Word: forded
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Ford has still more changes coming in its showrooms. Due out this fall is a new Lincoln Mark VII, the replacement for the heavy, clumsy-looking Mark VI. Meanwhile, the company is dropping the Mercury LN7 model, a sporty two-seater car that was introduced in 1981. Says Ford President Donald Petersen: "A car has to fulfill its promise. The LN7 didn't. It was damned disappointing...
...addition to revamping styling, Ford is also stepping up its marketing efforts. One key target is California, which accounts for 10% of all new-car sales in the U.S. Ford's share of that prime market is only 14%, and, says Petersen, "We were on the verge of being a disappearing name there." To catch up, Ford has quadrupled its market research over eight years and is conducting elaborate consumer samplings. Says Executive Vice President...
Harold ("Red") Poling: "Once we discover why we lost the market in California, we will prevent the same thing from happening to us elsewhere." To increase its West Coast visibility, Ford prominently displays pictures of the Mustangs it sells to the California Highway Patrol with the caption, "This Ford chases Porsches for a living...
Since American car buyers have become much more quality conscious, Ford has been racing to upgrade its products and hammering at the theme "Quality is Job 1" in advertising. As a result, the company trumpets that it now has fewer cars returned to dealers in the first year for serious defects than any other domestic competitor...
With the early returns promising, Wall Street analysts have begun boosting their profit estimates for Ford. They now think the automaker will ring up profits of $1 billion this year and could earn as much as $2.2 billion in 1984. Says Petersen: "These could be some very good years." The good outlook has helped lift Ford stock from last year's low of 16⅝ to last week's close at 55. "We must be doing something right," quips Poling...