WOW, as GM's boss suckeroos more money out of the company, Ford looks like it's serious about adopting a Japanese manufacturing ethos...


Ford Boss to Employees: Join Me or Get Out

DEARBORN — Ford Motor Co. chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr. said Monday that employees who don't have faith in his plan for reinventing the beleaguered company should quit, according to the Detroit News.

"Anyone who thinks or attempts to convince you that it's business as usual at Ford is wrong and would best serve us all by pursuing their interests elsewhere," Ford said in an audio message e-mailed to workers.

The message apparently is the first in what will be a series of communications that the top executive has dubbed "Ford on Ford." Ford also introduced a new Web-based system on Monday that allows employees to submit ideas directly to his senior management team. The Dearborn automaker has been beset by slumping sales and layoffs. It is preparing to eliminate 4,000 salaried positions by the end of March.

Gotta give credit to Bill Ford, he's really eager to 'right the ship'. Granted, Ford's woes aren't nearly as bad as GM, but Bill doesn't want to see this get worse. I still think Ford and GM should get out of the small car business and quit trying to compete with the Korean auto mfgs. Concentrate on the mid to upper end. The minset of selling into all markets has to change. This is not the 50s, 60s, or 70s, when they had no competition other than each other.

He's already turned around the quality and safety of the company and now he's gunning for the rest. He's a good man and won't take anything but 110%!

He's a stand up guy.

Rob, I don't agree with you on the small cars, I personally believe a good entry level car is the most important car in your portfolio.

Take a normal person (not motorheads like us). They typically buy a nice compact car (new or used) as their first cars. If they are happy with that car, they will most likely look to upgrade within that same brand.

To me the best way to get a customer is get them hooked when they are young. Honda and Toyota are doing that with the corrolla and civic. The cars are well put together, relaible and hold their value well. I'll bet when its time to trade in the first cars they look at are the accord or camry, respectively. The same cannot be said with the cavalier, for example, mile wide gaps, a shoddy powertrain and horrible resale value will turn you away from a car company.

the Focus is the best selling car in Europe, even with all the imports out there. That says they are doing something right!

:nice:

And you went and shamed us all with yourself with your Civic :shame:

:jester:

shut your mouth Andy, it does a good job ferrying dirty dogs around, why would I want to dirty a Ford in that way? :jester:

I see your point Steve, but it just seems to me that the 'Big 3' were never really competitive in the smaller car market. Their dominance has just been slipping away slowly. The labor, medical, and pension costs associated with them won't give the mfgs, a big profit margin on the lower end cars, and since those expeditures are only going to increase, I see the profit on the lower models going away, especially as the production numbers decline, as people buy more camrys, corollas, kias, and hyundais. Like you said, a bad experience with a poorly assembled model initially might turn someone away from that manufacturer for a very long time. So, is it better to have something that is lower in quality than comparable models, and stay in the market, or simply get out of that segment, and let others deal with the entry level market? That is the million dollar question.

Ford wants to head in the right direction, they just haven't set the course yet

Very true. Let the mutts wizz on the Honda :D

One BIG reason they need small cars is for CAFE corporate fuel economy. The little cars help out quite a bit . . . .and the Escort was the best selling car in the world once. :jester:

As others have said, Bill Ford is certainly making a serious effort to improve Ford's current state...I'm still not sure he has a concrete idea on the destination. Having said that, I hope he can "right the ship" while still staying true to the enthusiasts.

Ya got me there, I forgot about the CAFE rating. Selling all those econo-boxes does help the company.

The answer is that it's better to build a high quality small car competitor. And they do, and it looks like this...

http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/1....f34.2.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/1...st.int.500.jpg

Story here.

For the life of me, I can't understand why they won't change the dinosaur thinking and ALLOW this car to come over here. It would sell WELL!

They need to leverage their corporate assets more aggressively RIGHT NOW if they hope to turn things around.

The quality of that Focus is amazing!

I love the gauge pod on the dash too :drool:

That looks like a great car. I wish it were available here.

:werd: i love the eurofoci :drool:

I could imagine them bringing the euro focus over as a mercury or something, but they say that car is too expensive for it to play the same role as the current american focus. Or, they could just bring that thing over, cause its darn sweet, and then also bring another car over from Europe, like the fiesta, which would slot in a bit lower in size and price than the focus. Both would be quality cars.
Ya, rob, i really don't agree with your reasoning about the small cars either. You coulda said the same thing about mid size cars 2 years ago as well... With your reasoning you coulda said, "the taurus sucks, so ford should just stop trying, its building a bad reputation" rather than saying "the taurus sucks, lets replace it with better cars."


edit- BOOYA! 900th post! i deserve a cake...

Ford has alot in the Euro basket that I think would bode well here...already mentioned the Fiesta, but what about the Ka or Puma? I have seen these cars up close in Germany, and they are well assembled and good looking economy cars. I would run out and buy a new Fiesta immediately if Ford sold them on these shores! I wish they would, I will need a replacement for my Aspire soon. :D

We need to start a petition to bring the Euro Focus ST to the states...I'll be the first to sign-up.