There were a lot of very compelling booths at NADA. Aspen Marketing had an excellent setup with a number of Playboy Bunnies out front. DealerTrack, Dealer.com and a few others had huge booths and were running some excellent seminars right on the floor of the expo. Even VW had some great cars on the floor and some VERY helpful members of the VW team that couldn’t be more helpful. However, one booth stood above the rest in my eyes and it was that of Ford Motors. Due to the sheer size of Ford, their booth had a number of sections that dealt with cars, service, Work Solutions, financing and a number of other jobs they do. On every front, the booth was alive and kicking. Every Ford representative was busy talking with someone. They were all smiling, everyone was happy, it was relaxed but you could tell dealers and 3rd party ventors were all enjoying and learning the Ford experiance. From talking to the representatives to trying the F-150 “Raptor” simulator, I felt as though Ford “got it.”

Ford understood the need for for both compelling cars that dealers want to sell and buyers want to buy. They showed an excellent set of exciting cars that exemplify the changes Ford has been making since Alan Mulally came to power at FMC. Whereas some booths had pie in the sky cars that weren’t even drivable or boring models that make buyers eyes glaze over even more than dealers who have to sell them, ever single Ford vehicle there was a drivable car that dealers are waiting for right now. All of them are bold, edgy and slighly quirky in their own way. Below is a small sample of those 2010 models that got the EasyAutoSales crew very excited:

V8 Power. Mustang Beauty.

The next incarnation of the Ford Mustang. As nice as the new Chevy Camaro is, the interior dimensions are very small. The car seems tight and cramped. The dash was too high and the rear visibility was paultry. The new Mustang though, using those same retro designs as the Camaro, really made me feel much more at home. The car is much more open. The glass roof is amazing! Rear visibility is usable (despite the wing) though the same over-the-shoulder view is almost non-existant as the other muscle cars. The hood sits a little lower so you can use the front window much more than other similar muscle cars. The interior was a nice if not nicer than the leather of GM’s offerings. Overall, this Mustang impressed me with much higher quality materials than the outgoing model (the first revived Mustang) and should be an even bigger seller.

Sport Focus Coupe

This Ford Focus Sports Coupe really made me smile. Though I’m sure it’ll be a front engined car, it shows Ford is going outside their boundries to compete in the US where they are already doing well in Europe. The Focus RS is a super car in Europe that can fight it out with the likes of the Mini Cooper S and even hitting above it’s class at cars like the WRX. GM had a limited hit with the Cobalt, and now that it’s going to be leaving us in favor of the Cruze, the small American sport coupe will be once again open. Though the above is only a concept, I think it shows a great idea. If you keep trying to expant outwards, eventually you’re going to win with something. This Focus coupe isn’t quite there, but it’s close to something cool and exciting.

The New Ford Taurus!

When did the Taurus start looking like a hip car? It seems Ford is finally taking a queue from their European counter parts like Citroen and Peugeot by making a sedan that looks more like a new Audi than an old boat. The agressive headlights, funky boot (trunk) and “gills” on each side make a sedan that salesman would be more than happy to drive. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to sit in the car, but compared to the Fusion next to it (which had great body and leg room, though poor head room in the back), it was vast. I think this car is going to surprise a lot of people with the upcoming SHO version. It might not be a replacement for an M5, but it shows that Ford is trying to make a premium product that any class can afford.

2010 Ford F-150 SVT "Raptor"

I have to admit, I’m biased towards this truck. There’s something exciting about this new F-150 that is so powerful, it’s taken someone who loves his BMW M3, someone who road races and autocrosses on the weekends, and turned him into a truck fan. A blubbering truck fan at that. Whereas the old F-150 SVT “Lightning” was meant to be a truck that could compete with the average sports car, the SVT “Raptor” is supposed to embarrass every other truck out there in their native playground, The Dirt. By making a truck from the factory that can stand up to the punishment of the Baja 1000 (with the exception of proper safety equipment) and finish 3rd in class, Ford has said, “We’ve been the best selling car in the US for a very long time with the F-150 and now we’re going to take it up a knotch by creating a truck that is the pinnacle of off-roading.” I was able to pocke and prod around this beast and every part I touched I was impressed with. The suspension is a work of art. The suspension travel is epic. The rear tail-gate step is thoughtful and useful, despite how bersek this truck is.

If I could have found Alan Mulally on the floor I would have given him my card and said, “Keep this name handy. You’ve taken a guy who only buys German sports cars and made him the biggest truck fan this side of the Mississippi. You can put me on that list of buyers for the Raptor.”

Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of exciting groups there. GM, VW, Kia, Toyota and many others all gave great shows that have shown the progress each company has made in their respective shortcomings. But Ford shined above them all. At the show Alan Mulally said that Ford wasn’t going to take any bailout money from the US Government and were foregoing the lines of credit they were offered while GM and Chrysler took money from the tax payers. Their products are a reflection of their progress and quality of business. I hope that the other American car makers look at Ford as an example of what can be done by a major manufacturer in a tough economic time. They are proof of American ingenuity and hard work. Even a company that was, but a few years ago, known by the moniker “Fix Or Repair Daily” can be known as “Fun Or Rugged Dailydrivers.”

Side Note: Ford did not offer me or EasyAutoSales anything nor did they solicit the above article. They currently do not pay EasyAutoSales nor have they given us any sort of gift or incentive to write the above. Not that we’re saying we’re not open to such things I’m just speaking as a passionate car lover.

