Ford exec confirms Fairlane production for 2008
With the clock winding down on its slow-selling minivans, a Ford Motor executive has finally confirmed that a production version of the Ford Fairlane concept car is planned for 2008, after months of rumors and reports. According to suppliers, Lincoln will also get a version of the new crossover. This news comes after The Detroit News cited "insiders" within the company last month who claimed the Fairlane had gotten the go-ahead. AutoWeek's source is a company executive who didn't want to be identified.
The new vehicle will replace the Monterey and Freestar minivans in the three-rows-of-seats market segment, but at this stage little else is known about the final form of the car. As we reported back in February, both the Ford and Lincoln models will be built at Ford's Oakville, Ontario plant.
As we reported earlier, the Ford production version of the concept car is unlikely to carry the Fairlane badge. No word on the hybrid version, also rumored in February, but with Ford backing off on its hybrid promises of late, that's not surprising.
[Source: AutoWeek]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
hmmm 5:13PM (7/10/2006)
this aint no minivan its a cuv/suv ok dumb people at ford build it and let it compete with your new edge ! and the 17 other suvs ya already got and yet you wont give us a euro focus, when the market is screaming very loudly for fuel efficient cars !!!!
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Ralph Moreno 5:04PM (1/13/2008)
Ford made allot of mini van owners mad when they gaveup on the mini van. This new fairlane that suppose to take it's place is just what another SUV. Ford has to many of those now...What are they thinking...DA!!!!!
My Wife and others that own Mini Vans are looking seriously at Chrysler and Dodge Mini Vans when our lease is up. I retired from Ford after 41 years and think this is the dummest move ford has made besides the one they made many years ago when they let Chrylers use thier Idea for the Mini Van first, Now they're giving them the all the customers who have ford Mini Vans.
Nick 6:25PM (8/05/2008)
How are minivan Sales doing these days anyway? There the best thing a company can do In my opinion, I havent stopped buying Dodge Caravans... There BRILLIANT..
Does Chevy still make Minivans.. I know they had the Venture, and the Uplander, Both of Which I liked.. But what do they have these days?
Clarence 5:28PM (7/10/2006)
I have liked this one from the get-go. My fear is that they will monkey with it so much that it just won't be the same. I'd like to see a real plank or two on the side of it!
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PJ 5:37PM (7/10/2006)
I don't think this is a bad idea on Ford's part. The Freestar has proven that Ford is either unwilling or unable to produce a competitive minivan. So instead of making another half-hearted attempt to out-Odyssey the Odyssey, they're offering something a little bit different from anything else currently on the market.
I think debating the Fairlane's status as "minivan," "SUV," or "CUV" is a pointless exercise in semantics. These segments are blurring. What the Fairlane *isn't* is a truck-based, high-floor, high-ground-clearance 'ute like the Explorer. It's packaged for maximum interior space, and will be designed for everyday driving (as opposed to towing or off-roading), which places it closest to other minivans in terms of intended purpose.
The Fairlane's success will likely depend on what Ford decides to do with the styling. Personally, I think the concept looks kind of neat as long as it's judged as a segment-buster, not a surrogate Expedition or conventional van.
If nothing else, the Fairlane is at least an improvement on what GM tried to do to free its aging, uncompetitive vans from direct comparison with the Odyssey and Sienna: slapping a big shnoz on the front and calling them "Crossover Sport Vans" (*snort*)
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JC Whitless 5:59PM (7/10/2006)
Why don't they just get the Uplander from Nissan...
/wait, what?
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Daggy 6:00PM (7/10/2006)
I see a similarity to Land Rover, maybe the new Freelander?
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Shaun 6:01PM (7/10/2006)
I am for the guy with the euro focus idea and while they are at that bring over the falcon from down under.
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whofan 6:23PM (7/10/2006)
Build the SMAX with rear sliding doors like the Mazda 5. A fuel efficent family hualer like the Mazda 5 is what Ford needs. They have one in Europe minus sliding door wich are a must with kids in parking lots.
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emulous1974 6:36PM (7/10/2006)
I'm in that camp that likes the concept, I also hope they don't change much, but I'm very pessimistic about that.
I always considered my old Element a gussied up Minivan, as it provided more versatility than any other quasi-suv. If the production version can offer all the versatility of a minivan with a more distinct shape, much more style and pleasing driving experience, than why cry with the demise of the american minivan?
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iQuack 6:51PM (7/10/2006)
I hope Ford chooses a name other than Fairlane. Those with long memories might remember the Ford Fairlane from the 1960s.
Fortunately, the '66 Fairlane I had, a slick looking red one with a V8, was a company-owned car because it was the worst POS imaginable. There were warranty repairs almost weekly on that thing during the first 6 months I had it--things broke that I didn't know existed on cars. And it shook and rattled over all but the smallest bumps in the road. Ride was floaty, too--a total pile of junk in every way. It did have a good AM radio.
The Fairlane replaced a superb, '63 Valiant that wasn't as fast or sharp, but was so much better.
OK, that was 40 years ago, but my memory is clear and whenever I think of the word "Fairlane" I think of dreck.
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Typesbad 7:35PM (7/10/2006)
I bet we are all going to be real dissappointed when the production model comes out. I'm guessing the upright squared-off green house and the Gillette 3-blade grill will be the only stylistic elements to survive.
I don't mind if they use the Fairlane name, but "Ranch Wagon" or "Country Squire" would more appropriate. Because when you get down to it, all this not a minivan - not an SUV boils down to it being a station wagon, nothing more. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
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kurt 8:18PM (7/10/2006)
Ford could really make the model distinctive by providing a couple of different diesel powerplants.
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Luis Longo 8:57PM (7/10/2006)
LOOKS LIKE A REFRIGERATOR GOT BUSY WITH A SCION XB.
Im serious its the exact design of the XB, Scion should sue them. by the way it aint a SUV nor a CUV.
Its just a plane simple minivan.
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Mike 9:11PM (7/10/2006)
Why would Ford destory so much of Land Rover's brand equity... Oh wait they're a pathetic American car company trying to keep shareholders at bay for another quarter.
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starlightmica 9:16PM (7/10/2006)
Are the non-minivan twins going to have power suicide doors to avoid the stigma of minivan-like sliding doors? And how is Ford supposed to sell both the Freestyle and Fairlane in the same showroom - won't one cannibalize sales of the other, given similar powertrains, capacities, and platforms?
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Infinihertz 9:46PM (7/10/2006)
#13 - I don't think the Freestyle will stay around once the Fairlane debuts. I'd expect it to be refreshed once and then get replaced in 2-3 years, with maybe 1 year where both are sold concurrently. Just speculation, but that would make the most sense to me; although bad decisions have been made to let Ford vans reach their current point, I don't think Ford management is going to screw it up again by having two vehicles that compete that directly. If both are offered, it'd only be because both were selling well on their own (which I wouldn't expect).
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Al Eisensteinium 10:08PM (7/10/2006)
The "fluting" on the doors doesn't line up. What's the over/under on whether production will improve fit and finish?
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whofan 10:11PM (7/10/2006)
"Im serious its the exact design of the XB, Scion should sue them. by the way it aint a SUV nor a CUV".
GM should sue Toyota for shrinking the Asto van and call it the Scion XB!
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Luis Longo 10:53PM (7/10/2006)
#16
Whoa, would you call that really aged late 80's Astro Van that GM keeps building just as a desperate way to get profits and not spend in development/design cost of a new van XB. Would u call that an XB?
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