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Automotive News & Views What about the future of Ford Inc?? 
1858 messages, Last post on Oct 16, 2006 at 6:25 AM
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Replying to: marsha7 (Oct 12, 2006 8:52 am) Hit the nail right on the head...that really bugs me too. There's nothing sadder than wasted potential. Ford's problem really is its leadership...both on the management side and the union side. Management has refused to think long-term, and the Union leadership has refused to face the realities of today's market. When we here talk about "the lazy autoworker" or the "greedy manager", we're really talking about the leadership of the groups, not most of the members. Ford has plenty of very bright people on the white-collar side who are just itching to design great cars. And the blue collar side is full of highly skilled workers who can build them. They're the ones who can save the company...I just hope the leadership on both sides realizes that it's better to compromise a little to work toward a common goal than it is to have been the big leader of a defunct company. 
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to be a small highly profitable company, seems to me, than a huge one where money is leaking like a sieve. Even the board and the Ford family could be made to see that, seems to me. The good thing about having a family at the top rather than a profit-driven board is the potential for making the long-term case, rather than constantly thinking in terms of two years or five. The most successful competition is thinking in terms of two DECADES, or five. |
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Replying to: john_324 (Oct 12, 2006 8:51 am) If a sport package is offered, it should have something in it that makes the car either handle better or have more power. 'Racing' stripes, a spoiler, and some underbody cladding has GOT TO GO. 
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Replying to: john_324 (Oct 12, 2006 7:38 am) F-150,250,350 - reflects a clear vision SUVs - denotes a myopic and stubborn, "stay the course" Panthers - reflects decontenting and neglect. Five Hundred - denotes a departure from the plan Fusion - seems to have a plan, but I don't like the plan Focus - My goodness, does anybody know they make these still Mustang - An example of what can be done with a vision. They're all over the place from trucks and the Mustang that know what they're building, to the 500 and Fusion that are stabs in the dark. And whats is with all this alliteration anyway? Why does every Friggin Ford have to start with an F? You limit yourself to 1/26th of your naming options and eliminate some great names!! Rocky thinks the Bush Administration has been unsympathetic to the plight of Ford. He's right. But Bill Ford will not give one dime to the Republicans, and if you want an audience with the Pope, you have to light a candle on the altar......
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Replying to: gogogodzilla (Oct 12, 2006 1:29 pm) its called an appearance pacakge. cool your jets. Mark
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Focus gets reskinned inside and out for 2008 in 1st quarter of 07. Expect the 2 door sedan a'la ZX2 Escourt to return. People keep wishing for the European Focus. Which is an xample of how amature advice isn't the best. American doesn't need a $19,000 Ford Focus. I wish Ford would lower the MSRP on the Focus and drop the $2,500 rebate though. Mark.
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want to see American industry fade away and die, the free-market person in me says that the Bush admin should not give a whit about Ford or GM even if they did contribute to the Republican party...if they can't compete in the marketplace than someone should buy them...there is nothing sacred that says Ford should be run by the Ford family except sentimentality, and there is no room for that in business unless you are making a profit... Their money should be invested in product that people want not lobbyists to give them protection from Toyota...all that shows is that the company is crippled and does not deserve to live...they are not too big to fail, unless we want the feds to own all the means of production in the US, and I think that is fascism... Just like a heroin addict must go thru h*ll to dry out, so must the automakers to learn that no one will bail them out...otherwise, we are really treating them like babies, while they sit there and act like magnates... The downside of free market capitalism is that some companies fail...that is the part that no one likes to admit...it teaches companies that they cannot get complacent or they will die...and the workers who tied their fortunes to a dying company will simply have to start over in their lives, as there is no guaranteed employment, period... When workers leave voluntarily, we assume they are improving their lives...when workers are disgorged against their will, we also assume they will improve their lives, just not in the way they intended... Capitalism involves risk, and the Ford family seems to be out on a never-ending drunk binge, wondering why everything is fuzzy...sobering up can be a serious reality check... |
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Replying to: nvbanker (Oct 12, 2006 4:26 pm) I think i see substantially more (r) than (d) in here. http://www.newsmeat.com/ceo_political_donations/William_Ford_Jr.php Where did you get your information from?
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Replying to: mschmal (Oct 12, 2006 5:04 pm) Even the Cobalt sells for more than the Focus, as does the Elantra. The Cobalt is not a notably better car, and I am talking about the LAST-gen Elantra there. The new one has just arrived. Which will sell for $15-17K in typical price-undercutting fashion for the Koreans. So will Ford ever have the courage to bring products to market that are truly competitive and potentially offer high profits per unit? All the press folks seem to think an awful lot of the European Focus. Next year's "let's stick a new front clip on the same old pig and call it all-new" update is not going to cut it. Meanwhile, they say MAYBE we will get the C1 (Euro) Focus in 2010, and maybe the next-gen Fiesta in 2011? Do they hope to sell any cars before then?? :-/ They are "doing a GM" with the Focus - cheaping out on the domestic-branded version of a car to make the imported versions (Mazda3 and Volvo S40) look better or more special or something. What's wrong with the Focus goes straight to the heart of what's wrong with Ford - no management vision, and no guts to break the mold of the last 20 years, which has dictated rock-bottom prices, huge cash back, and just-OK products in many cases. |
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Replying to: mschmal (Oct 12, 2006 5:02 pm) |
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