What I know about Ford finally made public

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Wally

vztrt, the Asia Pacific region TGW% isn't impressive compared to the rest of company's efforts, but then again maybe those other regions are coming from a poor performing base. I wonder why they don't use TGW/vehicle for quality contrasts instead of % ? I also wonder how the posted 78% customer satisfaction compares to the recently published list that put Holden and Ford at the bottom of the pile?

That's why I said Ford US and not Ford Asia Pacific South Africa.

[JPFS1]

Originally Posted by Wally

vztrt, the Asia Pacific region TGW% isn't impressive compared to the rest of company's efforts, but then again maybe those other regions are coming from a poor performing base. I wonder why they don't use TGW/vehicle for quality contrasts instead of % ? I also wonder how the posted 78% customer satisfaction compares to the recently published list that put Holden and Ford at the bottom of the pile?

I have heard the figures for TGW's for the FG.. info is confidential, but I can say that it was the biggest improvement in local TGW by model for Ford AUS in its history. Massive jump in quality.

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by JPFS1

I have heard the figures for TGW's for the FG.. info is confidential, but I can say that it was the biggest improvement in local TGW by model for Ford AUS in its history. Massive jump in quality.

Orion was the best ever Falcon launch in regards to quality, engineers should hold their heads high......

[Wally]

Originally Posted by JPFS1

I have heard the figures for TGW's for the FG.. info is confidential, but I can say that it was the biggest improvement in local TGW by model for Ford AUS in its history. Massive jump in quality.

Yes, that is what I would have expected. % increases on low bases always look better than % increases on high bases. Apart from forums, I really don't hear much disappointment from Falcon owners, matter of fact I don't hear much complaint about anyone's car, but given the opportunity people will whine.

[vztrt]

Ford US in now increasing production.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/27/m...o-meet-demand/

[Ohio XB]

The production increase was announced about a month and a half ago. I think it was at the company Quarterly meeting. Alan Mulally was addressing the employees at this meeting and one of the announcements he made was that Mark Fields had called him a couple days earlier and told him he believed they could increase production by 10 or 20 percent, I can't remember which.

Reasons for this are not completely clear, but I think it is the right move. Here's the reasoning.

Ford's market share is up 7 out of the last 8 months. Though car sales are still way down they are not as down as they have been. This was their official reasoning.


My own thoughts.....

The Cash for Clunkers Bill was expected to be passed and signed within the next 3 months (has been signed now) and Ford wanted to have enough cars on the lots to meet demand. They had delayed the introduction of the 2009 F-150 by 2 months and then greatly reduced production when they did start making them. Turns out they over compensated for the market and were not able to meet demand as the price of gas was falling. They did not want a repeat of this when the C4C bill passed. If someone is in your dealership to buy a car you better have it there.


The Ford Fusion is selling almost like hotcakes. The 2010 model sold more units in one month during this horrible economy than in any other month of the Fusion's entire production. Focus continues to sell well.


Gasoline price is expected to go up again for the summer (was $3 a gallon over Memorial Day weekend) and people will be motivated to move to smaller and/or more fuel efficient cars.


Ford has seen a larger volume of people coming into their dealerships and surveys state that they are coming in on Ford's improved quality as one of the reasons. This shows that people are FINALLY believing the advertising that Ford has been doing about their improved quality as well as magazine articles and other third party testament. Another big reason for the additional traffic, attractive styling.




Steve

[vztrt]

Ford to become the no 1 in sales in the US.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...in-the-us.html

[Ohio XB]

vztrt, thanks for that post.

I read in an article this week that Ford outsold Toyota in each of the last 3 months. I can believe the past month or two but I didn't know it was 3. Then again I have not looked at hard numbers.

Once again, it is funny how much news coverage Toyota got for eclipsing GM for the first time, but nothing had been said of Ford surpassing Toyota in a terrible auto market and bad economy until 2 or 3 months later when Merrill Lynch comes out with a bold statement. Well, better late than never.

