The Way We Were . . . Ford 20 Years Ago
11/21/07, 12:15 PM
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The Way We Were . . . Ford 20 Years Ago
While doing a bit of "spring" cleaning recently I had the opportunity to sift through countless years of automobile magazines acquired, some dating back to the mid 80's. I can across a special edition Motor Trend, "How Ford Became #1" from 1988 and thought I would share some aspects from the magazine.
How Ford Became #1 - Special Motor Trend Issue 1988
To start a quote from the publisher, Robert E. Peterson . . .
WOW . . . how great would it be to read something similar in the next few years about FMC?! Maybe I am a little to close to things, but FMC seems to have a passion that resonates with people above many other manufacturers, and mostly for the good. When people criticize others for taking FMC to task I think the majority of those being criticized remember these days of what FMC was and want FMC to rise again.
Some other pretty cool stats . .
Harold Poling, President of FMC
Donald Petersen, Ford Chairman
Jack Telnack, Vice President of Design
Mickey Matus, Ford SVO Marketing Manager
Scorecard of first six months of 1987
Ford Division: No. 1 division in U.S. in combined car and truck sales
Escort: No. 1 subcompact
Taurus: No. 1 mid-size
Thunderbird: No. 1 mid-specialty
Mustang: No. 1 small sports car
F-Series pickup: No. 1 pickup; best selling of all vehicles in the U.S.
Aerostar: No. 1 mini-van nameplate
Ranger: No. 1 compant pickup, import or domestic
Econoline: No. 1 full size van
Car Sales up 2%
Truck sales up 9%
Share of market: cars, up 2.6% to 20.6%
Share of market: trucks, up 1.2% to 29.5%
Earnings: $1.5 billion
Other items of note . .
I had forgotten (or maybe never realized) that there was a Tempo AWD
Cars/Trucks Road Tested in this magazine and some quotes.
Mustang GT
0-60 6.5
1/4 Mile 15.1 / 94mph
Braking 60-0 142ft.
Lateral acceleration .83g
Man, I love those aero foxes!
Ranger STX
Escort GT
Thunderbird Turbo Coupe - Redefining the American high-tech performance car
In my opinion one of the best looking Fords in the last 25 years!
Taurus LX - The bench mark of American sedans
Bronco II XL Sport
Tempo GLS
Festiva LX
Eddie Bauer Aerostar
Now, we may all laugh at some of the above quotes, but the fact is FMC was #1 and while it remains to be seen if FMC can regain that status I do feel like there is light at the end of the LONG tunnel.
I am more than happy to share other items from the magazine if anybody is intetested, but the above are some of the main highlights. And the interview with Mickey Matus regarding Ford's racing program is **** cool!!
How Ford Became #1 - Special Motor Trend Issue 1988
To start a quote from the publisher, Robert E. Peterson . . .
I'm particularly proud of this special issue of Motor Trend because it represents a couple of firsts for Peterson Publishing Company: It's the first time we've produced a special edition of the magazine, and the first time an entire issue has been devoted to a single auto manufacturer. We did it because it was the only way to tell the story of ford Motor Company's extraordinary performance over the last decde.
Just think, only a few years ago some industry analysts were ready to write ford off, saying it was out of touch and out of luck, beaten by the competition and doomed to third-class status, or worse. Today, ford is posting the biggest profits in its long history and building outstanding automobiles and trucks.
All of this didn't happen by accident. Instead of rolling over, Ford fought back. It cut costs where it had to, stemmed its losses and invested in the one thing that can make or break an automobile manufacturer-product development.
Just think, only a few years ago some industry analysts were ready to write ford off, saying it was out of touch and out of luck, beaten by the competition and doomed to third-class status, or worse. Today, ford is posting the biggest profits in its long history and building outstanding automobiles and trucks.
All of this didn't happen by accident. Instead of rolling over, Ford fought back. It cut costs where it had to, stemmed its losses and invested in the one thing that can make or break an automobile manufacturer-product development.
Some other pretty cool stats . .
Harold Poling, President of FMC
Donald Petersen, Ford Chairman
Jack Telnack, Vice President of Design
Mickey Matus, Ford SVO Marketing Manager
Scorecard of first six months of 1987
Ford Division: No. 1 division in U.S. in combined car and truck sales
Escort: No. 1 subcompact
Taurus: No. 1 mid-size
Thunderbird: No. 1 mid-specialty
Mustang: No. 1 small sports car
F-Series pickup: No. 1 pickup; best selling of all vehicles in the U.S.
Aerostar: No. 1 mini-van nameplate
Ranger: No. 1 compant pickup, import or domestic
Econoline: No. 1 full size van
Car Sales up 2%
Truck sales up 9%
Share of market: cars, up 2.6% to 20.6%
Share of market: trucks, up 1.2% to 29.5%
Earnings: $1.5 billion
Other items of note . .
I had forgotten (or maybe never realized) that there was a Tempo AWD
For the past seven years, Fords, collectively, have been the best-built cars in America.
If you establish that a car is "correct," then no one has to apologize for its unique appearance.
Mustang GT
Put it all together and the Mustang GT embodies the ponycar spirit in its most vigorous, caterwauling way. It'll blow other cars off the road, chickens out of the barnyards and the cobwebs out of your head. It is the best the ponycar has been. It's the king of the hill, and the genuine article.
1/4 Mile 15.1 / 94mph
Braking 60-0 142ft.
Lateral acceleration .83g
Man, I love those aero foxes!
Ranger STX
To say that the Ranger STX was the most popular choice in our group of test vehicles would be an understatement
It can match or beat the performance of a lot of its competition and the GT stacks up as one of the best bargains on four wheels.
In my opinion one of the best looking Fords in the last 25 years!
Yes folks, the turbo T-bird is a legitimate 140mph car.
To enjoy the turbo T-bird's rewards, the driver will have to get involved.
It has the same kind of over-the-road competence you might expect to find in an Audi 5000, Volvo 760 or Saab 9000
It has firmly established itself as the bench mark.
One of the best sport/utility vehicles on the market.
The GLS is slowly raising its sights on some of that established European competition.
What really sets the Festiva apart from its competition is not just its user friendliness, but the fact that it's such a friendly little car.
First-class appointments in a van shaped by modern science.
I am more than happy to share other items from the magazine if anybody is intetested, but the above are some of the main highlights. And the interview with Mickey Matus regarding Ford's racing program is **** cool!!
11/22/07, 07:26 AM
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Yeah that's cool. If you look back at the big picture, that's the era when the US auto makers were just comming out of the dark ages. Nice to see that FMC was leading the way. Lets hope history repeats itself. Fuel supply/costs and emision regulations have to be dealt with so the manufacturers have the freedom they need to design a variety of exciting vehicles, not just a bunch of Prius clones. Makes me glad I went to high school in the 70's.
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