Ford launches redesigned F-150 pickup, built at Claycomo
Friday, October 3, 2008
Ford launches redesigned F-150 pickup, built at Claycomo (KC Star)
"As speakers inside Ford Motor Co.’s Claycomo plant touted the 2009 F-150 pickup Thursday, new trucks slowly moved along the assembly line behind them.
There was no shutdown of production during the ceremonial launch of the redesigned F-150.
“Consumers want this great truck, so we couldn’t stop the line,” Ford executive Joe Hinrichs told a cheering crowd of plant workers, Ford dealers and local politicians.
Even in a depressed automotive industry in which high gasoline prices have crippled the truck and big-SUV market, the F-series remains the best-selling vehicle in the country. Sales of the F-series were off 27 percent through September, but the 392,698 F-series trucks sold still make it the top seller.
Still, local Ford workers have been concerned after the automaker cut F-150 production to one shift at Claycomo and eliminated a third F-150 shift at its Dearborn, Mich., plant. In the past two years, Ford also has stopped making F-150s at two other plants as several truck and SUV factories are being converted to produce smaller vehicles.
At Claycomo, Ford added a third shift to build Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner compact SUVs when it dropped the second truck shift.
For them, Hinrichs had some reassuring words.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the truck business,” said Hinrichs, group vice president of global manufacturing and labor relations. “The truck business is strong, and the truck business is important for this plant.”
Last month on a visit to Kansas City, Hinrichs reiterated that Ford planned to continue building F-150s at two plants, noting the shipping advantages of the Claycomo plant being in the middle of the country for markets to the west and south.
“We like having the truck in two plants,” he said at a forum of journalists. “Logistically, it’s better for us.”
Given how much truck capacity the domestic automakers already are taking out of their operations, Ford can be expected to continue to build the F-150 at two plants, said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. Both plants will be needed to produce more trucks once the construction industry and overall economy recover, he said.
“I would say it’s hard to imagine Ford without two significant F-series plants building light-duty trucks,” he said. “I think Ford’s competitors would love it if the company went down to one plant.”
Ford executives and engineers say the new F-150 has industry-leading features such as the highest towing and hauling capability as well as an 8 percent improvement in fuel economy across its various versions. The F-150 SFE will get 15 miles to the gallon in the city and 21 on the highway."
posted by benmcclanahan @ 10:21 AM,
2 Comments:
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At October 3, 2008 at 11:55 PM,
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"“Consumers want this great truck, so we couldn’t stop the line,” Ford executive Joe Hinrichs told a cheering crowd of plant workers, Ford dealers and local politicians.' There are a number of F150 trucks out there that are frying their electronics due to improperly installed windows. Lets hope al the cheering didn't cause someone to screw up again...
http://fordf150news.wordpress.com/ -
At October 4, 2008 at 11:35 AM,
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I think that Ford has to look for the future as stated by Hinrichs. You cannot loose sight of a market demand that will return after economic declines we’ve seen recently return to normal.
