Automotive News

Breaking News - Ford to Close 2 More Plants
Norfolk Virginia and St. Paul Minnesota take the hit.

The Norfolk plant is one of three that build the F-150. With pick-up sales overall down and expected to go down further, apparently Ford thinks it can get by with two.

The St. Paul plant makes the Ford Ranger. Ford has ignored the Ranger for years and now wants to put it out of its misery. (Note, the Ranger initially begat the Explorer, and the Explorer was Ford's cash cow for years. Is this any way to treat the parent of your favorite child?) Don't be surprised if Ford imports small pick-ups from Brazil or possibly Thailand.

The last I heard, the USA had removed import restrictions from vehicles from Thailand. Surprisingly, after the United States, Thailand is the top global market for pick-up trucks with 400,000 sold each year. The pick-up is a form of mass transportation in Thailand. In a modified version called the songthaew ("two rows"), a row of seats line each side of the bed. There's a place to sit or stand in the middle. This type of vehicle is also sometimes called a baht bus. The Wikipedia article on songthaews is located at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songthaew.


Automotive News