Ford pulling out of F1 and WRC

[G.Irish]

"After a thorough review over many months Ford Motor Company has decided it can no longer make a compelling business case for any of its brands to compete in Formula One,ÔÇØ said Jaguar's Chairman and Chief Executive, Joe Greenwell.

Ford apparently is also cutting its WRC program back to only running the European rounds of the championship (no show at Mexico ).

I suppose if Ford operations are hurting it would only make sense to cut the motorsports budgets. As far as F1 goes it doesn't seem like Ford was putting forth the kind of effort they would need in order to be able to compete regularly with the top tier teams. Still, I kind of feel like if they really worked hard and were more efficient they could get a better return on investment. Perhaps if Ford looking at F1 as a tool for training its engineers and doing advanced R&D it'd be more worthwhile for them.

With WRC Ford looked like it was making some serious headway for awhile and I can't help but think that success in WRC would help their sales a lot in Europe. I think they should keep their money in WRC rather than waste it in NASCAR and to a lesser extent, Champ Car.

Oh well, I hope they'll be back soon. Or at the very least maybe they're planning a return to Le Mans.

[.RJ]

WRC definately sells cars, its a shame to see ford pull out (again). Its hard to develop a good brand image with WRC without continued support and development of the cars and taking a hiatus every few years.

[G.Irish]

Seriously. Look at Mitsu and Subaru. Subaru's success in WRC has unequivocally given them a huge boost in image and sales worldwide. I think if the Focus WRC car won a championship or two it would help Ford move some more units.

[.RJ]

Hell, it even works for Peugot....

[Dave]

sad to hear it. Competition is always good because it makes everybody work harder to get that edge. Whenever somebody like Ford bails (with a seemingly infinite supply of funds from all of thier income producing projects), it only makes it easier for the others. And in this case, has potential to actually hurt Ford b/c they could put the money in and just use the results more wisely to appeal to thier target market and find out what works in thier platforms and what doesn't.

[ScottyB]

well thats a shame. it baffles me that ford would do this with WRC too, seeing as how so many people remember the rich history they have always had in WRC (escort MK I-III, sierra RS, escort cosworth RS, RS200, focus). they need to understand that many of their customers are enthusiasts, and enthusiasts tend to know quite a bit about competition/motorsports....so this can't be helping their image for that niche of customers.

[G.Irish]

Ford really hasn't taken advantage of their rally history here in the US. The only car that comes to mind is the Merkur. Honestly I think they should make a turbo AWD Focus for sale here and abroad (although it might infringe on the Mustang a bit).

Its a real shame they're selling off Cosworth too, I really can't understand why they'd do such a thing. Maybe Cosworth wasn't providing a lot of ROI with technology and such or maybe the bean counters at Ford just didn't value their feedback and knowledge very much, or maybe Cosworth has been dragging ass lately.

[ScottyB]

Ford really hasn't taken advantage of their rally history here in the US.

i honestly wasnt even thinking of that. the first thing that popped into my mind was some statistic i remember that stated that rallying was the most popular motorsport in the world, due no doubt to the variety of venues in which the events take place.

[G.Irish]

i honestly wasnt even thinking of that. the first thing that popped into my mind was some statistic i remember that stated that rallying was the most popular motorsport in the world, due no doubt to the variety of venues in which the events take place.

Good point. From a global perspective pulling out of WRC makes even less sense but at the very least they'll still contest the European rounds. I hope another manufacturer jumps back into the fray to help WRC stay strong. I don't see Mitsu coming back anytime soon and I doubt Nissan will get in there. Toyota would be a good candidate except that they're pouring metric tons of money into F1 and aren't getting good results yet. And maybe they're still smarting from getting kicked out.

[Ryan T]

Bah, its Ford. One less crap company on the circuit.

Just playin, I hate to see them pull out of WRC and F1, they really helped other companies stay at the top of their game.

[ScottyB]

well. from what i've read, skoda is making some improvements, and citroen is really kicking ass...which is cool considering how long they've been in the game. so its nice to see those companies upping the ante.

id really like to see volvo take a shot at WRC with the S40. unfortunately, i guess they fall under ford ownership. and nissan would be cool, but they dont have anything smaller than the G/skyline that would be awd capable. who knows, maybe if honda adapts their new SH-AWD to a small chassis they might rule WRC someday.

[WRXtranceformed]

Sort of offtopic, but I'm super fucking drunk and thought I'd post my wallpaper...while we're on the topic of rally driving



Subaru > all !

[ScottyB]

thats what i like to see man! my desktop as of the last 5 days...

[CaptainHenreh]

Well, saying that Ford removing themselves from WRC will harm their image might not be entirely accurate.

I mean, look at Audi.

Audi DOMINATED rally for YEARS. WRC turned into "Audi Winning and Everybody Else Racing". The UrQuattro Coupe was/is arguably the most kick-assinest car.....evar.

And Audi still takes advantage of that image. Especially with their "Every race we've ever been in, quattro has been made illegal" campaign. (Which I think they've actually stopped running now that they're in the World Challenge).

But in the end, ESPECIALLY in America, Ford pulling out of WRC and F1 doesn't mean two shits. I'm sorry to see Jaguar leave F1, but ford was sucking butt in the WRC, mostly due to not being able to find a driver worth two shits, and partially because Peugot kicks ass. And yes, Skoda has a new car, new team, new strategy. Expect good things from Skoda in the next few.

Did Mitsu actually leave WRC? Last I heard they were sorting out the new rally car....

[.RJ]

Audi has moved their reserources into ALMS and SVWC....

Ford is going... where?

[CaptainHenreh]

Ford is going out of the mexico, and just going to race the european rallies, where they're most visible.

But it wouldn't surprise me if they threw less money, time, and effort at WRC.

[.RJ]

The team already complains about half-assed involvement.

Unfortunately, vehicle development is getting increasingly difficult and expensive... active diffs/suspensions :blort:

[ScottyB]

Unfortunately, vehicle development is getting increasingly difficult and expensive... active diffs/suspensions :blort:

i imagine turning a front wheel drive hatch into an AWD one doesnt smooth things out either

[Chris]

Sort of offtopic, but I'm super fucking drunk and thought I'd post my wallpaper...while we're on the topic of rally driving



Subaru > all !

just a question... what are the 2 "hood scoops" on the roof? Do they cool the driver compartment or something?

[.RJ]

Yes, since the windows are always shut.