I read another article that stated Ford may surpass GM by the end of this year. My personal guestimate......I don't know. I would not be surprised if Ford is the #1 seller by next summer when the new Focus and Fiesta have hit the market. I really don't see why it would take 4 years to happen.

The attitude in upper management at Ford about this revelation? Mark Fields' weekly online address touched on this. Basically, keeping their noses to the grindstone, keep executing the plan, and keep making progress. Nobody is resting on their laurels.

That's just how it should be.


Steve

[Swordsman88]

Interesting reading that report i'm sure. What is great about this is that Ford's increase in market share will not just be on the back of problems for its rivals but will be a product driven revival. Giving the market what it wants, and this includes SUVs and F series. A balanced product line up.

In effect it is the same thing that is happening here in australia. Quality product takes a little while to be known but once word of mouth gets going it is the best way to build awareness of your brand. This translates to foot traffic at dealerships, which equals sales. Then you get more brand awareness and loyalty. Once you have that (brand equity if you will) then suddenly you hve the momentum. Everythign you launch is known as the 'next best thing', the market leader/benchmark. Hell you can even launch crap then and get away with it LOL! (think toyota....not saying Ford would do this though).

Thanks for the continued info from the states steve...much appreciated.

[Ohio XB]

Thanks for the continued info from the states steve...much appreciated.

You're welcome.


Steve

[TUF_302]

Any doubts of Mulally should be put to bed now!

[vztrt]

Ford on Track to Be #1 U.S. Carmaker

http://kiplinger.com/businessresourc...-carmaker.html

Ford on Track to Be #1 U.S. Carmaker
Things are looking up for the one American automaker that didn't go for a government bailout, and it's not just because of "cash-for-clunkers."

September 2, 2009

This is an updated version of a story first published July 28, 2009.

Ford’s recent navigation of financial shoals is paying off big-time. The Detroit automaker took a different tack than its rivals, which sought aid from the federal government and shelter in bankruptcy court.

It’s on course to grab the brass ring in 2010, becoming No. 1 in U.S. auto sales. An $18-billion low interest loan in 2006 -- when the company mortgaged itself, including its iconic blue oval insignia -- is allowing Ford to remake operations. It’s slashing costs and developing common bodies, braking and wiring systems for its vehicles worldwide and putting in place new flexible assembly lines that let plants shift rapidly from making one model to another. Plus, Ford is committed to new model development -- pledging to revamp its entire fleet by early 2011, and then repeating the feat in a few years.

As a result, by year-end 2010, Ford’s U.S. sales will likely edge out both General Motors’ and Toyota’s, but it’ll be a photo finish. The best bet: Toyota will come in second and GM will slip to third. Already, Ford’s share of U.S. auto sales is climbing. It’s likely to top 16% this year and be a hair over 17% next, mainly at the expense of GM and Chrysler. A market share gain of one percentage point reverses a slide that had plagued the firm for more than a decade.

GM’s share of new-vehicle sales will be about 19.5% this year, nearly one percentage point lower than in 2008, and come in at barely 17% in 2010. Chrysler’s share will continue to plunge. Its slice of vehicles sold by new-car dealers will slip and slide to as low as 8.5% this year and around 8% in 2010, down from 11% in 2008. Foreign brands will largely hold their own through 2010, with Honda and Toyota posting small gains next year.

Ford is getting a boost from a new cycle of models whose popularity seems to be hitting its stride. “There is a perception that Ford has its fingers on the pulse of what consumers want to buy, whether this be a raft of hybrids, such as the Fusion, Escape and Mariner, or the new Taurus,” says Howard Kuperman, president of Phil’s Ford Lincoln Mercury in Port Jervis, N.Y., and chairman of the New York State Automobile Dealers Association.

It’s not just curbside appeal that’s giving Ford’s sales a lift. “Consumers are making a decision to buy a Ford product because it did not accept federal bailout money, as did GM and Chrysler, and it didn’t go through bankruptcy as did the other two,” says Aaron Bragman, an auto analyst with IHS Global Insight, a business consultancy. Such consumer anger may fade over time, but Ford’s sales should keep gaining as it builds on strong sales through next year with the introduction of all-new Focus and Fiesta small cars and an ultraefficient commercial van, the Transit Connect, says Bragman.

