Mulally, 61, took over at Ford in September from William Clay Ford Jr., 49, who recruited him to become the first outside chief executive since 1946. The company lost $12.7 billion in 2006.I'm sure some will argue that in order to turn the company around they have to hire the best talent available. But what wonders what kind of talent this guy has to offer.
At Boeing, Mulally eliminated more than 30,000 jobs as demand for commercial airplanes plunged because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.Basically, cutting costs for short term gain. Sure that's good for next quarter's balance sheets, but it doesn't sell a single extra car. For that you really have to look at Ford's ridiculous line-up. In the past ten years Ford has introduced seven new models or fully redesigned models of trucks and SUVs. Eight if you include the recently discontinued mega-SUV Excursion (replaced with a stretched version of the Expedition). All well designed vehicles, but they are crowded into a shrinking market share with gas prices expected to reach $4 a gallon in some areas this summer.
So what do they have to compete with the multitude of efficient, well-engineered compact and midsized cars from Japanese and Korean manufacturers? The Ford Focus. don't get me wrong. This was a great little car in 1998, but that's two product cycles ago for their competitors, and all Ford has done is to replace the grille, as well as killing off the hatchback and wagon versions. Meanwhile, our friends across the pond had their version completely redesigned on the C1 Platform over two years ago. Surely, the cost of replacing the bumpers to meet US regulations isn't that high. Ford claims that the platform is too expensive for an entry-level car, but Mazda has been selling the popular Mazda3 on that platform starting at almost the same price.
Sure Ford along with GM and Chrysler have incredibly high legacy costs, but it's their own damn fault for promising their workers pie-in-the-sky retirement packages several decades ago when they were flying high and then not fully funding them. It's also their own damn fault for letting their market share dwindle to the point where they became incredibly over-staffed by selling some truly horrible compact cars to compete with the imports during the '70s and '80s.
And don't get me started on the fact that our friends down-under get the potent Falcon while we get the ancient Crown Vic and the gutless Five-Hundred.
The good news is that sales of the highly rated Fusion (and clone) sedans are up. Granted, this platformed debuted several years ago with the Mazda6, but better late than never, right? Unfortunately, truck sales continue to plummet, offsetting all other gains.
In other news, it looks like the Krauts may unload Chrysler to the Canucks. You could be next, Ford.
3 comments:
It is possible that Ford is knowingly hiring a hatchet man to come in and do their dirty work. He cans a bunch of people, they send him away with a nice little going away present for a job well done, then the Ford family takes back the helm and 'revitalizes the brand'. People love the Jesus story even when it takes longer than three days.
Every year, every month, and now almost every week I am more convinced that the automobile is on the way out. The number one safety hazard in any vehicle? The driver. The next generation of personal rapid transit has to get rid of the driver. Petrochemicals have to go as well. As does contact with a road that then needs constant repair. I'm not sure what exactly we'll get with all that, but I now feel certain I'll see it in my lifetime. Driving will become a recreational activity for people who like their choppers and their Falcons. And I can't wait to get the absent minded lunatics, phone chatterers, and over caffeinated soccer moms off the road.
I'm not convinced that the automobile is going away. People really like their cars. It sure as hell is going to get more expensive to keep them running, but I think that the economy will drive itself into the ground before people start giving up their cars.
As far as the hatchet man, I think you're right. I suspect that they want to intentionally go bankrupt to pawn off their pension obligations on the taxpayers. They just have to be careful not to go the way of Rover
I think it's really in the pitch. Instead of calling it auto-pilot they need to pitch it as 'personal automated chauffer' or some such. Having a luxury like a chauffer is something I think people would really buy into. Especially if you could tell it to pick up the kids from soccer practice while you sat at home watching TV and eating bon-bons.
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