DETROIT, Sept 4 - Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - News), which has won plaudits
from automotive and racing enthusiasts with high-performance models of some of its
most popular cars and trucks, announced plans on Wednesday to expand its lineup of limited edition vehicles.
Until now, the world's second-largest automaker has limited its performance upgrades primarily to high-horsepower versions of Ford brand vehicles, such as the F-150 pickup, the Mustang coupe and the Focus subcompact.
But the company said it was now creating a division, the Ford Performance Group, to design a range of muscle cars and trucks for its Lincoln and Mercury brands as well. A number of other Ford operations, such as after-market
performance parts and accessory sales, will also become part of the new group.
Company officials declined to comment on any specific future products, but industry
insiders cited the Lincoln LS sedan and recently introduced Mercury Marauder as among the most likely candidates for high-performance editions.
Typically, high-performance and niche vehicles are relatively low volume products that can command higher prices from consumers. Both General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM -News) and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler arm (NYSE:DCX - News; XETRA:DCXGn.DE -News) have also formed units to design and build high-performance versions of regular models.
Ford said more than 100,000 cars and trucks produced by its Special Vehicle Team, as
its performance division had been known until now, have been sold since the division was created 10 years ago. The division will also be rolled into Ford's new performance group.
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