[cosmo20btt]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Ford on Track to Be #1 U.S. Carmaker

http://kiplinger.com/businessresourc...-carmaker.html

Good to see the people of the US take a bit of interest in its self buy supporting the only true American motor company that did not put crap on the mums & Dads investors of the US.

[Trendseeker]

Originally Posted by XR6_190

At least there is a bright light at the end of somebody's tunnel.

Originally Posted by TUF_302

Any doubts of Mulally should be put to bed now!

Definitely not. If that's where the sun is shining from he can't go to bed yet. Daylight saving starts in a month and he's just going to have to stay up an hour longer!

[Falc'man]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Ford on Track to Be #1 U.S. Carmaker

http://kiplinger.com/businessresourc...-carmaker.html

Was about to start a thread on this... Very good news, they have strong momentum and it will only build.

[Ohio XB]

Something that may not have made the news, probably because it is not very "newsworthy'......Ford has already repaid $10 billion of the loans.


Ford used to survey customers about their vehicles and sometimes considered the consumers to be WRONG....a big mistake. Mulally has tought them how to listen, and now they ask a LOT of people, targeted people based on the vehicle's market, and detailed questions. Feedback is taken to heart, they act on it, and then show the test group and ask for their feedback again. It is what you always wished a company would do. I think those that used to be in charge of this are surprised by just how much they can meet the customer's expectations by believing what they say.


I, too, am seeing more articles projecting Ford to become #1 in sales in the US in 2010. I will say this, from the inside........that is the goal. In all modesty, all you ever hear is "We are working on improving ourselves, our vehicles, our cost structure, our market share...." and that is a laser focused undertaking. Nobody is bragging and making bold predictions at Ford, just working on making it happen.



Steve

[Wally]

Exciting times when active leadership takes hold of a company. Everyone gets a lift and productivity, quality, sales, etc go on the rise. Good to hear the company is doing well.

[cosmo20btt]

Proof is in the pudding, if you talk up your business you are in, then the perception to others will look favorably upon what you do or market. Good on Ford US I hope some of the perception rubs off on FOMOCA.

[Ohio XB]

Ford has more members of the media come to test drive their cars than before, or at least it seems that way now. Besides all the "usuals" they also have bloggers and vloggers with big audiences come to the events.

Perhaps in the past Ford would only have a handful of journalists test drive their cars so that there wouldn't be too much damage back when their cars were not as good as they are today. Now they want everyone and their brother, and their mother too, to drive the cars. The result has been a LOT of positive press here in the US.


Steve

[vztrt]

Why Ford's Winning By Not Taking Government Money

http://autos.aol.com/article/ford-success-government-money?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl4|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fautos.aol.com%2Farticl e%2Fford-success-government-money

Why Ford's Winning By Not Taking Government Money
Does Ford Have a Better Idea? The numbers say it just might
by William Jeanes
Posted: Sep, 16 2009


Once upon a time, Ford Motor Company's advertising bore the tagline "Ford has a better idea." Recent events indicate that it may be time to resurrect that slogan.

Cash for Clunkers, the bizarre promotion mounted by the U.S. Government on behalf of the country's wobbly auto industry, appears to vindicate Ford's biggest idea of the past few years: borrowing private capital instead of taxpayer cash to see it through a downturn. Not only did Ford sales soar during the month-long program, Ford products are appearing on more shopping lists.
William Jeanes, AOL Autos

Make no mistake, Ford mortgaged itself heavily in order to raise needed cash, but that decision, led by then-new CEO Alan Mulally, now stands as Ford's best idea in years. Among other advantages, it allowed the company to make its own decisions about new products, reorganization and personnel changes. This saved Ford a lot of time that would otherwise have been expended searching for the correct hat to put in Mulally's hands for use as a begging device in Washington.

Just to illustrate the efficacy of calling your own tune instead of jobbing in an independent piper, Ford paid Mulally around $12 million in total compensation last year. In June of this year, the bankrupt remnants of the Chrysler Corporation paid $15 million to a financial advisory group, money that might have been better spent with the Hemlock Society.

