Holy cow, Ford's on an absolute roll! Compare its condition to the other 1.5 US automakers (GM & Chrysler) who literally went with a begging bowl to Washington. At the end of the day, all that counts is good cars + a relevant product line. Its management 101 actually, and one that's so often overlooked by high-flying CEOs who only talk of "cost cutting, synergies, blah blah strategies, philosophies" etc. Alan Mulally (ex-Boeing CEO) has proven that a non-car guy can bring an entirely new perspective. I mean, at the end of the day, 2009 was probably one of the worst years for the American auto industry. I'm pretty sure that Ford's slimming exercise (read = getting rid of all unwanted brands) and focusing on the core had a lot to do with this green result.
Ford's doing pretty well in Consumer Report's quality rankings too. The financial report + their quality ratings will go a long way in increasing consumer confidence in the brand.
P.S. : I'm quite curious to gauge if the situation had been the same, had they NOT offloaded Jaguar / Land Rover to a certain Mr. Tata! |