2012 Ford escape

2012 Ford escape

The Ford Escape remains one of America’s most popular compact SUVs. Indeed, it was a top seller in the recent “cash-for-clunkers” program, according to U.S. Transportation Department tallies–the only SUV to make the top 10. Not bad for a basic design that’s now almost a decade old, albeit updated along the way.
For 2012, however, the Escape will finally get a clean-sheet redesign. Details are now coming into focus–or Focus, to be more precise.
That’s because the next Escape will share a new international platform that premieres with the next-generation Ford Focus compact car, due for model-year 2011. This architecture will also host the redesigned 2012 Focus C-Max people-mover, a European hit that’s now headed for North America. These plans reflect the “One Ford” product strategy decreed by company CEO Alan Mulally. It’s really the old “world-car” idea dusted off for new hard times: A basic vehicle that can sell well most anywhere with just a few low-cost variations to suit local tastes and conditions. Done properly, a world car and derivatives can save billions in development and tooling costs versus creating similar but unrelated models for different regions.
No market looms larger in global sales and earnings than the so-called C-segment–compact cars and SUVs–so the redesigned Focus and 2012 Ford Escape are bound to loom large in the automaker’s still-nascent recovery. Ford’s global C-segment sales were about a million units in 2008, but involved three different platforms. The company says its new single C-car architecture will sire up to 10 models with expected global sales of over 2 million units a year. In short, Ford is out to get a lot more bang for its buck in terms of product variety and, presumably, profits.

2012 Ford escape

2012 Ford escape

2012 Ford escape

2012 Ford escape

2012 Ford escape

2012 Ford escape