Word: lacocca
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Turned Corner. Though the sales figures represented only the second consecutive good ten-day reporting period, they signaled to auto executives that Detroit was rebounding along with the U.S. economy. "Our business turned the corner with the introduction of the 1976 models," declared Ford President Lee lacocca. Chevrolet General Manager Robert Lund noted that early October truck sales were also significantly higher: 34% above the 1974 figure. "Trucks are always a weather vane for business," he said. "People buy them to make money with them...
...Chevette's competition will not come only from imports. Last week Ford announced the Pinto Pony MPG, sticker-priced at $2,895, $4 below the Chevette and now lower than any other U.S.-built car. In an obvious slap at GM, Ford President Lee lacocca added, "The back seat comes at no extra charge...
...economist can be found who does not expect an upturn some time this year, and most are looking for it sooner rather than later. "I think honestly that it's going to turn around in this quarter," says Joseph B. Lanterman, chairman of Amsted Industries. Says Lee lacocca, president of Ford Motor Co.: "The worst is behind us." Richard Everett, chief domestic economist of the Chase Manhattan Bank, proclaims himself "confident that the recession will be ended by summer...
...programs, for example, are at least a temporary effort to soften the public's indignation about the high price of the 1975 small models. Moreover, the industry leaders now agree that there will have to be more small cars in their future. Predicts Ford's President Lee lacocca: "By the end of the 1970s, we think that small cars will be selling over large cars 60 to 40. We're planning it that way, and we think we're right...
Auto executives argue that the Government is largely responsible for higher car prices. Ford President Lee lacocca notes that the Pinto, introduced barely four years ago at about $2,000, now sells for almost $3,000, even though a $66 cut was announced last week. A quarter of the nearly $1,000 increase is due to mandated federal equipment. Another quarter comes from such product improvements as disc brakes, solid state ignition and a bigger engine. The rest, says lacocca, "reflects only partial recovery of rising costs of labor and materials." He warns that by 1978 the Pinto will sell...