Ford pulls out of SEMA - The end of the line for ICE support from Ford?

[crossboss]

I will NEVER own or buy an electric vehicle, period. I'm a car guy. That means real cars, with an internal combustion engine preferably with a large cid and a stick. For the greenies: my car burns rubber and gas!!!

[SCJSTU]

been going to SEMA for several years going again this year....can't believe the news.......This could mean the start of a slow death of SEMA as we know it in the years to come when others follow Fords lead

[FL SAAC]

EVs disadvantages include finding charging stations, charging times, higher initial costs, limited driving range, and battery packs can be expensive to replace. Once the battery is out the environmental hazards they present to our environment.

Imagine losing the ability to pull over and gas up immediately is a hard fact for us to lose.

Having to live with the fear the battery will run out of charge before reaching your destination,  or "range anxiety," fear of too few charging stations, long charge times etc.

We will be holding out until we can no longer purchase a fuels powered vehicle. Bycicles are a good alternative.

[68countrysedan]

been going to SEMA for several years going again this year....can't believe the news.......This could mean the start of a slow death of SEMA as we know it in the years to come when others follow Fords lead

That thought has crossed my mind.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Will Farley survive his 3.1 Billion dollar loss?

https://lidblog.com/fords-loss-over-electric-car-gamble/

Just heard OBD3 will be mandated for all cars in 2025 - this is bad news and will deserve it's own thread. Even the ACLU has fought it for years.

[CharlesTurner]

Will Farley survive his 3.1 Billion dollar loss?

https://lidblog.com/fords-loss-over-electric-car-gamble/

Just heard OBD3 will be mandated for all cars in 2025 - this is bad news and will deserve it's own thread. Even the ACLU has fought it for years.

Another perspective:
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2022/04/27/ford-posts-3-1-billion-loss-q-1-points-rivian-investment/9556603002/

[vtgt500]

As  a manufacturer, my company attends SEMA each year to support distributors.  I spend the majority of time researching trade expertise for my personal projects.  Ford has two major exhibits.  In the main hall is a display of both new vehicles, and an impressive lineage of classics from which retro designs pay respect.  Outside is a large track surrounded by Ford Performance exhibits and Ford affiliates like Roush Racing.  The track exhibit is a profoundly asinine display of near constant drifting that only impress a 14 year old.   Both exhibits had electric vehicles,  Nobody, and I mean nobody gave a shit.  A rotted Fairmont would have got more attention.  I suspect mgmt is looking at the future and seeing SEMA is not a gateway.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

I likely spend the majority of time researching trade expertise for my personal projects. 

Ford has two major exhibits.  In the main hall is a display of both new vehicles, and an impressive lineage of classics .....  Outside is a large track ..... of near constant drifting that only impress a 14 year old.   ........ I suspect mgmt is looking at the future and seeing SEMA is not a gateway.

Back in the car magazine days we loved the nice thick SEMA book since it had all the contacts you needed to "research" and call for free parts. My editor was fond of saying we use the best parts we didn't have to pay for. I just tossed last years book out since it had nothing I needed in it.

Even most of the new Ford cars were ignored the classics were there to get you into the booth. Look for that track to be at CES this year - complete with a crowd of millennials and their phones 5 deep to post videos in hopes of being the next influencer Ford lets buy a GT with a guarantee of tripling your money in 2 years when someone who really wanted the car gives you 1.5 million for it.

[csxsfm]

Ford has done very little to support our classic/vintage/legacy vehicles. 

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Ford has done very little to support our classic/vintage/legacy vehicles.

They are in the business to sell new ones. Support of any of them past the warranty period and .gov mandated time is not on their radar.
Their entire club and brand support is nothing more than a marketing tool to lure you into the purchase of a new Ford. Them bringing back the GT500 name and adding Shelby to the marketing team was 100% a sales scheme since SVO - SVT and even COBRA were not adding the punch needed to boost the sales of performance Mustangs. Now that "Total Performance" seems to be a bad word at Ford I predict SA will again be booted to the curb as it was in 1969.
While the Motorsport catalog can be a great source of parts there are very few "real" hot rod parts. Most are just the overrun of production line parts or slightly modified ones made during the run of stock parts. Once they are gone that's it - too expensive to set up and make more.

Mazda has done it right - They know their Miata is loved and remade most of the parts to keep them on the road. They even launched a Ferrari like factory restoration service that runs about $40 grand per car.  https://www.autoblog.com/2018/09/27/mazda-first-factory-restored-miata/

In August 2017, Mazda announced that it will be offering factory quality restoration work for the original, NA body Mazda MX-5 Miata introduced in 1989. The program also included parts support, as Mazda wants to underline how much the original Miata still means to it. The program was launched with exemplary work carried out on a Miata owned by Mazda, but the first customer car has now been finished.

The first car was picked from 600 applications sent to Mazda. Out of all these cars needing factory certified work, the 1992 British Racing Green V-Special owned by retired tomato farmer Keiji Nishimoto was chosen to be the first. The Eunos-badged limited-edition car was bought new by Nishimoto, and he told Mazda the car had been instrumental in creating some wonderful road-trip memories. The V-Special edition came in a British roadster-style color combination: "Neo" green over tan leather, complete with a retro-style Nardi wood wheel. The car also has a front strut bar and a limited-slip differential.

[68countrysedan]

++++++ 1

comments continue being on target. I would also opine that Ford management doesn't really like cars (I wonder if any ever get their hands dirty working on them) but they do like computers on wheels. i.e. EVs with wi-fi connected 11-inch screens. And they really can't wait until self driving cars are widely available.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

I would also opine that Ford management doesn't really like cars

I broached this same subject with my uncle (he ran the Cleveland engine/casting plant) back in the mid 80s when Red Poling got the nod. I pointed out they put in a bean counter and not really a car guy. He explained the stock holders wanted more return and he was to appease them. He added that the real car guys were only in development and they had to sell their ideas first to marketing and then marketing had to pitch the Board on why to spend the money. If the board gave the nod then the real work started by paring every spare .0001 cent out to the product. Doesn't sound like much but multiply that by a couple hundred thousand cars and you'll see where the money is really made. Even today Ford suppliers keep 2 sets of books since their contracts limit them to a 3% profit on anything they sell to Ford. My uncle said he was playing golf with Red the next day and offered to share my concerns - I declined his offer. Of course they were both in CA on the company dime staying at a posh Palm Springs Hotel for a business meeting - the fact it was the dead of winter in Dearborn I'm sure had no effect on the choice of location. I wonder what the final cost was for 20 VPs and their wives to spend a week in Palm Springs.

[ChicagoChris]

I think (years ago) Nissan started a 'factory' freshening of 240Zs and the program wasn't around long.
Never knew what happened.  Guessing when things got tight these kinds of programs go by the wayside.
You'd think they could set these up as self-stationing?

[Side-Oilers]

The 240Z program was in the mid/late 1990s.  I got to drive one of the first ones and yes, it drove like an almost-new 240Z.

The whole thing faded away within a few years, IIRC, as it was more $$ to restore the cars than it was for a customer to find a nice one and just buy it. 

But, I guess that's (almost) always the way it works. 

[crossboss]

Its sad Ford never really had it for the 'street' guys. This is why Chevrolet has dominated the performance street reputation for the masses. Look now what the popular LS series of engines has done to revive the small block evolution. Ford, on the other hand is still playing catch up. They never learn.