Ford OKs Fairlane, Keeps Town Car

Deep in the throes of massive restructuring, Ford Motor Co. charts the Way Forward with new products soon to launch.

The auto maker says 70% of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles will be new or significantly upgraded between now and 2008, including a completely redesigned Ford F-150 pickup.

The Ford Fairlane CUV will go on sale in 2008 and be built at Ford's Oakville, Ont., Canada, assembly plant, replacing the auto maker's last remaining minivan, the slow-selling Freestar, which will cease production in 2007.

Ford also plans to extend output of the venerable Lincoln Town Car, which was expected to cease production with the closing of the Wixom, MI, plant. Town Car production will be moved to the St. Thomas, Ont., Canada, vehicle-assembly plant to meet ongoing demand, says Mark Fields, president-The Americas.

A new Ford F-150 pickup will be introduced in 2008, as Ford vows to retain its leadership in the fullsize truck segment.

Fields says the auto maker will intensify to create new small cars and CUVs that will be based on the company's global vehicle architectures, including B and C platforms not presently used in North America.