Internal hopes for the sedan market

"winterlegacy, here 'till the end" (winterlegacy) 06/18/2018 at 15:41 • Filed to: stupid thoughts with winterlegacy

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If Ford carries through with abandoning the sedan market, anyone looking for a sedan from Ford would probably move to find another builder of sedans.

If - and this is a very big if - other automakers follow, people hunting for sedans will probably find themselves crowding to a tinier selection of sedan manufacturers, which would ironically make them more profitable in the long run simply by holding out and collecting the loyal purchasers of sedans.

CobraJoe > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 15:46

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This could happen.... but only if they make sedans worth owning.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 15:47

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You mean WHEN Ford carries through with abandoning the sedan market

Svend > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 15:52

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Other than the Ford Mondeo (Fusion to you) I don’t think they sell a saloon in the U.K., it’s all hatchbacks, liftbacks, estates and SUVs.

E90M3 > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 15:54

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I don’t see companies like BMW or Mercedes abandoning sedans. They might not sell like they once did, but they still sell in good numbers. Yeah we’ll have all the X-series X1, X2, X2.5, X3, X3.5, X3.75, X4, X5, X5.575, X6, X7, X8, X9, but we should still at least get the 3 series.

benjrblant > Svend 06/18/2018 at 15:54

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A “saloon” is a much better name for a four-door car with a boot than a “sedan.”

I’m also partial to “boot” over “trunk”, but think that there is no suitable replacement for “frunk” and “froot” just sounds bad.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > benjrblant 06/18/2018 at 15:56

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Froot? sounds familiar

punkgoose17 > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 15:56

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Agreed. This is good for every U.S. auto maker that is not Ford of Fiat-Chrysler.

Ash78, voting early and often > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 15:56

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Or they could start chopping off the entire upper backs of SUVs and crossovers, then say “This doesn’t make sense, why did anyone ever buy sedans again?”

M.T. Blake > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 16:01

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Kinda of like minivans? There are five. We bought a Toyota because well... I’m a cheapo. We can thrash it and still sell it 7 years later for a boat load.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 16:34

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Kia is launching more and more sedans right now. New Stinger (liftback really but still), new K900, New forte, Updated Optima. If people want sedans they’ll still be out there.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > benjrblant 06/18/2018 at 16:59

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“Froot” is fun. It could be where I store my loops.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > M.T. Blake 06/18/2018 at 17:03

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My wife wants an SUV. I hate SUVs. She doesn’t realize how shitty they are for carting kids around even though she believes it’s necessary. I think we should just suck it up and get a minivan because you can get inside the damned things between the front seats and the second row before putting a kid in the middle. That’s luxury, right there, especially in a place where it rains a lot.

Current effort is to keep us a two hatchback family until after they are born, then when she has suffered with it for 3-6 months, we’ll look at cars and she’ll realize that the SUVs are really no better.

M.T. Blake > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 06/18/2018 at 17:05

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Kids plural. One kid it doesn’t matter. We rented a minivan after having our second when we went on vacation to Maui. It was amazing. There is a stigma behind minivan’s that we grew up with that is just not correct. It is a stereotype. It needs to die. The minivan is a requirement for two or more children.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > M.T. Blake 06/18/2018 at 17:33

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We’ll only have one for a while, but I still think it’s the best choice. Fuel economy like a car, better handling because lower to the ground, lower lift height for loading... Wagons are also good for the same reasons, but they don’t have that interior height that makes them so nice.

My parents owned a VW Bus, which was a horrible uncomfortable thing, but I have very fond memories of trips in minivans with other people’s parents. The only thing that was better was an actual full-size van. My wife’s parents and the parents of her friends never owned one, but for some reason they have this horrible hate/stereotype associated with them. Her friend with a couple kids that is super poor (divorced, had an SUV before) and got a minivan because she couldn’t afford anything else was telling my wife and one of her pregnant friends that they’re amazing, but they are both so brainwashed by this “minivans aren’t cool” thing that they can’t/won’t believe it.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 17:48

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I wish the Legacy didn’t turn into a boat after the 4th gen.