With the recent approval of a House bill to provide $14 billion, the Senate remains in question as to whether the American auto makers will get their BAILOUT anytime this week. With this money comes the inevitability of Federal oversight in the guise of a “car czar” that would handle how the money is spent. Another possible action is the immediate removal of the Big 3 CEOs to introduce some fresh blood. Despite the constant reinforcement of many car people like Lee Iaccoca, I have come to the conclusion that infusion of new CEOs into the American auto industry is probably the best thing that could happen. This conclusion hasn’t been rash as I’m completely against the bailout. Why should the Federal government pick winners and losers? Adam Smiths “Invisible Hand” has worked pretty well in cleaning out the failures of inept (ex. Enron, Delta, Adelphia and others) and despite the inevitable financial pain, the economic principals of “shock therapy” have proven themselves time and time again to be true. Suffer in the short term instead of languishing for the next 10-15 years with constant pain. Simply put, the quicker you get to the bottom, the sooner you’ll start to see growth again. So, with my complete support of letting the Big 3 suffer, how can I be for ousting Wagoner, Nardelli and Mulally?

Recently a few other auto blogs have done some testing on the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. As the peak of Ford efficiency technology, the car got almost a combined cycle of 45MPG. A recent CNN Money story has shown that GM has spend almost $750 million developing the new Volt. I have no idea where Chrysler is as there’s almost nothing exciting coming out of there the last few months. Besides that, how, you say, could I be against companies spending so much money and bringing such efficient cars to the road at a time when energy efficiency and research is so important? Because it’s all a sham.

Let’s look at the Chevy Volt. $750 million dollars and what does GM have to show for it? A test mule. In terms of car development, that’s a huge amount of money. GM has stated most of that money went towards battery technology. So, that mean GM is going to be a battery maker? If their supplier Cobasys (currently in financial trouble) fails, they will.  So, why hasn’t GM decided to work with companies like GE, EnerDel (Tesla, Mercedes) or even Toyota for that matter in acquiring proven battery technology created by people who have been at this a lot longer than them. Why are they trying to re-invent the wheel? I understand that the vertical nature of the car business works in many cases. However, can you possibly say that you can make a better battery for hybrids than someone who has been doing so for 10 years already? Additionally, why would GM buy a failing company?

Let’s check out this Ford Fusion Hybrid now. 45MPG combined cycle for city and highway driving. To the average American, that sounds pretty good. However, what about the average European? The Ford Mondeo (Fusion equivalent) with a 2.0L diesel engines gets almost 57MPG. The 2.2L petrol engines gets around the same 45MPG as the Hybrid Fusion but without all the time and effort and money spent in developing a new, COMPLEX hybrid drivetrain. Look to some other brands that are selling full sized sedans like BMWs 320d and you’ll see a ~$30,000USD car that gets 59.1MPG and still does 0-60 7.9 seconds. The point is, why is Ford spending all this money when they already have a product that surpasses all US safety and economy standards for sale in Europe and the rest of the world?

Chrysler still has nothing new in any sort of hybrid that stands out or they have tried to make a huge deal about. Maybe this is a good thing. Though I can’t see the point of cars like the Aspen Hybrid that still only gets 19 / 22 MPG in the city and highway, respectively. UPDATE: Ah, here’s what happens when you’re that boring… Detroit Free Press

The point of all this is to show that even in a time of changing requirements (fuel efficiency) and dramatic economic upheaval that would end in bankruptcy if nothing is done, Detroit has done nothing truely dramatic to change their destiny. Whereas Tesla and Fisker are coming out with amazing plug-in electric cars liks the Roadster and Karma, whats sporty or fun about the Chevrolet Volt (most unoriginal electric car name ever, besides the Chevy Ohm, Ford Ampere and Chrysler Impedance). Have they shifted their brand (or attempted to) like BMW has with the EfficientDynamics or Mercedes with their “Blue” (BlueTec, BlueZero) brand? They all could just as easily gone the complete opposite way and say, we’re just going to be super cool fuel efficient cars like the Toyota iQ that doesn’t need hybrid technology and slow down production of our trucks to create more of a “halo” arond the large vehicles with a more limited brand.

There are a thousand reasons why Detroit needs new leadership but only one of them matters. They are all about to go bankrupt without huge amounts of car purchasing today or large scale loans (from either banks or the US Government). Considering even banks realize how bad an idea loaning them money is, shouldn’t that mean that tax payers money is an even worse idea? Let’s clean house in the Motor City and turn these car giants into lean, mean machines that can compete with their Japanese (and French in the case of Nissan/Renault), German and Korean counter parts. Either let them fail for their lack of foresight. Bankruptcy isn’t the worse thing in the world. Neither is failure. Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted and this is exactly what America will be getting. Experience. “Saving” these companies now will only hurt the American car makers in the future. If you though the credit crunch was bad Detriot, wait until you feel the wrath of the American consumer. You will have stole their hard earned money via taxes so you could continue to waste cash and live off the fat of the land like some sort of corporate welfare recipient. Do like millions of Americans and earn your money by being the best. That’s how we got to be the most wealthy and prosperous nation in the world and it works. There is no “easy” way out and in the end, taking the bailout money will hurt you. It may not seem like it when you get that first check from Uncle Sam, but in 3, 5 maybe 10 years from now when your market share has eroded to almost nothing, you can look back and know exactly when it all went wrong.

UPDATE: Well, the entire process has stopped again with the death of a bill in the Senate this evening. It seems GM, Ford and Chrysler have been given another chance to fail. I applaud the Senate for not approving a plan of action that they were not 100% sure would work. Throwing money you don’t have at a problem that might not be fixed by it is a waste and the American people should applaud this.