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Ford ditching traditional sedans in favor of trucks, crossovers, and SUVs

The 2015 Ford Mustang.
Ford Motor Company
Soon, the Ford Mustang will be one of only two cars the company sells in North America as it shifts its focus to crossovers, trucks, and SUVs.

In 1908, Henry Ford sent the first Model T rolling off the assembly line at his Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit.

A hundred and ten years later, the Ford Motor Company is no longer betting on cars for its future.

Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton says the Michigan-based company plans to have only two sedans on the market very soon - the Mustang and a small crossover. That's it. 

"The numbers tell us that Ford is just not keeping up in terms of the ability to make profit off small cars," she told Stateside's Cynthia Canty.

Ford will be adding five new SUVs over the next two years, in addition to a 2018 midsize pick-up.

SS_20180426_Howes_Ford_Analysis.mp3
Stateside's conversation with Daniel Howes, Detroit News business columnist.

Detroit News business columnist Daniel Howes also joined Stateside to discuss what this latest news from Ford means. According to him, the company's decision isn't all that surprising.

"Those of us who've been reporting this out for months, we saw this coming," Howes said. 

People need to be careful about drawing too many conclusions about cutting cars and making more SUVs, he cautioned. 

"We're not talking about necessarily just eliminating all cars. We're talking about some of those vehicles being reborn... A lot of the crossovers and SUVs that the industry is producing are delivering some of the same fuel efficiency that you can get in cars."

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