Ford was of course an enthusiastic and highly successful participant in Cash for Clunkers, or C4C as it became known, rightly sensing that if one is to take government money, C4C was better than bailout bucks.

Here's a brief overview of C4C:

The program ran from July 24 to August 24, 2009, during which time nearly 700,000 vehicles were sold under its provisions. Because of industry record-keeping practices, this 700,000 is best considered in context with August sales--which totaled 1,262,189 cars and light trucks. This was only 12,000 vehicles more than last August, but there has been a dramatic shift toward smaller more efficient vehicles, a key goal of C4C.

Questions immediately arose as to how many clunkers might have been traded in without the C4C program, and how many of these sales were, in retail parlance, pulled forward. When we are able to tally September sales, we'll get a snapshot of how strong the questioners' case is or is not.

Here are some of the positive things that happened to Ford within the C4C frame of reference.

Ford placed two of its products, the Focus and the Escape, on the list of the top ten cars bought by buyers trading in clunkers. The other eight entries were Asians, led by Toyota and Honda. That performance set Ford apart from the other domestic brands, but remember the list applies only to clunker trades.

While the Chevrolet brand was losing market share in August, Ford gained. Mind you, these are one-month year-over-year figures, but Ford's share of the light vehicle market rose from 10.6 to 12.8 percent even as Chevrolet's sank from 14.8 percent to 13.3 percent. A percent--or point--of market share in the auto industry is generally considered to be worth $2.8 billion over a year. Even in an awful year--such as this one--a point improvement means more than 100,000 added sales.
Ford chart
Ford's year-to-date stock chart. Click image to see the full Ford stock quote on AOL Money & Finance.

In other good news for the Blue Oval, the most recent J.D. Power quality study found all Ford brands continuing to improve at a faster rate than the industry norm. Ford initial quality improved for the eighth straight year, and the F150, Edge, Mustang and Mercury Sable led their segments.

People are obviously paying attention. George Pipas, Ford's lead sales analyst, told the press that consideration by buyers for Ford vehicles was up an impressive 17 percent since the first of the year.

In August, Ford saw a 21-percent rise in its retail sales overall, which indicates a diminishing reliance on unprofitable fleet sales. Ford has gained retail market share in 10 of the last 11 months.

Also in August, Ford Edge sales were up 9 percent, cheering enough, but there was far better news: Escape sales rose 49 percent, Focus sales were up 56 percent, Flex sales by 107 percent and Fusion improved by 132 percent. Overall company sales were 176,323, up 17 percent from August of 2008.

What may have been the best news of all came unexpectedly from Consumer Reports. It was good news for the domestic industry and even better news for Ford. For openers, 81 percent of potential new-vehicle buyers surveyed by the authoritative publication said they would consider a domestic vehicle. Ford's consideration rose by 17 percent (matching the rise cited above by George Pipas) while GM's consideration number advanced by only 6 percent. Chrysler's percentage declined by 25 percent from a year ago.

Rik Paul, CR's automotive editor, noted that the Detroit Three had been in the spotlight all year and said, "Ford was the only one of the Detroit Three that did not seek federal assistance, and this has likely helped bolster its reputation among car buyers."

This reflects the opinions of such non-automotive commentators as General George Patton, who famously said that Americans love a winner and hate a loser. Forget about sympathy for the underdog.

But work remains to be done. Of buyers who opted for Asian or European vehicles, the single biggest reason for not considering a Ford was that they did not find the products appealing. There's been progress, but there's always room for more.

Until the economy has put more distance between itself and the woods, Ford should not take to the streets of Dearborn to do a Gene Kelly dance turn, but it can properly allow itself a discreet smile of satisfaction. It might even draw on another old Ford advertising slogan and ask with confidence, "Have you driven a Ford lately?"

[Iggypoppin']

It's sobering when you see companies crash and burn after so many years making money. Then you see one lone company forging ahead, despite risk and turmoil, and they succeed. Well done ford. And thankyou Steve, falc'man and vztrt for all the info and articles.

