Ford's Renaissance Man

kiku007 · 10th March 2010, 21:36

Ford's Renaissance Man

Article Source: The Wall Street Journal 02/27/10
by Paul Ingrassia

Link: The Weekend Interview with Ford's Alan Mulally - WSJ.com

Some points which I found interesting:

"When Mr. Mulally, an engineer by training, arrived from Boeing three-and-a-half years ago Ford seemed on death's door. It suffered a $12.6 billion loss in 2006, when industry-wide car sales were strong. But last year Ford became the only U.S. car company to avoid bankruptcy, and actually posted a $2.7 billion profit. After plunging below $2 a share a year ago the company's stock has surged six-fold: It's now bumping $12. "

"Soon after his arrival Ford began shedding brands—Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin among them—that the company couldn't afford to support. Volvo will be next to go. Meanwhile, the core Ford brand got an investment infusion to replace aging cars and revive a model lineup that had been heavily tilted toward gas-guzzling trucks. "

"Ford cut its number of global platforms, or chassis, to eight from more than 20, and the number of nameplates to 25 from 97"

"Mr. Kuzak is methodically implementing the "One Ford" strategy of developing cars in a single region (say Europe, or North America) and selling them globally, instead of developing slightly different cars in each region at enormous extra cost"

"When the Toyota controversy broke, Mr. Mulally says his company re-examined the accelerator pedals on all of its vehicles world-wide. Company engineers found that a Ford commercial van made in China had pedal-linkage design that seemed similar to Toyota's, and stopped production of the van for a few days until tests showed that the Ford pedals were safe. "

"Despite Toyota's troubles, Mr. Mulally still lists the company at the top of the competitors he respects (and perhaps fears) the most, along with Volkswagen, Honda and Korea's Hyundai. "I have tremendous respect for those four or five," he says, before quickly catching himself and adding: "And GM, of course." It seems like an afterthought, and Chrysler doesn't even get a mention. "

"General Motors also has a stronger presence than Ford in Asia, though Ford has now targeted the region for growth,"

"Ford's image and its sales have gotten a boost from staying out of Chapter 11, in contrast to GM and Chrysler. "

"The "proof point," Mr.Mulally says, is that Ford is starting to produce small cars instead of SUVs and pickup trucks in some of its U.S. factories—because the company can make small cars profitably in America for the first time in many years."

Small Cars is the way to go;Can we have a slice of Ford's Global Small Car Lineup in India pls?!!!

NOS Power · 11th March 2010, 10:17

Great to see that one man has been able to revive one of the worlds most sought after car companies.

Probably the new Lee Iacocca.

stanjohn123 · 11th March 2010, 22:04

This guy really is worth mentioning. I had a problem in my Ford Endeavour's Clutch some time back, and the Ford guys in Tirunlevelli tried swindling money from me by overcharging me a lot(Replacement). I knew my dealer cheated me but could not do anything about it until someone from t-bhp asked me to mail Mr.Mullaly. Never really thought it would happen,but my dealer did refund my 25,000 Rs that they tried to swindle from me.I've posted it on T-bhp here about my ordeal. This guy really is something

Kudos.

Sudan_NFS · 11th March 2010, 23:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

This guy really is worth mentioning. I had a problem in my Ford Endeavour's Clutch some time back, and the Ford guys in Tirunlevelli tried swindling money from me by overcharging me a lot(Replacement). I knew my dealer cheated me but could not do anything about it until someone from t-bhp asked me to mail Mr.Mullaly. Never really thought it would happen,but my dealer did refund my 25,000 Rs that they tried to swindle from me.I've posted it on T-bhp here about my ordeal. This guy really is something

Kudos.

That's great to hear that Mr Mullaly has handled your issue and this shows that their organization is very well structured not like Skoda (saying that India operation is different from Europe

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10th March 2010, 21:36	#1
kiku007 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: AU Posts: 2,323 Thanked: 7,197 Times	Ford's Renaissance Man Ford's Renaissance Man Article Source: The Wall Street Journal 02/27/10 by Paul Ingrassia Link: The Weekend Interview with Ford's Alan Mulally - WSJ.com Some points which I found interesting: "When Mr. Mulally, an engineer by training, arrived from Boeing three-and-a-half years ago Ford seemed on death's door. It suffered a $12.6 billion loss in 2006, when industry-wide car sales were strong. But last year Ford became the only U.S. car company to avoid bankruptcy, and actually posted a $2.7 billion profit. After plunging below $2 a share a year ago the company's stock has surged six-fold: It's now bumping $12. " "Soon after his arrival Ford began shedding brands—Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin among them—that the company couldn't afford to support. Volvo will be next to go. Meanwhile, the core Ford brand got an investment infusion to replace aging cars and revive a model lineup that had been heavily tilted toward gas-guzzling trucks. " "Ford cut its number of global platforms, or chassis, to eight from more than 20, and the number of nameplates to 25 from 97" "Mr. Kuzak is methodically implementing the "One Ford" strategy of developing cars in a single region (say Europe, or North America) and selling them globally, instead of developing slightly different cars in each region at enormous extra cost" "When the Toyota controversy broke, Mr. Mulally says his company re-examined the accelerator pedals on all of its vehicles world-wide. Company engineers found that a Ford commercial van made in China had pedal-linkage design that seemed similar to Toyota's, and stopped production of the van for a few days until tests showed that the Ford pedals were safe. " "Despite Toyota's troubles, Mr. Mulally still lists the company at the top of the competitors he respects (and perhaps fears) the most, along with Volkswagen, Honda and Korea's Hyundai. "I have tremendous respect for those four or five," he says, before quickly catching himself and adding: "And GM, of course." It seems like an afterthought, and Chrysler doesn't even get a mention. " "General Motors also has a stronger presence than Ford in Asia, though Ford has now targeted the region for growth," "Ford's image and its sales have gotten a boost from staying out of Chapter 11, in contrast to GM and Chrysler. " "The "proof point," Mr.Mulally says, is that Ford is starting to produce small cars instead of SUVs and pickup trucks in some of its U.S. factories—because the company can make small cars profitably in America for the first time in many years." Small Cars is the way to go;Can we have a slice of Ford's Global Small Car Lineup in India pls?!!!
	() Thanks

11th March 2010, 10:17	#2
NOS Power BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Kolkata Posts: 404 Thanked: 79 Times View My Garage	Great to see that one man has been able to revive one of the worlds most sought after car companies. Probably the new Lee Iacocca.
	() Thanks

11th March 2010, 22:04	#3
stanjohn123 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: TN 75 Posts: 1,345 Thanked: 1,798 Times View My Garage	This guy really is worth mentioning. I had a problem in my Ford Endeavour's Clutch some time back, and the Ford guys in Tirunlevelli tried swindling money from me by overcharging me a lot(Replacement). I knew my dealer cheated me but could not do anything about it until someone from t-bhp asked me to mail Mr.Mullaly. Never really thought it would happen,but my dealer did refund my 25,000 Rs that they tried to swindle from me.I've posted it on T-bhp here about my ordeal. This guy really is something Kudos.
	() Thanks