CNBC: Ford is basically giving up on the US car business

I think the two largest and most respected American car companies are making a mistake with this new strategy. A refocusing towards more popular models may be in order, but abandoning the most affordable and most fuel efficient vehicle segments leaves them vulnerable when energy prices climb.

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Ford is basically giving up on US car business, and GM is not far behind

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So is it really the end of cars in North America?

From the way Detroit's major executives are talking, it would seem so.

Ford said on Wednesday it will only offer two new cars in North America over the coming years — its iconic Mustang, and the Focus Active, a rugged-looking hatchback that has already debuted in Europe, and that is styled like a rugged wagon, much like the Subaru Crosstrek or Buick Regal TourX.

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"Virtually eliminating Ford's NA car portfolio makes a lot of sense, in our view," said Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley. "No more Fusion. No more Focus. No more Fiesta. No more Taurus."

GM still makes quite a few cars. For now, Chevrolet alone still sells somewhere around 12 cars if you count Corvette, although there have been rumors and news it will cut or end production of at least some of those. Buick has some sedans and a crossover that looks a lot like a wagon, and Cadillac has so many sedans industry observers and dealers say it missed the crossover trend.

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Discontinued:
Chrysler 200

Slated for discontinuation:
Ford Fiesta
Ford Fusion
Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKZ
Lincoln Continental
Chevrolet Sonic

Sedan models rumored to be phased out or merged with other models within 5 years:
Chevrolet Impala
Buick LaCrosse

By 2022, 97% of Chrysler's lineup, 90% of Chrysler's lineup, and 84% of General Motor's lineup will be crossovers or SUVs.

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So sedans and other cars are expected to still form more than a quarter of all consumer vehicle sales in the U.S., but the overall trend appears to be to be that American companies especially are giving up trying to sell cars to Americans.

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Chevrolet has cut one of the 3 shifts for the Cruze sedan at its Lordstown, OH plant and move some Cruze hatchback production to Mexico.

Ford has opted to discontinue Focus production in North American entirely and import the new model from China.

Both companies seem to be using this reshuffle as an opportunity to cut manufacturing capacity in the US and outsource production.