Escape replacement or addendum?
Ford needs workers at its Louisville Assembly Plant to approve a new round of apparently huge concessions. Workers in Louisville need Ford to give them a new product to build.
Both sides may get what they want, or not.
The automaker is reportedly getting ready to produce a U.S. version of its European crossover/SUV, the Kuga. It would go into Louisville as early as 2011, according to analyst Michael Robinet, of CSM Worldwide, though the analyst said it is unclear whether the new vehicle will maintain the familiar Escape name.
Ford has told the United Auto Workers Union it would build an unspecified “incremental product” at the Louisville plant – if they support concessions the company says it needs to become more competitive.
However, if the Kuga replaces Escape, it would hardly be incremental, or if it is just a niche vehicle then job creation will be minimal.
The UAW was forced to accept extensive givebacks as part of the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler, but has not yet granted similar cost-saving measures to Ford, although they are proposed.
The un-ratified revision to the national contract is receiving strong criticism from union members across the country. However, Ford is clearly hoping to sway one of its larger and more influential locals to lend support. The question for the UAW remains, how many concessions are too much?
Ford is in the midst of a plan to “Europeanize” its American line-up with products like the sub-compact Fiesta, due to debut on this side of the Atlantic in 2010, years after its sale over there. A variety of other vehicles, originally developed for Europe, is expected to follow. Previous attempts to use European products to bolster its U.S. lineup at Ford have failed, such as the Cortina, Capri, Scorpio, Merkur, and Mondeo, among others.
The Kuga debuted, in concept form, at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show; the production version debuted at the Geneva show, in 2008. It is based on the same platform as the compact S-Max minivan and European Focus, neither of which are on sale in the U.S. currently.
Kuga is decidedly more stylish than the aging Escape in my view, and also a slight bit larger and heavier. One of the more attractive features is what Ford calls a liftgate-within-a-liftgate.