Ford employee Karen Hannon on the MKC Louisville assembly line.
In a terse statement at the end of last week, Ford Motor Company said it confirmed “with the President-elect Trump that, with his support, our small Lincoln utility vehicle made at the Louisville Assembly Plant will stay in Kentucky.
“We are encouraged that President-elect Trump and the new Congress will pursue policies that will improve U.S. competitiveness and make it possible to keep production of this vehicle here in the United States,” Ford said.
Trump used twitter to say that he recorded a hard-won victory for American autoworkers by persuading Ford to keep a Lincoln plant in Louisville, Ky., rather than move it to Mexico. Well, not quite. All Ford had said was that it was moving the Lincoln MKC – a compact crossover built off the Ford Escape architecture to Mexico.
Ford Motor said it made the decision before Donald Trump spoke by phone on Thursday with William Clay Ford Jr., the company’s executive chairman.
The Louisville plant will continue Ford Escapes, along with the Lincoln MKC for the moment. No jobs were created, and given the overheated compact SUV market, no jobs were saved.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
