Word: forde
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...Bill Ford was never particularly comfortable with his country-club world, anyway. His father William Clay Ford, brother of longtime chairman Henry II, chaired Ford Motor's finance committee and bought the Detroit Lions. His mother Martha Parke Firestone (yes, that Firestone) was already an auto blueblood. Although educated at the élite institutions of Hotchkiss and Princeton, Bill was especially interested in labor and what working people do. His passions tended toward sports, American history and the environment. His parents hoped he would not grow up a snob, and his mother drove him across town to play hockey...
...Ford always assume he would work for the family firm. "He was a bit of a rebel as a young man," says Robert Kreipke, in-house corporate historian. "There was a bit of the 'corporations are the bad guys' thing. He wrestled with that. But in the end, he thought he could maybe change things from the inside." He has worked all over the company, from the assembly line to the labor-relations department to running Ford's Switzerland operation. When he became chairman, Ford pushed two projects that have since become important signs of where the company is heading...
...skeptics still call Ford a hypocrite. Some environmentalists challenge him for producing huge, smog-spewing trucks. Ford counters that his job is to make the company as environmentally sound as possible while making a profit. The new F-250 Super Chief concept truck, unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January, epitomizes the company's dual mission: the gigantic, superdeluxe truck is equipped with everything big, including brown leather club chairs and flat-screen TVs. The surprise is that it is designed to run on any one of three fuels: hydrogen, a mixture of 85% ethyl alcohol or gasoline...
Among workers, Ford's sincerity has won him loyalty. When an explosion ripped through the Rouge plant in 1999, he ignored warnings not to get involved and rushed to the site. He gave cash and a credit card to an aide, instructing him to get to the hospital and cover all expenses. Over the following days, he attended funerals and stayed close to the family members. "That was something you don't see from most CEOs," says Walter (Jeff) Washington, president of Local 900 of the United Auto Workers. "It really touched people...
...Ford Motor's efforts to cut costs, go green and produce more exciting cars can already be found in some of its 2007 models. But by one measure, Ford is still heading in the wrong direction. Last week Moody's downgraded Ford's debt to a lower "junk" rating, saying it's unlikely the company will be willing to stop the slide in market share. Still, says childhood friend Mark Higbie: "Bill has picked his horse, and he's going to ride it until it crosses the finish line...