[vztrt]

Ford says sees profitability in 2011

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-n...0924-g4gi.html

Ford says sees profitability in 2011
September 24, 2009 - 4:54PM

The head of US car giant Ford Motor, hit by the global slump, said on Wednesday he expected the group to be profitable in 2011, despite the US market recovering more slowly than from past recessions.

Chief executive Alan Mulally forecast US industry sales of 10.5 to 11 million units this year, 12.5 million in 2010 and 14.5 million in 2011.

"It is a slower recovery than we have had in the past," Mulally told reporters in New Delhi, where Ford announced plans to launch its first small car in India to target the fast-growing auto market there.

"The fundamental economy coming back is the absolute key - that has to happen before automobiles (sales) start to really move back," he said.

And he said the market "is starting to pick up right now."

"The guidance we have given overall - because we continue to invest in new products - is that we will be profitable in 2011," he said.

The number two US automaker announced in July a second-quarter net profit of $US2.3 billion ($A2.65 billion) due to cost-cutting and a one-time gain from debt reduction in the three months to March.

In August, it posted a 17-per cent jump in US sales, fuelled by the popular government-funded "Cash for Clunkers" program.

"The scrappage program accomplished everything that everybody wanted because it was a stimulus program - it was done for near-term stimulus. It accomplished its objectives," Mulally said.

Longer-term, the market "is looking really very good," he added.

"When we look out the next 20 years, we see about one-third of all vehicles being purchased in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

Ford has posted three straight years of annual losses totalling $US30 billion ($A34.54 billion) dollars and it lost a further 1.4 billion in the first quarter of this year.

© 2009 AFP

[Fev]

i think i might go invest in some ford shares

[R-Design]

Thought I'd put this in here.

Note: New Focus to debut at the North American International Auto Show in January

Originally Posted by Reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Tim Dobbyn Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:00pm EDT

DETROIT, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) announced on Thursday plans to build a new $490-million flexible assembly plant in China, its third in the country, increasing annual production capacity by one-third to meet growing demand.

The plant, in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing for Ford's China joint venture Changan Ford Mazda Automobile, is expected to be completed in 2012.

Ford, which plans to introduce four new vehicles to the Chinese market over the next three years, said it expected to begin production of the next generation Ford Focus at the plant in 2012.

The plant will be capable of producing a wide range of vehicles and the joint venture's annual production capacity will rise by 150,000 vehicles to about 600,000 when it is completed, Ford said.

"Today's announcement reinforces our commitment to the further expansion of our China operations to meet the continued rise in demand from Chinese consumers for world-class Ford products and services," Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said in a statement.

Ford brand sales by Changan Ford Mazda in China rose 111 percent to 21,127 vehicles in August from a year earlier. Through August, Ford brand sales were up 30 percent to 144,601 vehicles in 2009 from a year earlier.

Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker in terms of sales behind General Motors Co [GM.UL], produces the Focus, Mondeo and other sedan models in China in a tie-up with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co (000625.SZ) and Japan's Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T).

Ford plans to debut its next generation of the Focus at the North American International Auto Show in January. The new Focus is being built on a global platform to reduce costs.

Under its global strategy, Ford expects the platform used by the new Focus to underpin up to 10 models eventually. Ford expects global sales of vehicles built on that platform to exceed 2 million per year by 2012.

Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford also holds 30 percent of Jiangling Motors Corp (000550.SZ), which makes light trucks and vans, including Ford's Transit model.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssC...45018220090925

[vztrt]

The age article to go with the reuters article.

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-n...0925-g5xj.html

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by vztrt

The age article to go with the reuters article.

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-n...0925-g5xj.html

So, Reuters, stuck to the facts which is good.

The Age, decides to use some facts and puts the boot into Ford. How typical and pathetic.

[vztrt]

Does Ford Really Have a Better Idea?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/...n5344652.shtml

Does Ford Really Have a Better Idea?
The Automaker Underwent a Grueling Restructuring But May Come Out Stronger Than Its Gov't-Supported Competitors

So they really call it a face, as if it had eyes, a mouth and a nose?

