8 ms·

Ford has a new vehicle? Okay, if Ford is interested in new vehicles, then here is one I'd like to see: Cars are a big chunk of the US family budget. Here sho

Ford has a new vehicle? Okay, if Ford is interested in new vehicles, then here is one I'd like to see: Cars are a big chunk of the US family budget. Here should be a good way to save a LOT of money: Start with a Ford 2-door sedan from the 1940s, 1950s, or maybe 1960s. Use a modern electronic controlled system for the fuel mixture and ignition. Use modern, long lasting suspension ball joints and bushings. Use disk brakes with dual master cylinders. Use a modern automatic transmission. Use modern rubber formulations in the tires. Do what have to do for current laws on the exhaust system, and try to use modern materials that will do well resisting corrosion. Otherwise, keep it as it was: No additional electronics or systems. Certainly no 'stability control' and hopefully no 'ABS'. Stability control steps on the brakes when I don't want to, and ABS releases the brakes when I step on them -- get rid of both of them. No electric windows. No power steering. No power brakes. No air conditioning. Now, what might the price have to be????? One half current prices? One third? Only 20%??? Cheaper to buy and to maintain. I'd especially like a stick shift transmission with very wide ratios, maybe 4:1 first gear, and a very low number rear axle ratio, maybe 2.5:1. Apparently could still use some of the 6 or 8 cylinder engines used back then -- apparently are still using them with little change.

notch656a 4y ago
Ford has no trouble selling vehicles at their current prices, so I think they have nothing to gain by competing downward with themselves for a niche vehicle that appeals to people who want a utilitarian basic low-priced vehicle. If you want something spartan you may have to look at a less regulated market like motorcycles.
yourusername 4y ago
This vehicle will be illegal to sell in big parts of the world and get 0 stars in any crash test. No ABS or ESP? Can't sell this car in USA, EU, India or China. E: coming to think of it the only places you might be able to sell this is some low income countries in South America, Africa and maybe central asia?
- graycat 4y ago
  Looks like you are correct: E.g., this ESP (ESC -- electronic stability thingy) is now required nearly everywhere. Now I'm especially glad my car, used I bought recently, is too old to have ESP. It has ABS which doesn't work -- fine with me. The brakes, with dual master cylinders, work fine. A guess is that the problem with ABS is a corroded electrical ground connection back to the frame -- that illustrates one of my concerns for ABS, ESP, etc., maintenance problems. To me some good news is likely most or all of these electronic systems can fail and the car will be more like one from the 1950s and still work fine. So, if ESP or ABS gets sick, just cut some wires and drive off just fine! I've driven nearly 1 million miles with only one accident, not serious, and with no insurance claims! I have a squeaky clean driving record and am a total cream puff customer for the auto insurance industry. In all that driving, I never had, needed, or wanted either ABS or ESP. I used to do a LOT of driving, and cost, time, botheration for maintenance of the car was always an issue. For so much driving the current cars with ABS, ESP, etc. look more expensive, both to buy and to maintain, by a factor of several. All of this urgency to make cars more complicated looks like a big shot in the gut of the US family budget: US families are having a tough time paying for a house, schooling for the kids, groceries, medical care, and now the cost of driving is a factor of several more expensive than it was and could be. Looks like there will be some ups/downs, I don't know which, of prices in the used car market. E.g., maybe some owner of a recent car gets a repair estimate of $15,000 to fix one of these super electronic systems and decides to sell the car. Then the price on the used car market might be nicely low! And the buyer of the used car just disables the electronic system! Yes, I know, there was a big problem of smog from cars in NYC, LA, maybe another 10 large US cities, but I never lived in any of those places and now live in TN with no chance of any smog problems. Besides, a lot of the US has, had, no smog problem: Some parts have very low population density and people can get winter heat from wood fires that put out smoke and still have no smog or smoke problems! Smoke from a wood fire? Ah, smells like home at Thanksgiving or Christmas! And a lot of the rest of the US is farming country where there are tractors, often Diesel, with little or nothing for smog reduction -- with, wonder of wonders, still no smog problem! There's long been a big theme: Go after the cars!!! That's part of a bigger theme, really popular in some parts of Europe: We all need more government to do things for us!!!! I like seat belts fine. Maybe air bags are worth the cost and botheration. ESP, modulating the power to the drive wheels, applying the brakes in tricky ways -- I can't believe that that would actually be good for anything.

notch656a 4y ago

Ford has no trouble selling vehicles at their current prices, so I think they have nothing to gain by competing downward with themselves for a niche vehicle that appeals to people who want a utilitarian basic low-priced vehicle. If you want something spartan you may have to look at a less regulated market like motorcycles.

yourusername 4y ago

This vehicle will be illegal to sell in big parts of the world and get 0 stars in any crash test. No ABS or ESP? Can't sell this car in USA, EU, India or China. E: coming to think of it the only places you might be able to sell this is some low income countries in South America, Africa and maybe central asia?

graycat 4y ago
Looks like you are correct: E.g., this ESP (ESC -- electronic stability thingy) is now required nearly everywhere. Now I'm especially glad my car, used I bought recently, is too old to have ESP. It has ABS which doesn't work -- fine with me. The brakes, with dual master cylinders, work fine. A guess is that the problem with ABS is a corroded electrical ground connection back to the frame -- that illustrates one of my concerns for ABS, ESP, etc., maintenance problems. To me some good news is likely most or all of these electronic systems can fail and the car will be more like one from the 1950s and still work fine. So, if ESP or ABS gets sick, just cut some wires and drive off just fine! I've driven nearly 1 million miles with only one accident, not serious, and with no insurance claims! I have a squeaky clean driving record and am a total cream puff customer for the auto insurance industry. In all that driving, I never had, needed, or wanted either ABS or ESP. I used to do a LOT of driving, and cost, time, botheration for maintenance of the car was always an issue. For so much driving the current cars with ABS, ESP, etc. look more expensive, both to buy and to maintain, by a factor of several. All of this urgency to make cars more complicated looks like a big shot in the gut of the US family budget: US families are having a tough time paying for a house, schooling for the kids, groceries, medical care, and now the cost of driving is a factor of several more expensive than it was and could be. Looks like there will be some ups/downs, I don't know which, of prices in the used car market. E.g., maybe some owner of a recent car gets a repair estimate of $15,000 to fix one of these super electronic systems and decides to sell the car. Then the price on the used car market might be nicely low! And the buyer of the used car just disables the electronic system! Yes, I know, there was a big problem of smog from cars in NYC, LA, maybe another 10 large US cities, but I never lived in any of those places and now live in TN with no chance of any smog problems. Besides, a lot of the US has, had, no smog problem: Some parts have very low population density and people can get winter heat from wood fires that put out smoke and still have no smog or smoke problems! Smoke from a wood fire? Ah, smells like home at Thanksgiving or Christmas! And a lot of the rest of the US is farming country where there are tractors, often Diesel, with little or nothing for smog reduction -- with, wonder of wonders, still no smog problem! There's long been a big theme: Go after the cars!!! That's part of a bigger theme, really popular in some parts of Europe: We all need more government to do things for us!!!! I like seat belts fine. Maybe air bags are worth the cost and botheration. ESP, modulating the power to the drive wheels, applying the brakes in tricky ways -- I can't believe that that would actually be good for anything.