Ford Freestar - Slow Sales and Early Retirement

Slow Sales and Early Retirement

The Freestar and Monterey were criticized for poor interior quality, large transmission and brake problems, and their overall lack of refinement compared to the competition. Sales of the Freestar in 2006 were down 20 percent from 2005, and its Mercury sibling, the Monterey, had seen sales slump 40 percent from 2005. The last Freestar rolled off the assembly line in Oakville on November 17, 2006.

When the Windstar was first introduced, it was a strong seller that had beat Chrysler to an aerodynamically styled minivan. While the styling had barely changed, the "all-new" (as Ford advertised) Freestar has several key improvements over the Windstar it replaced. While it used the same V-platform, which dates back to 1999, the 3.9/4.2 engines were upgrades over the Windstar's 3.8, and the transmission and driveline received much needed strengthening. Improvements to the driveline included larger wheel bearings, and heavier drive axles. Four-wheel disc brakes were also now standard. The 4F50N transmission received upgrades for improved shifting and reliability. All these changes were in addition to the front fascia, the dashboard/center console, and the rear portion of the floorpan.

The Freestar's main innovation, a fold-flat third row bench seat, had already been adopted by competitors, and it placed last in many reviews. It was no longer competitive as Japanese makes had finally adopted the layout and size of the class-defining Chrysler minivans, and its early retirement also contributed to Ford's financial problems, as they had also discontinued the Taurus, Thunderbird, Ford GT and renamed the Ford Five Hundred back to "Taurus", a name more familiar to the buying public, reversing the "F" naming strategy which had failed.

The Freestar used the code A5 in the 5th and 6th positions of the VIN.

For the 2009 model year, the Flex replaced the Freestar in the United States and Canada, while in Mexico, the Ford Transit replaced it. In Mexico, the Transit is still sold alongside the E-Series.

Ford announced its return to the minivan market with the 2010 Transit Connect, a compact MPV but marketed as a delivery rather than a family passenger van. General Motors replaced Ford as the only American automaker with no minivans after the 2009 model year in the United States & Canada, although Ford had only two years of no minivans in the United States & Canada. Ford plans to sell the Ford C-Max in the United States starting in 2011, making it the first time they have sold an MPV meant for non-fleet use since the Freestar.