"Yes," said car designer Earl Lucas, "because companies are identified by the front grille and the head lamps, and it does look like a face."

As long as American cars have existed, the many faces of Ford have been unmistakable, even when they were mistakes like the Edsel.

In 1986 the Taurus, once America's best-selling car, was actually considered bold. But that was then.

Three years ago, Lucas and his team were told to reinvent the Taurus, just as the Ford Motor Company has set out to reinvent itself.

What did the early designs look like?

"Clearly we wanted a more expressive, a more sculptural car," Lucas said. "Especially I think, the face of the car is awfully important."

If you closely at the "face" of the 2010 Ford Taurus, released last month, you'll see the face of the one U.S. car company confident enough of its survival to refuse a government bailout, the one Detroit automaker that avoided bankruptcy.

So what did Ford - one of the world's iconic brands - do that the others didn't?

To answer that question, meet Ford's cheerleader-in-chief, Alan Mulally, CEO since 2006.

"We were losing share and so we needed to develop a plan that dealt with that reality," he said.

Hiring Mulally was part of one of the biggest gambles in U.S. corporate history.

Remember when gas prices were just starting to spike? When suddenly SUVs weren't selling any more? In 2006, Ford lost $12.6 billion. Then-CEO Bill ford, great-grandson of Henry Ford, knew he had to do something radical.

"That's when I started to look around the country for somebody who had restructured a major corporation," Bill Ford told Teichner, "because it had to be big. There weren't many people like that in America - certainly were no people like that in car companies."

(AP)
Alan Mulally (pictured left at a 2006 press conference) had restructured aircraft manufacturer Boeing, and gotten it through desperate times after 9/11, but he had no experience in the auto industry with its entrenched culture.

On Sept. 5, 2006, Bill Ford resigned as CEO. He stayed on as executive chairman, but Detroit was still shocked.

"It takes something for a person like Bill Ford to stand up and admit this job is bigger than they can do," said Bryce Hoffman, who reports on Ford for the Detroit News. "Naysayers out there were looking at kind of past examples and saying this is not going to end well for Ford."

But that was nothing compared to what came next: Ford borrowed $23.5 billion. "We mortgaged everything, including the blue oval," he said.

Teichner said, "You had the sense that Ford was in a lot of trouble but maybe GM and Chrysler weren't."

"I would characterize it a little differently: I would say that we recognized our problems earlier and jumped on them earlier," Ford responded, "and while it looked to the outside that we were thrashing about, we were actually starting to restructure."

The loan bought Ford a three-year head start on its Detroit rivals . . . breathing room to re-think everything about how it does business, from the cars it builds to making painful cuts, not only on the assembly line, but in the executive suites.

Bill Ford had already announced he wouldn't take a salary until the company was profitable again.

"If you grew up in our family, you would understand that being part of this company is a real privilege," he said. "And it's never been about the money. We felt this was a really important part of America and then a really important part of American manufacturing and American history, and it's worth preserving."

In 1913 Henry Ford invented the moving assembly line so that he could mass-produce the Model T. The following year he announced he would pay his workers $5 a day, more than double the standard factory wage. He said he wanted his employees to be able to afford the cars they built.

That was just the beginning. For decades the United Autoworkers Union won hefty contracts from Ford and the other U.S. car manufacturers. Autoworkers helped to define the prosperity of the American middle class - that is, until the Japanese began to outsell Detroit, and companies like Toyota built non-union plants in the United States.

Those high wages and life-long benefits for which UAW members fought so hard were one big reason why Detroit couldn't compete, couldn't make a profit. Today, collective bargaining is about negotiating cutbacks - the UAW willingly joining U.S. automakers in their battle just to stay in business.

Since 2001, Ford has shed nearly 145,000 jobs, more than a third of its workforce. Since 2003, it's closed 17 plants, with more to come.

UAW president Ron Gettelfinger said, "Ford, if you look, when you start looking at Atlanta, you look at Wixom, you look at Norfolk, Edison, Lorraine, Wayne, there's a lot of assembly plants that have closed down, and that's very dramatic.

