QOTD: How Does Ford Turn It Around?
It’s the dawn of a new era at Ford. With luck, nothing will change with the upcoming Bronco except, hopefully, an earlier launch date.
By axing retiring CEO Mark Fields and elevating Jim Hackett to the biggest office in Dearborn, Ford hopes to chart a course towards larger profits and happy, smiling shareholders. After Fields took the helm, the company’s share prices made like the Andria Doria. Can’t have that.
Flanking Hackett are two men with really long job descriptions. Joe Hinrichs, executive vice president and president of Global Operations, will tackle product development and purchasing (among other things). Jim Farley, hater of General Motors, is literally overseer of everything. Everything. All the regions, all the sales, all the mobility. Oh, and Lincoln — Farley will keep watch over Lincoln.
But imagine, for a moment, these three head honchos didn’t just advance their careers. No, you’re in the driver’s seat now.
It is you, loyal reader, who must pull the levers at Ford Motor Company. Your opinions — and decisions — hold the most weight at the Blue Oval.
In your view, what is Ford doing wrong, and what could it do to make the company more attractive to investors and consumers alike? The company’s operations are like Medusa’s hair, so your choices aren’t limited.
Sink less cash into mobility, at the risk of being left without alternate revenue streams in the future? Go big in an overseas market that’s ripe for a romance with Ford? Pull out of any country with even the slightest chance of becoming a pool of red ink? Send more manufacturing to Mexico?
What about product? As a famously fired former Ford exec by the name of Lee Iacocca once touted (in some later job position), “Product is what brought us back to prosperity.”
Is Ford headed in the wrong direction with one, or several, of its vehicular offerings? Should the EcoSport suffer a sudden death before its U.S. birth? Would you scrap small cars altogether, leaving only the Mustang and something slightly more spacious for the cops? Should Lincoln bring back the personal luxury coupe, profits be damned?
Excursion, perhaps?
It’s all up to you, B&B. You’re in charge.
[Image: Ford Motor Company]
More by Steph Willems
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I don't see Ford as in as much trouble as this article implies or as some of the comments imply but Ford does need to watch out for a changing market and really needs to pay more attention to fit and finish of their products. Don't really want to see the Big 2 and FCA get back to the mid-70's quality of bad fit and finish and other defects that gave the Japanese a foot in the door to the USA market. The Japanese paid attention to the fit and finish and all the details. All the domestic based manufacturers need to put more emphasis on quality.
Start by getting rid of Lincoln. Drop the C-max, and fix the Focus.