M.T. Blake > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 06/18/2018 at 18:23

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Hardest part is getting over the ‘uncool’ mental block. Minivans transport a lot of crap relatively cheaply and provide an ease of use you can’t get with an SUV. You can get close but the ace in the pocket? Power doors. Don’t get a minivan without them. That is the biggest convenience they provide. One person can off load a lot of kids and junk with one fob operating three doors.

It’s funny how guys are pushing for the minivans now?! How did this happen...

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 18:25

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My theory is that Subaru will save the sedan segment. Subaru made their name by catering to niche markets. They’re part of the reason there’s so many AWD options available today. They did well selling AWD cars when the only other AWD options were BOF SUVs, and other marques followed suit. If things keep going the way they do, sedans will become a niche bodystyle. Subaru will keep making them, buyers will flock to them, and other automakers will get jelly and start offering sedans again.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > M.T. Blake 06/18/2018 at 18:35

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I just know that I don’t want to lift children as they get older into cramped back seats. SUV floors are high to give you that feel of being above things, but this is the opposite of what I want in something I’m carrying a squirming toddler into before strapping them in. Not to mention the doors have no risk of hitting adjacent cars as they get older but not old enough to know better...

With a small baby it doesn’t matter, any car with enough room between the front seats and back seats is fine. When they start getting bigger it becomes more of an issue. My tune would change when the youngest is about 8-10 years old and they can all get in/out on their own; an SUV would be fine because they’re just getting in and buckling up.

I almost want to sell my car so I can get what we actually need, but I know I’ll have a hard time justifying another fun car if I did that.

M.T. Blake > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 06/18/2018 at 18:41

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Auto opening doors allows the 2+ year old kids to climb in themselves.

I’ve always tried to have two cars. One DD that makes sense and the other to be a bat-shit-crazy-money-devouring-love machine. Good luck fighting the good fight with the Mrs.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 06/18/2018 at 19:47

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They tried to move it up-market. That was its downfall.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Svend 06/18/2018 at 19:54

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Apparently only the most recent generation of Fusion is actually a direct transplant of the Mondeo.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/18/2018 at 19:54

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I don’t entirely see it that way. I think more established sedan builders from the east will continue to build sedans as they always did, and just leverage Americans leaving the market to further establish their base.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > E90M3 06/18/2018 at 19:55

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Considering they’re also a bit lower volume, and that a BMW or Mercedes sedan is kind of equated to “I have a luxury car so I should command respect”, I don’t expect them to even think about abandoning them - just dumping more X-series vehicles into dealerships here.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > CobraJoe 06/18/2018 at 19:56

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Not many sedans are worth owning because they’re dumping cash into everything but the sedans.

The modern Accords do feel alright, though.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 06/18/2018 at 19:56

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I think Kia’s going to scoop up as much market share as possible once Ford starts killing off their sedans.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Ash78, voting early and often 06/18/2018 at 19:58

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Subaru did that back in 2007 with the Outback. I don’t think anyone would want to throw their money at a sedan with such Tonka-like proportions.

Svend > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 20:33

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In the U.K. we get the Mondeo in saloon, 5 door liftback and estate, not even sure why we even get a saloon though. Park the saloon and the liftback a short distance away from each other and you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference if you didn’t know what to look for.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Svend 06/18/2018 at 21:18

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I want the estate so badly. It would be the perfect replacement for my Legacy.

Svend > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/18/2018 at 22:19

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Like a Ford Mondeo ST-Line X estate. Essentially a regular estate but with some ST styling.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/19/2018 at 10:02

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Every hole in the market needs to be filled, smart play if they read the writing on the walls, dumb luck if they didn’t predict it, but either way they are set up to take care of that niche.