"It's hard on families, it's hard on communities, it's hard on states, reduces the tax base, puts a lot of people in the unemployment lines, all those things are very difficult and very challenging for us," said Gettelfinger. "But we've stepped up. We tried to find a way to help ease the pain, if you will, by offering buyouts."

And wage concessions. And reduced benefits. The union has taken over retiree healthcare. At the beginning of restructuring, Ford's labor costs were $70-80 an hour per worker for combined wages, benefits, and retirement costs, Now, Ford says, they're almost down to Toyota's $50 an hour.

Of course, there's still the problem of building cars people want to buy, and making money doing it, especially given the recession. Ford's most profitable vehicles are still heavy-duty pickups, fully loaded, which (according to some estimates) can make the company as much as $24,000 each. Compare that to small cars, like the Focus, which only make hundreds.

"The Ford Motor Company was more an umbrella for many auto companies, like Aston Martin and Jaguar and Land Rover and Volvo and a very strong relationship with Mazda," said Mulally. "I think 97 different name plates."

Now there are fewer than 20. All those non-Ford brands under the umbrella are going or gone, part of Mulally's strategy for turning the corporation around.

Ford is also bringing models to America that were originally designed for Europe, where high quality, fuel-efficient, even luxurious small cars have long been in demand.

Mark Fields, Ford's president for the Americas, predicts that 3 million people in the U.S. will buy small cars within the next three years.

He showed us the Ford Fiesta, launched in Europe and China over the past year. "We'll be launching it here in the U.S. in the first half of next year," he said.

"And the technology in the Fiesta, you couldn't find in a large car probably five years ago: the navigation system, the high end audio system, the temperature control system, all those things customers, these days, don't want to compromise on."

Ford's overseas car customers also had their own colors: "This is a color we have in Europe, it's called squeeze," Fields said.

"Squeeze?" asked Teichner.

"No, don't ask me how we developed the names for the colors, but yeah, we call this squeeze on the Fiesta."

Part of Ford's great gamble is that Americans are ready to go green. Coming soon: an entire showroom of new designs and technologies, including a plug-in electric vehicle by next year.

The good news: The Focus and the Ford Escape were on the cash-for-clunkers top ten sellers list.

But here's the bad news: Ford is still losing money - although it's losing less money every quarter - and it's not losing as much as GM and Chrysler.

"That's the new math of the American automobile industry," said journalist Bryce Hoffman. "The right way to look at Ford is that it is doing a better job of navigating through this storm, and it has a better chance of emerging from this as a viable company."

And probably as the largest U.S. automaker (though not as big as Toyota) surviving with no government bailout obligations, Ford expects it will return to profitability by 2011.

"It was very important for us to make it on our own," Bill Ford said. "We've struggled. We took on a lot of debt to do it. We hear from people all the time that they like the fact that we are digging ourselves out of the hole ourselves, and that we're doing it kind of the old-fashioned way."

[Transfiguring R]

That's a good read. Ford still seems like it is trouble, but it's very admirable how they are digging themselves out.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Transfiguring R

That's a good read. Ford still seems like it is trouble, but it's very admirable how they are digging themselves out.

Its a slow process because of the GFC, but at least they are doing it without government money.

[vztrt]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/44124/fo...re-since-2001/

Ford Europe sees strongest market share since 2001

October 13, 2009 by Matt Brogan

Ford’s European operations broke the important 10 per cent market share barrier for the first time since September of 2001 thanks in part to strong demand for the Fiesta.

Ford’s new-car sales in its main 19 European markets increased 12.3 per cent (to 152,600 units) last month compared with the year previous - the fourth consecutive monthly sales increase.

These sales figures took Ford’s overall European market share to 10.1 per cent, a 0.8 percentage point increase on the same month last year.

“Traditionally we expect Ford to have a good month in September given the surge of new car sales in the UK due to the registration plate change. But September 2009 has surpassed expectations,” said Mr Ingvar Sviggum, Ford of Europe’s vice president for marketing, sales and service.

The Fiesta had its best month September since 1994 with 51,400 units sold.