies. While VW makes sense on paper. When each side showed the other what was behind the curtain in the merger exploration, VW backed away. It didn’t help that Ford tried to be the king instead of equal partners in the exploration meetings. VW was not charmed.
Ford has gotten to the point where it must buy innovation from other companies. Safety and luxury features from Volvo; sportiness, youthfulness and reliability from Mazda; and so on. The problem is once Ford blue-washes what they bought, it holds only a faint glimmer of the original. Look at Mazda quality and safety ratings after splitting with Ford - top marks, versus Ford and Lincoln’s poor marks.
@2jxs+1eMtzFon I would think that most of the people saying Ford is going to be bought by another company, say it not based on the willingness of Bill Ford to sell, but on the impending disaster that the company is facing.
At this moment, Ford is a MEME stock, and is riding the high. However, we know that market's favor is fleeting. Also we know the clusterfuck going on inside Ford and we know that competition is heating up.
The company have been losing market share for years. Quality is down the drain, and the new EVs look like an amateur attempt. On top of that, BF is alienating the salaried NA work force (which used to buy Ford vehicles) with vaxx, wokism and outsourcing. These moves don't inspire trust in management.
At the same time, Ford is trying to become what it is not (Tech/Data company), is trying to eliminate the golden goose (ICE trucks) to double down in EVs (EVs have their own issues, one of them being accepted by less than 5% of the population) and if before management didn't have a clue, now they are panicking.
Sooner or later, all the chickens will come home to roost, Ford is going to be in dire situation and Bill Ford will face the alternatives of closing the company for good or sell it.
Bill Ford was asked if would sell the company in a Townhall a few years back. He said no, then said let me re-iterate, "he-l no".
If the other members of the family wanted to sell, Bill and Elena would find the money to buy them out. This was the case during 2008 and the family members decided to stick it out.
@1jql+1eMtzFon
"So where does that leave those of us that haul and tow? I'm guessing that it will be longer than that for real trucks. Not these grocery getter eTrucks everyone is rushing to market."
Well, you are not half wrong - GM had already announced their goal to be all BEV by 2035, and they just announced this week the last vehicles/name plates to be worked over the BEV treatment will be their 2500/3500 HD pickups. Ford likely already has a similar plan.
As to your 'need' to tow and haul - hhahahahhahahahah! That really made me laugh, thanks! Seriously - do you think the people pushing the green agenda really care about anyone's real needs regarding anything? You want evidence - go ask the people in Texas last year impacted by that ice storm when the windmills and solar panels stopped working, some who literally froze to death.....that should be all the proof you need. They are the 1 %, we are the 99%, and they don't care about the 99%. Question is, what is anyone really going to do about it?
"it will be just bodies on maybe two different skateboards battery packs."
So where does that leave those of us that haul and tow? I'm guessing that it will be longer than that for real trucks. Not these grocery getter eTrucks everyone is rushing to market.
Depends on what you mean by ‘sold’. Ford as a brand - yes, lots of value. Think Mustang, F- series trucks, Bronco, Explorer nameplates.
Ford as a company, as in manufacturing plants, people, etc. Nope.
Reason is simple - high legacy costs, but more importantly in 10 to 20 years when we are all electric, it will be just bodies on maybe two different skateboards battery packs. This will mean only two to three manufacturers making stuff - all part of the deindustrial plan in place already.
Ford family will not have a choice, as the winners will be chosen without their vote. They really could care less anyway in all reality, as they are already taken care of in many ways.
Ford is already owned by Tesla! Everything Ford does is because Tesla already did it. Bleeping posers.
The Ford Family would never sell or merge.
Possibly VW could. They have their own car biz (which we no longer have) but they need truck biz (which we still somewhat do correctly).
But I advise VW to make up their mind on buying Ford quickly. Because the longer they wait, the worse Ford will get and cross over to being a burden rather than an asset. (its that "everything woke eventually turns to ship" adage.
Nobody wants Ford. They’ve tried. Poor quality manufacturing, high cost UAW, more salaried (friends and family plan) employees than any other vehicle manufacturer. I used to hope Apple or Tesla might be interested in some of the factories, but that isn’t going to happen.
Not sure. But they should definitely sell the Lions.