The Model T, the ’32 deuce coupe, the Thunderbird, the Mustang: For much of its 115-year history, Ford Motor Co. has been synonymous with cars.
But now Ford, one of the great engines of 20th Century American industry, is about to do the unthinkable: abandon the American car business almost entirely.
Just two years from now, a mere 10 percent of the vehicles rolling off Ford assembly lines and into North American showrooms will be sedans and sports cars like the Taurus or Mustang. The rest will be pickups, SUVs and commercial vehicles — more lucrative models that the company hopes will secure its future as change tears through the global auto industry.
Photo by sv1ambo 
So, like, let’s say that you stop making a car. You still have to make parts for the car for seven years, right? So that the people who bought a 2018 Whatever aren’t screwed over for seven years.
So Ford doing this sort of thing means… what? Driverless Cars rule the world come 2025? Specifically: Driverless SUVs?Report
Can I have my driverless car now pleeze?Report
The driverless car experience is available via Uber.Report
I read a good point about this. Ford will still be making cars for foreign markets so they can jump back into the US car market if need be and parts shouldn’t be an issue. They can make the Focus for the US and base all their foreign cars on it so no problems there.Report
Nah, the people that make those parts for you continue to supply the secondary market. They probably also make shoddier versions as well, to supply the cheaper walleted folks on the secondary market under another brand name,Report
Snopes messageboard has (at least) two threads about this.
It’s apparently an urban legend.Report
GE used to be a light bulb manufacturer. I suspect making aircraft engines and medical devices is much more what it’s about these days.
IBM used to sell punch card tabulators. To my knowledge, it’s more of a software consulting company now.
Alsotoo, Apple used to make and sell computers. Now it’s about smart phones and music.Report
Kennedys.Report
I don’t know if this site is accurate, but it has Ford’s 2017 domestic car sales as 22% of their total domestic unit sales (555,838 out of 2,475,556).
http://fordauthority.com/fmc/ford-motor-company-sales-numbers/ford-sales-numbers/Report
Sedans are annoying. Not very flexible or re-configurable, and the back seat legroom almost always reminds me of coach class. The advantage of sedans used to be in the mileage, in that they got significantly better mileage than an SUV. These days, that advantage is thin.Report