My God we lived to see and hear that! Donald Trump provided us with a piece of information we can really use. Thanks to his public nonsense he managed to draw out a commentary from Chairman of Ford’s union who confirmed that the Ford’s Bronco and Ranger will be revived once again.
After Ford announced that it would be moving its Focus and C-Max sedans and hatchbacks from its Michigan assembly plant to Mexico, Trump apparently quickly attacked them for it, which forced Ford to defend them. Soon after that, we could hear that the Michigan plant will not close and endure this transition, it is going to be used to produce two new models – Bronco and Ranger.
Ford’s United Auto Workers contract that came public in 2015 confirmed everything but the Bronco and Ranger production, combined with the nearly $9 million investment in the US factories. In September this year Ford announced that because of lowering production costs and need to make room for two new vehicles in Michigan plant, it would be moving its small car production to Mexico by 2018. To a smart person, this is enough said. But no, Trump continued to attack and attack Ford due to their actions until everything escalated in our benefit.
Trump pretty much unintentionally made Ford disclose that the Ford Bronco (discontinued in 1996) and the Ranger (came to an end after the 2012 model year) will be the two vehicles that will be holding the jobs of the people in Michigan production plant. Apparently, Bill Johnson (UAW chairman for the Michigan plant) told Detroit Free Press that Trump “needs to get his facts straight” and stop accusing Ford of something that already was done by other manufacturers. He also added this “We hate to see the products go to Mexico, but with the Ranger and the Bronco coming to Michigan Assembly that absolutely secures the future for our people a lot more than the Focus does.” Yes, this is what we needed to hear! For the first time, and I can not believe that I am saying this, thank you, Mr. Trump!
But now let’s get real, all of this is great, but it is also backed up by one more thing. Gas prices are down lately, and the US soil is becoming more attractive for the production of SUVs rather than small cars. This is all reflected in the lower sales of small cars lately. What is concerning us, but only a little, is that Ford hasn’t yet at least officially confirmed Johnson’s statement. But the silver lining is something that Ford said last year where they claimed that they are pursuing alternatives to produce in Michigan and they will “discuss this issue with UAW leadership as part of the upcoming negotiations”. If this isn’t a telltale sign that Johnson is first to know anything about these things, nothing is.
