Sedans have become scarce, particularly from American automakers, and at Ford, they’re completely extinct. In order to make the Bronco and Maverick happen, the Fusion and Focus had to be sacrificed and their manufacturing plants retooled, said Ford CEO Jim Farley, in an interview with Forrest’s Auto Reviews that was recently posted to YouTube (although it was filmed at Monterey Car Week in August). In addition, he said that Ford lost money selling the Mondeo (Fusion) in America because of its European roots, and the only way for the Blue Oval to stay out of the red is to build cars in America. Thus, for a sedan to be offered to the American market, a whole new platform is required, and Farley has some ideas. And since profitability is key, those ideas involve an all-electric platform.
Sedan Shape Makes Sense For Skunkworks EV Project
Christopher Stevens/Ford
When asked if he thinks sedans have a place in Ford’s future, Farley said he believes there is still a “huge market” for sedans, before referencing Ford’s skunkworks affordable EV project, saying that “the sedan silhouette turns out to be very clean aerodynamically.” He then turned to the camera and asked the YouTuber’s audience, “Should Ford do a rear-wheel-drive, high-performance, affordable sedan, with a really cool closure system in the back so you can carry a lot of stuff, as an all-electric [vehicle] with incredible performance? That’s the way I’m thinking about a sedan.”
Related: Ford Still Makes a Sedan, But There’s No Chance of It Coming to the US
This is far from confirmation that such a vehicle is on its way, but automakers and their representatives need to see interest and study the market before greenlighting new projects, and Farley’s question shows that Ford has put a considerable amount of thought into the idea. In addition, the above sketch was shown during the reveal of the S650 Mustang coupe, and Ford trademarked the term Mach 4 not long ago. Couple these facts with Farley’s suggestion that a new electric sedan could have “a really cool closure system” – which sounds a lot like the tailgate of the B10 Audi A5 sedan, where the rear window opens with the trunk lid – and it seems that Farley is fueling rumors of a Mustang sedan coming to market someday in the not-too-distant future.
Farley Dreams Of An Off-Road Supercar
When asked what his personal “dream” Ford product would be, Farley again talked about an off-road supercar that would have a “partial electric” powertrain and could be described as a “Raptor R without the truck,” summarizing it as a World Rally Championship car for four people. Basically, a four-seater version of the Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato with Ford flavor. That sounds exciting. Another interesting (albeit unrelated) tidbit is that the Liquid Carbon version of the Mustang GTD is so difficult to produce that it takes “three or four cars worth” of carbon fiber to produce. Why? Because making the weave match throughout is tricky; when the carbon fiber goes into the oven, the strands can move ever so slightly, and that can make one body panel fail to line up with another. All of these comments from Mr. Farley show that Ford is an enthusiast-driven company, and as enthusiasts ourselves, we’d love to see an affordable performance sedan and an off-road supercar happen. Fingers crossed.
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