Ford to shorten development time for vehicles

If you are one of those very few people, and are really excited about the 2008 Ford lineup, then you won’t have to wait as long as you originally expected to. Ford is expediting the delivery of that model year by several months. The move is part of an effort by the carmaker to shorten the development time of new models by 12 to 14 months in order to respond to trends faster and to freshen up a product line that certainly needs a boost. It’s all part of the overhaul which has been underway since January.

The move will decrease the average age of the vehicles in their fleet from the current 4.4 years to 3.2 years by 2008. That will place it among the top manufacturers in that regard.

Critics and analysts should welcome the news. They have used the staleness as the product line and the company’s seeming inability to restyle their cars as a basis for their negative attacks on the beleaguered company.