Ford to Offer Fewer Vehicle Options

As if the news of closing yet another Ford plant today wasn't enough of a cost-savings effort for the ailing automaker, Ford has also announced that they plan to cut down on the number of vehicle options and configurations available. By making fewer available configurations, Ford will be able to speed up product development and reduce manufacturing complexity. In other words, they won't have to pay as many people to roll-out new vehicles.

Japanese automakers have had fewer options configurations available for some time now. They claim it saves both the dealer and consumer time. Dealers don't have to worry about selecting the wrong configurations for their consumers, and consumers won't be overwhelmed by the number of choices.

With model year changes coming up, Ford plans to start its trimming of options with the 2008 Mustang V-6 deluxe. It will only be available in 200 buildable combinations. On the 2007 model, there are over 16,000 available combinations. That's a huge cut.

Ford is not alone in its quest to save money and keep things simple, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group has also recently announced a similar plan which featured cutting options available on the Dodge Nitro from 167,000 to just 650. They also plan similar reductions on other vehicles.

These drastic changes reflect what we've known for some time now: the American auto manufacturing market is suffering.