It's the beginning of the end for Ford's sedan lineup. Last April, Ford announced plans to end sales for all sedans in North America. Those plans have not changed. In fact, according to Automotive News, the automaker has stopped all nationwide marketing for the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, and Taurus.

Regional spending will be slashed in specific markets, even though the Fusion isn't going anywhere for another two years. It will still continue to be sold but the remaining models are about to have their final sendoffs. In their place, Ford will focus on its crossover lineup with new models such as the EcoSport and the upcoming all-electric vehicle, previously called Mach 1, that's due in 2020.

Ford's pickup trucks, led by the best-selling F-Series, will also remain a bread and butter segment, as will the Mustang. In fact, the Mustang will soon become the automaker's only non-crossover, SUV, or pickup truck sold in the US. The money and other related resources saved thanks to the discontinuation of these sedans will enable Ford to further strengthen the status and market positioning of the vehicles already in high demand. "It allows us to focus our resources," LaNeve said in an interview Tuesday.

"If we can take that money from sedans, where we have a middle-of-the-road position, to be the leading brand in SUVs, that'd be a really good position." Only a few days ago we learned that Ford decided against importing the new Focus Active to the US from China, due to tariff's caused by the trade war between the Trump administration and China.

The Focus Active is essentially a slightly raised version of the next-generation Focus hatchback, but is still considered to be more of a traditional car than a crossover. But is Ford making a big mistake in dropping its sedans? Is crossover demand really more of a temporary trend? It doesn't appear so and the latest sales figures from last month provide further proof.

Ford's car sales dropped 21 percent in August, and at the same time, its pickup truck and van sales increased by 5.9 percent. Meanwhile, crossover and SUV sales saw a 20 percent increase. Even the Mustang had a stellar month with a 35 percent improvement. But this is nearly it for Ford's sedan lineup. It was a great decades-long run.