Reinventing the automobile gauge cluster: Ford SmartGuage

Anyone who listens to the TNR Podcast knows that we tend to talk about cars here and there: autos are technology, after all.  Think of all the innovation that has occurred in the automotive space: air bags, very fuel-efficient engines that are also peppy to drive, self-adjusting cruise control, lane departure warning systems, decreased emissions, and the ability to drive on pure electricity – just to name a few.  But sometimes it’s the small innovations that make the huge difference.  Enter the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and its upmarket brother, the 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid with a small but powerful innovation called SmartGauge. Read more »

Posted in Automotive, Ford, IDEO, Smart Design, User experience

Business 101: How to kill a company: cancel hot future products!

This goes into the bin of “why in the world would they do that?” tags. News came today from Detroitnews.com that Ford never planned on building it’s stunning Interceptor concept car. To me this comes as a perfect plan to see Ford never recover from it’s current troubles. First things first: Ford needs to add some fun, excitement, and general “hotness” to its lineup that will attract non-traditional buyers. They’re in deep trouble right now, making turn-around plans.

Let’s go back two years to 2005, when GM was in a very similar position: sales were terrible, incentives were very high, and money was pouring out of the company like sand leaking from a hole in a truck bed. Such times call for a sit-down and careful product planning. In GM’s case, this planning is paying off: great product is being released (2008 Malibu, 2008 Caddy CTS) and they’ve just finished completely revitalizing Saturn – which has kick-ass products to be honest. Buick is up next for a similar retooling, and Cadillac has already been through such a retooling but is still in the process. The point is, after toiling and making correct decisions about the type of product and brand strategies the company is going to pursue, positive results are rolling in. Saturn sales are exponentially increasing, Cadillac is doing well, and the most important thing – new, well-designed, appealing product is showing up in showrooms.

Now let’s come back to the present at which time Ford execs are making strategic decisions about the Ford brands’ product portfolios for the next five to ten years – the same place where GM was two years ago. Ford – the vehicle company – needs hit products that will make customers consider the brand during purchases. While many factors go into consumers’ decisions about which car they purchase, Ford basically needs vehicles that bring some spotlight away from Toyota and onto it’s upcoming cars. Here comes in the Interceptor concept: a slab-sided four-door sedan (think Chrysler 300), built on the new Ford global rear-wheel drive platform (D2C), that looks like it will tear your dinner away from you and gulp it down in 1/2 a second. This would translate into a product that has the looks, the dimension, and the drivetrain to be a perfect full-size sedan in Ford’s line-up, if it were produced… but today Ford said that it never even planned on building the Interceptor.

Looks like Ford thinks that customers would prefer the styling of the Interceptor – since they will be “infusing it” into their future products… However, what good is the styling if the Dodge Charger/Chrysler 300 pair will just rip the styling off of the poor (insert name of future non-rwd-based Ford flagship sedan) and beat it with driving dynamics, handling, and RWD caché? This is another shot in the foot that Ford has so cleverly mastered to instrument (don’t even get me started on Volvo under Ford). Now besides all the lost sales in the large sedan segment, here is another reason why Ford should reconsider their decision and build the Interceptor as it was debuted:

-Economies of scale say that Ford share this platform with it’s upscale division: Lincoln – which has had the pleasure of keeping it’s 40-year old TownCar platform all to itself (and to the Crown Vic, to be fair). This very old platform that the TownCar is on needs replacement – and the new D2C RWD platform is the perfect candidate. Lincoln can get a retooled, upscale, version of the Interceptor as it’s midsize or even flagship sedan. Ford tried this in the 1990s but failed in the implementation: remember the Lincoln LS sedan? That was riding on a modified version of the Mustang. However, the LS suffered through many reliability issues and had a terrible interior – along with it’s platform cousin – the Jaguar S-type.

-Also, Ford Australia can use this platform for their next Falcon sedan and Ford U.S. can make a coupe Lincoln derived off this platform as well.

-Moreover, Ford can sell a Police version of the Interceptor to law enforcement – making it a great replacement for the Crown Vic. I see more Dodge Charger Police vehicles on the road now… Hey Ford! Do you think that’s because it’s on a vastly superior (and newer) platform than the 40-year-old Victoria? Hmmm.

What do you think? Talk to me in the comments!

Posted in Automotive, Blogroll, Decisions, Ford