'Never Say Never' Ford Won't Close The Door On Sedans After Leaving The Segment Over Five Years Ago

When Ford killed off the Fusion during the 2020 model year, it ended a lineage of Blue Oval sedans that went back decades, but now Ford seems to be cracking the door open to bringing back the humble four-door in a crossover-dominated world. The move wouldn't be in response to enthusist outcry or for people who yearn for smaller cars, it would come down to one thing: affordability.

I don't have to tell you that the average price of a new car is currently just about as high as it's ever been, and because of that, every mainstream automaker is looking for ways to bring prices down. A sedan could be a great way for Ford to do that. At the Detroit Auto Show, Ford CEO Jim Farley was asked about bringing a sedan back to the U.S. market, and he didn't immediately shut the door on the idea, according to Automotive News. Instead, Farley told reporters, "Never say never."

"The sedan market is very vibrant. It's not that there isn't a market there. It's just we couldn't find a way to compete and be profitable," Farley told Auto News. "Well, we may find a way to do that."

I'm not sure what has changed in the past six years that would make a new sedan from Ford profitable, but I'm not the type of person to turn down added competition in the marketplace. Plus, as a light automotive circlejerker, there will always be a special place in my heart for sedans, even if crossovers are far better suited for most regular folks' needs.

Right now, the cheapest vehicle Ford sells is the $30,535 Ford Maverick XL, and that is a very basic truck with steel wheels, a physical key and more hard plastic than a Lego set. It makes sense that the Dearborn-based automaker is looking for ways to bring cheaper cars into the fold, because just about every one of its main competitors sells at least one or two vehicles that undercut it.

Executive Chairman and honored host of President Donald Trump told reporters at the Auto Show that the company's strategy for getting affordability under control would go much deeper than just repackaging options into cheaper trim levels — something the company does right now. This isn't a practice it plans to stop using, either, but it can only help so much, according to Ford.

"There's a more fundamental version. Can you engineer vehicles that are fundamentally lower-cost so that you can pass that on to the customer?" Ford rhetorically asked reporters. "And, that's what we're working on."

It's fairly obvious that a sedan would be cheaper to design and manufacture than a crossover or truck, simply because it's smaller. There's less componentry, so there are fewer raw materials. Everything is scaled down.

Obviously, if Ford were to bring back sedans, we are a long way away from them hitting showroom floors, but these comments from Farley and Ford should definitely provide some hope to sedan lovers everywhere who feel lost in a world of high-riding crossovers.