Owning one of those is strictly a vanity statement..no one needs something that freakin big..
Posted on 10/02/2005 8:00:09 AM PDT by grundle
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20051001T210000-0500_89548_OBS_FORD_HALTS_PRODUCTION_OF_GIGANTIC_SUV.asp
Ford halts production of gigantic SUV
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) - The last Ford Excursion, a super-sized sport-utility vehicle, rolled off the assembly line Friday as the automaker shifts its focus to producing more fuel-efficient vehicles. The company announced in July that it would halt production of the 19-foot (5.7-metre) gas-guzzler as sales of its larger SUVs dragged.
The last Excursion rolled off the assembly line at the Louisville plant at 1:30 pm EDT on Friday, said Ann Marie Gattari, a spokeswoman at Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
Gattari said the decision to quit making the Excursion at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville came about a year ago. She said the plant has shifted its focus to producing Ford's Super Duty trucks. "It was a business decision to end production," she said.
Ford debuted the Excursion in 2000 and sold 50,000 of the vehicles, but sales have stalled each year since. Sales of Ford's three largest SUVs - including the Expedition and Explorer - fell by more than 24 per cent in the first three months of 2005.
The Excursion, along with other large SUVs produced by other automakers like General Motors' Suburban, have drawn criticism from environmental and conservation groups for their poor fuel economy.
"I think the fact that the last Excursion is rolling off the line is a sign of how long Ford waited before it started actually addressing these issues," said Paul West, a spokesman for the Rainforest Action Network. The San Francisco-based group has campaigned for Ford to cut emissions and improve fuel economy.
"Ford didn't really address it because it wanted to do the right thing," West said. "Ford's addressing it because gas prices are skyrocketing and people are freaking out."
Ford Motor Co Chairman and CEO Bill Ford said earlier this month that gas-electric hybrid engines will be available in half of the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury line-up by 2010. Ford said the automaker will be able to produce 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010.
Ford shares closed unchanged Friday at $9.86 on the New York Stock Exchange.
I have rarely seen such ANGER as I have seen here and on other sites as when SUV owners were being criticized for their gas guzzlers. They got so MAD! Lol.
Their excuses for owning them were ... amazing.
Owning one of those is strictly a vanity statement..no one needs something that freakin big..
True enough.
They SNEAK into gas stations because people who saw the gas bill would faint dead away....or guffaw far too loudly. Not nice for friendly relations.
Owning one of those is strictly a vanity statement..no one needs something that freakin big..
> "Ford didn't really address it because it wanted to do
> the right thing," West said.
Oh rubbish. The huge variety of SUVs we see exist largely
because of government policy. People want big cars, and
C.A.F.E. makes that impossible. SUVs used a CAFE loophole.
The real market for SUVs is more like the share that the
Suburban, Jeepster and Land Rover had before CAFE.
> "Ford's addressing it because gas prices are
> skyrocketing and people are freaking out."
Welcome to 1973. People who bought low-mpg SUVs in the
last decade were gambling that fuel prices would remain
low. They lost. It was no surprise to anyone aware of
how brittle (inelastic) our supply/demand situation is,
plus the growing Asian demand.
> Ford Motor Co Chairman and CEO Bill Ford said earlier
> this month that gas-electric hybrid engines will be
> available in half of the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury
> line-up by 2010.
Which may be way too late for this gas price cycle.
By 2007, everyone will be driving VW TDIs (where not
outlawed by envirowackos) and hybrids from faster
moving producers.
And if we solve our energy crisis, Ford may get their
limpmobiles out just in time for gas to be cheap again.
I was at the gas station yesterday filling up my 40 mpg motorcycle and was next to a woman who was filling up her hustands Hummer..she was complaining about the price of gas..I asked her how many miles to the gallon the Hummer got and she said "about 6"..so I said something to the effect that if you can afford the beast, you should be able to afford the gas..she got a little upset and said it was her husbands "toy" and now he couldn't enjoy it..oh well, you want a sherman tank, you get what comes with it..
Ever try to put 8 passengers in a Prius and tow a boat or RV trailer? I guess if everybody quit buying baoats, RV's, horses, off-road vehicles, etc, they would be happier and the economy would be better off too. Oh, and nobody should ever have more kids than will fit in a Yugo.
Different strokes for different folks.
Excuses? How about this: I like mine (A Chevy Tahoe) and I can afford the fuel costs.
I also like driving big Detroit steel with big block V8s from the 60s that get 10mpg. ....tops.
Anger at those who criticize my taste in autos? lol....none whatsoever. They can drive their Toyota Corollas or mopeds and it's fine with me.
Thank you comrade for that assessment. I am ashamed for the Fatherland for thinking I need one for my large family.
Have you ever taken five kids on a vacation? I rented an Expedition this summer and most of the luggage went up on the roof. Good thing it wasn't raining and that I had a view of the vehicle on the occasions when we stopped to eat.
I bet I can think of a whole lot of things you "don't need". No one "needs" a television bigger than 13", or a DVD player when VCRs are available, or a house larger than 2000 sq ft, or a car that goes faster than 65 mph. But this is America where we can obtain what we damn well want based on our own personal needs.
Admit it... You really, really wish that you owned a Hummer, right?
In a free country, let the free market decide ... I have no animosity toward anyone over what type of vehicle they choose to drive, large or small ...
You mean things like actually having a use for them, Duh! I would love to evaluate your lifestyle and pick and choose the things that I think you "really need". Ever hear of free markets? Free agency? Do tell, how is someone that drives a small car 100,000 miles a year a better steward of the environment than someone that drives a "Gas Guzzler" 10,000 miles?
Free minds. Free choices.
ONce again, the market reacts to higher fuel costs in an efficient manner.
Damned if you do... If people want to pay the price go ahead and buy one. The only SUV that irks me is the Hummer H2. It just a Chevy in that atrocious styling attempt to meld the H1 with modern styling queues. Having said that, I would love to have an H1, now that's an SUV!
I saw an H3 yesterday and despite its glaring yellow paint, it actually looked good from the angle I saw, they've got better proportions on it, I still can't get past the yellow, blech!
Uhmm, let me guess....from each acording toi his ability ..to each acording to his need? Please, I least of all need government or you to tell me what my "needs" are.
A self-important person asked me why I "needed" my excursion and my first answer is the same then and now; I do not have to justify myself to you or anyone else. My 2nd answer was a question, so I will ask it of you. To get my family of seven 500+ miles to be a part of family what is the better way to travel? Fly? Then rent a mini van? Then pay for two rooms in a hotel each night because they will not let us all in one room which would be dumb anyway? Then eat out every meal? OR Pull the trailer, use approx 90-110 gallons for the round trip, pay no trailer fees as we will be on private property and do so in safety as well as then be able to have a home to cookin, sleep in play in? I know, I know how does one time as year justify this, right? Well try 3-7 times a year depending. I guess its all just a vanity statement.
Needs? Perhaps you two would prefer websites where ".....to each according to his needs" is the mantra.
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