As Ford struggles to cut costs in a hostile economic environment, reports are emerging that it may migrate its next-generation flagship sedan to its midsize Fusion sedan platform, a move that could eventually allow Ford to build up to nine sedans and crossovers on a single platform.
The Detroit News is reporting that Ford may move the large Ford Taurus sedan from its current D3 platform to the new architecture that will underpin the next-gen Ford Fusion and Mondeo. Ford's midsize sedans (the Fusion for North America and the Mondeo elsewhere) were already slated to move to a common platform in their successive iterations, but moving the Taurus to that same platform is a new (although not unexpected) rumor.
If these rumors have any validity, Ford's fullsize crossovers, the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT, which currently ride on a modified version of the Volvo-designed D3 architecture dubbed D4, will likely be shifted over to the new platform with the Taurus. In addition, the Lincoln MKX and MKZ, Mercury Milan and Ford Edge--all sharing the same Mazda-sourced CD3 architecture with the Fusion--could move to the next-gen Fusion/Mondeo platform.
By our tally, that means Ford could build up to nine vehicles--the Edge, Flex, Fusion and Taurus, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKS, MKT, MKX, and MKZ (for those paying attention, that's all but TWO of the vehicles in Lincoln's current lineup)--on a single platform. If ever there were such a thing as savings from economies of scale, Ford will be set to realize them.
Whether or not Ford does decide to consolidate its mid- and full-size architectures onto one platform, Ford has plenty of new vehicles to consider in the meantime. With an all-new (and much-improved) 2010 Ford Taurus sedan and heavily redesigned 2010 Ford Fusion, Lincoln MKZ, and Mercury Milan midsize sedan triage already available, and the 2010 Lincoln MKT on the way, we have plenty to keep us busy until the next generation of Ford vehicles arrives.
Source: The Detroit News