Purple Hayz

an interesting read from the Free Press

New Mustang tested Bill Ford's mettle as the CEO

snkbtn99

And if Toyota didn't have the Camry ... What "direction" would they have?

Ford will be fine ....

Amy V6

Just be glad that Jacques Nasser is OUT and that the Ford family is back in. Nasser was nothing but evil for the company.

houtex

So if I read this right, it means that if he'd just gotten control quicker, they'd be on time and under budget. And we'd have Mustangs by now, and they'd be cheaper to boot.

Darn you Nasser!!!! Darn you to Heck!!!!!

And a small 'darn ya' to Bill for not gettin' in charge sooner.



And lookie there, he said "scared pooless!" Which the censors will now filter. I let it do that so the 'PC' word is inserted, since I'm unsure what that is. Anyway, I found that interesting, to say the least. Big hiney corporate $%&#er behind orifice son of a female dog has some circular three dimentional objects, don't he? :headbang:

BTW I love the filter.

All in all, that other guy is an idiot, Ford knows what he's (and they're) doing now, and it's all going to be good soon. Like in 49 days (from this writing.) Go Ford!!!

PS:
OOHHH! Neat! FireFox keeps the animations going after I click on one! IE doesn't do that, the animatied smilies quit working after you click one. COOL! Although FF's not perfect yet (I'll be submitting a report to Mozilla soon) THAT's one awesome feature I love. It's the little things I guess...

scottie1113

So true.

I'm glad that Bill Ford is the CEO now. We've got a great F150 (which does nothing for me as I'm not a truck or SUV guy, but it's adding a lot to the bottom line), the Ford GT, a new Mustang, a hybrid escape, and other cars rolling out soon.

I don't know if the 500 is going to be a hit. We'll see. I hope Ford can become a real car company again, and not one that relies on its trucks. I think they're headed in the right direction.

dustindu4

I think the new Mustang will beat everyone's expectations

Purple Hayz

Well I'll say this. If nothing else, Jack the Knife was an idea man. Alas, most of his "ideas" were about as useful as a perforated condom.

How bout that Rover Group purchase Helluva money maker that one was.....

In any event, it's good to see a Ford back at the helm. As many of you note, the turnaround has been progressing nicely, and ford should put one out of the park with the new Stang.

Keep ya fingers crossed...

Amy V6

Do you have any family members or friends that work at Ford Motor Company? I do... nothing crap from him. Jack was crap.

Galaxie

The Nasser era had a pure bean-counter attiude... rush the cars to market to maximize profit.

Some great success stories of his era: The botched launches of the Focus and Escape.

I am sure Billy will do a great job, the fact that a Ford is at the helm gives a face to a large corporation that the public can identify with.

One thing though, I hope he realizes all the cars don't have to start with F and all the trucks don't have to start with E

kevinb120

and then some.........



For the sedans duratec 35 is not far away
for trucks, can you say "hurricane 6.2", I knew you could.... B)

Dan

It already has.......and so far its been from pictures and maybe a look at autoshows. Just wait till we drive 'em.

Robert

That's the line that has me worried, frankly.

Shea

It does worry me that Ford opted to use cheaper parts (allegedly).

OTOH, to answer Amy's question, yeah, I have a relative that retired from Ford (a district sales manager), and my father worked for Ford for many years, and, in addition, I've owned 50 some vehicles of various brands (9 of them Mustangs), so I think I have a good handle on comparative quality.

Personally, I'll reserve my opinion until I actually inspect and drive an 05, but from all I've heard and read, it's going to be a sweet ride.

The older versions suffered from weak brakes, weak trannys, too many rattles, and crappy interiors. We'll see the situation for 05.

FWIW, I have enough faith that I"m planning on buying an 05 GT next spring, so don't count me as a naysayer.

Amy, wanna get some dinner? B)

Must_stang

Great article! Way to go Billy for putting it on the line!!

jgsmuzzy

I was under the impression that Rover was purchased by British Venture capitalists, "the Phoenix Group" from BMW. When did Ford buy Rover? (unless we are talking about a different Rover Group?

Article from BBC Online

John Towers, the head of the Phoenix consortium which is taking over Rover, has arrived at the firm's biggest plant, Longbridge in Birmingham, to a hero's welcome.


Phoenix has signed a contract with BMW to buy Rover Cars for a nominal sum of £10.

The deal follows almost two months of frenetic negotiations involving Phoenix, BMW, the original bidders Alchemy Partners and the UK Government.

"It's a very satisfactory outcome for us. It's an emotional day," said Mr Towers.

GTJOHN

Although I think Ford is headed in the right direction, I think they still need to make bigger leaps, if they want to be # 1 ( or near the top ).
The quality needs to improve, and they need to really re-think Lincoln - Mercury.
I come from a Ford Family, my Father retired July 1st. I have Uncles & friends who still work there, so I am not "Bashing" Ford. I am just expressing some of the needs I think Ford has to do.

I really like the new Stang, and plan on buying one. I was surprised how well Ford did on the car. But, I think they still could do better!
I also think Ford should start adding more HP to cars like the Mustang and Ford 500 for example.

Ford is pretty conservative for the most part. So are some of their designs. I think being conservative has helped them....to an extent.
The Retro theme is a Hit! And I hope Ford continues to go in that direction. But, Ford also needs to be more daring also, to keep up with the rest of the industry.
I think using Mercury would be a great way to test the market with new designs and ideas.

Dan

I think it will work on a car like the mustang but as for other cars and trucks, it won't work IMO.

GTJOHN

Dan, I think the Retro look can work on other cars. Its worked for the Stang, T-Bird, Chevy SSR and the Bug & PT Cruiser have sold a ton of units!!
The 49 Ford Concept and Bronco had everybody talking.
Not every car has to look "Retro", but its silly to have all the cars in the industry have the same boring design!

I would never buy a Chrysler, but I really like the things they are doing with design and horsepower.

As far as Ford Trucks and SUV's, I would leave them alone. Although, I would like to see that Retro Bronco made. Rumor has it, it will be made.

TomServo92

I was under the impression that Rover was purchased by British Venture capitalists, "the Phoenix Group" from BMW. When did Ford buy Rover? (unless we are talking about a different Rover Group?

Article from BBC Online

John Towers, the head of the Phoenix consortium which is taking over Rover, has arrived at the firm's biggest plant, Longbridge in Birmingham, to a hero's welcome.


Phoenix has signed a contract with BMW to buy Rover Cars for a nominal sum of £10.

The deal follows almost two months of frenetic negotiations involving Phoenix, BMW, the original bidders Alchemy Partners and the UK Government.

"It's a very satisfactory outcome for us. It's an emotional day," said Mr Towers. [/b][/quote]
They did. Then Ford bought them from BMW:

Click here for story

jgsmuzzy

Ah, right,

Land Rover and Rover were seperated in 1992. That is why I was getting confused