The big question here is what took you so long Ford? with cars like the Mondeo getting good press and the line up in Europe much better matched
to cope with the realities of an OPEC at the height of its powers it would seem like a natural thing for some exec in Dearborn to look at the situation over there and think, this is where we have to be.
From Autoweek….
Ford is turning to its highly praised European product lineup to bolster its car lineup in the United States quickly, as sales of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles continue to fall.
The automaker detailed some of its product plans on Thursday as it reported a record $8.7 billion loss for the second quarter.
The product moves also breathed new life into the Mercury brand--which industry watchers had figured was likely to die. Ford had even warned Lincoln Mercury dealers that the Lincoln brand was being positioned to become the bigger-selling brand in their stores.
This just seems like putting lipstick on a pig at this point, normally I would say that this is a good move because in essence it is, but it’s reactionary and not proactive.
I think Mullaly’s a smart guy and his years of maneuvering thru the hallways of Boeings aircraft division and the world wide politics that go with it still makes him the most qualified to deal with the tuff love that Ford has needed for so long.Once again the big problem here is the economy, its putting the clamps on everybody, even mighty Toyota is feeling the heat.
The only difference here is that Toyota has a product line and mountains of money to ride out anything short of a nuclear war. One comes to a point where the head scratching begins, why does this take so long to happen, why doesn't some of these MBAs running the company that Henry built come to the realization that these changes needed to be made years ago to put Ford Motor in a competitive position.
In the end it seems that the domestics have an addiction, the addiction of short term profits and the need to ignore the long term, which brings us to where we are today.
Even though it would have seemed the impossible, today Ford is on the precipice and in danger of falling in.
Could they become the next company to join the names of American Motors and Packard, great marks that didn’t survive against tuff competition and changing market dynamics.It’s starting to feel like it is.
