Ford tough

Hard times just keep getting harder as the U.S. automaker learns that it costs to cut | John Dawson

Sometime next year, customers who head to a Ford dealership to look for a new minivan will have to be ushered by salesmen to the used cars.

By the end of 2007, Ford Motor Company, an icon of the automotive industry and one of the world's strongest brands, won't have a minivan to sell.

And it's not by choice. In 2004, Ford redressed its flagging Windstar minivan, switched the nameplate and released it as the "all-new" Freestar for the new model year. But consumers balked at the frumpy design and high cost. Upon its release, Freestar cost about $5,300 more than its comparably equipped Japanese rival, the Honda Odyssey. "The second it hit the ground it was dead," says Ed Wallace, an automotive industry expert who reviews cars for BusinessWeek and hosts a call-in show in Dallas.