An announcement by Ford earlier this spring that it plans to stop selling most of its cars in North America raised some eyebrows, but didn't come as a total shock to a local car dealer.

The plan would leave the Mustang and new Focus Active as the only traditional cars Ford sells, while the Focus, Taurus, Fiesta and mid-size Fusion will eventually be phased out.

While that may come as a surprise to many buyers, for people working in the local auto industry its makes a lot of sense.

Jim Dick, president of Rhineland Car in Altona says Ford is simply trying to realign its operations in an effort to meet demand for one of the fastest growing segments in the North American auto market, the SUV.

Dick explained that the SUV segment is growing, while car sales continue to decline, and that's exactly the pattern he sees on their lot as well.

"I've been here for 24 years and when I first started with my dad and my uncle we used sell a lot of cars, and big cars like the Grand Marquis and Crown Victoria. Those were great cars, but our car share continues to drop every year and our customers are moving into SUVs and trucks."

The area that is seeing the greatest uptake from buyers is the smaller SUV segment.

"We have this new vehicle out called the EcoSport which is actually smaller than the Escape and it competes right in that Focus segment. That EcoSport, Escape and Edge segment is where most of the action is happening and all the manufacturers are looking at putting more entries into those areas."

The attraction of the smaller SUVs, according to Dick, can be linked to several features such as improved fuel efficiency, sitting a little higher than cars which Dick says makes them easier to get in and out of, and better sight lines.

He added, however, customers shouldn't expect to see any radical changes in what's being offered on the Rhineland Car lot as these changes won't happen overnight.

Ford stopped making the Focus in May of this year, and will end production of the Taurus in March 2019 and the Fiesta in May 2019. The mid-size Fusion will stay around a bit longer.

"It will take a few years before some of those cars are phased out and we still expect to be selling cars like the Fusion and Focus for a little while yet. But, in terms of servicing those cars, Ford will look after those for years to come, so that won't be an issue for customers," said Dick.