Ford Motor Co.
2007 Ford Edge CUV: The all-new 2007 Ford Edge features a class-exclusive Vista Roof(TM) glass roof, with a tilt-and-slide front roof and fixed rear glass that provide panoramic views for front and rear passengers.
Shortly after Ford Motor Co. recruited quality expert Kathi Hanley away from Toyota Motor Corp. late last year, she was handed an important assignment.
Ford's success depends on its new vehicles, like the 2007 Edge, which is why the automaker pored over the crossover's details.
Ford asked her to take a hard look at a new crossover it was developing called the Ford Edge. Trained on the vaunted Toyota quality system, Hanley pored over the Edge and found more than 70 significant issues and hundreds of minor concerns.
Her frank assessment, laid out in a detailed memo, helped set in motion an intense effort by Ford to bring the Edge up to world-class quality and still launch it on time this fall -- never easy with an all-new vehicle.
With the launch date near, Ford says its make-or-break entry into the crossover market couldn't be more ready to challenge Toyota and the rest of the competition. And Hanley agrees.
"The Edge's quality is more than competitive with Toyota and Nissan," Hanley told The Detroit News recently. "I have no doubt it will stand up in quality."
Ford's future hinges on new vehicles, and none is more important than the Edge, a roomy crossover utility vehicle that rolls into showrooms late this fall.
The Edge and its Lincoln stablemate, the MKX, also debuting this year, are Ford's best chance to attract new buyers.
Crossovers have become one of the fastest-growing vehicle segments as consumers turn their backs on gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles. Sales of crossovers will top 2 million this year and could outsell SUVs for the first time.
The Edge is aimed squarely at the center of this critical market, currently dominated by the Nissan Murano, Acura MDX and other foreign models.
If the Edge is a hit, it could become the vehicle that defines the automaker's comeback. If not -- well, that is a prospect Ford executives really do not want to contemplate. "It's really no secret that the Edge needsto be a hit in the marketplace," Paul Mascarenas, Ford's vice president of engineering for the Americas.
Sweating the details
Jim Hall, an analyst with AutoPacific Inc. in Southfield, said the idea of having someone like Hanley, who worked for Toyota in Georgetown, Ky., where the popular Camry is built, review the Edge makes a lot of sense for an automaker that critics say is too set in its ways.
"Anybody from the outside is going to see things differently from someone raised in the system," Hall said. "Toyota is good at finding things that customers notice. So, if she helped them with that, it will have been more than worth it. It's all going to come down to how well the vehicle is engineered, integrated and built."
The automaker is sweating the details as it ramps up production of the new crossovers at its factory in Oakville, Ontario.
Ford convinced the Canadian Auto Workers in Oakville to suspend work rules to prevent workers from changing jobs on the assembly line during the launch.
Normally, the workers could use seniority to change jobs as they come open, but Ford wanted to make sure everyone on the line had mastered their task and wouldn't have to try to learn a new job during the launch.
"The launch up at Oakville for the Edge and the MKX is an absolutely critical part of our 'way forward' plan," said David Szczupak, Ford's vice president in charge of manufacturing for its Americas group, in an online chat with employees Thursday.
Szczupak said Ford also is using extensive real world testing to spot last-minute issues. "I drove one of the latest pre-production vehicles last night, and I'm really encouraged," he said.
As important as quality will be, so is customer reaction to the Edge's styling, which hews closely to the design of the Ford Fusion sedan and features a big three-bar chrome grille, athletic stance and aggressive geometry.
The Fusion, which went on sale in October, received good reviews and has so far proven a strong seller. August Fusion sales were the best yet, at 15,468.
Early interest in the Edge has been strong, Ford said.
The company has received more than 40,000 requests for information from consumers --10,000 more than the Fusion had generated by the same point in its launch cycle. The Edge Web site also has received 40 percent more hits. Ford says such metrics show the company has created something customers want to buy.
"You've got to know your customer," said Elaine Bannon, chief nameplate engineer for the Edge. "We knew from the start that this product had to enter the segment with an absolute 'wow!' "
What the customer wants
Ford says it went to unusual lengths to understand what customers wanted in a crossover.
Designers found a woman who matched their target customer -- younger, active, optimistic -- and studied her life to understand how to create a vehicle to fit it.
Pricing on the Edge is expected to start at about $25,000.
AutoPacific's Hall said it has many positive attributes, an interesting design, surprisingly sporty handling and what is expected to be best-in-class acceleration.
"We think they may have found a sweet spot -- and their competitors do, too," he said.
The production launch for the Edge is scheduled for Oct. 16, with regular production expected to start Nov. 2.
Ford's plan calls for Oakville to produce a combined 150,000 units annually of the Edge and MKX.
"We've got every reason to be optimistic," Mascarenas said. "We've put Ford back in the game."
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
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