Word: fords
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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After the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was quite clear that a Soviet base in Cuba would spell disaster for American security. The United States's hard-line policy grew even harder, faithfully perpetuated by a succession of presidents, both Democrats and Republicans. Through Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, through the Vietnam War, Woodstock, disco, and Reaganomics, Castro still ruled in Havana, a perennial thorn in the side of the United States despite the crushing weight of the trade embargo...
Changing the Guard at Ford...
...blitz. Between now and Super Bowl Sunday, the automakers will spend an unprecedented $1 billion on ads, commercials, giveaways and other promotional stunts introducing all makes and models; more than $400 million will be devoted to touting the appealing new compacts. Says Steve Lyons, general-marketing manager of the Ford Division, which will spend $100 million selling the Contour alone: "This is the biggest launch campaign in our history. These are important cars for us, new cars with new names. We've got a lot of explaining...
...Toyota Corolla, for example, they are squarely aimed at taking away customers from the larger (and more expensive) mid-size Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys. The strategy is to squeeze the popular mid-size Hondas and Toyotas between Detroit's hot compacts and its larger models, like Ford's Taurus, the top-selling car in the U.S. Says Chris Cedergren, who tracks auto-industry sales for AutoPacific: "The battle lines are really going to be drawn in the premium-compact market, where the Japanese get about 33% of their U.S. car sales. We think the Contour and the Mystique...
Ultimately, it is the guts and good looks of Detroit's new compacts that will have to do the hard work of rebuilding consumer loyalty. Ford, for one, is betting $6 billion in development costs that once people try the Contour and its cousins, they will never look at an Accord or Camry the same way again...