Word: mazda
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...million before tax in the second quarter to June. Workers at Genk last week staged two 24-hour strikes at the plant, which makes the Mondeo sedan and Transit minivan; they're threatening more stoppages. It's a baptism by fire for Lewis Booth, 54, the former head of Mazda who took over at Ford of Europe in August. "The automotive market in Europe has deteriorated dramatically since only a year ago," he says. The risk for Ford is that if it can't get the Belgian unrest under control, it could spill over and impact its production elsewhere...
...late last month, the newest book is Kim Jong-il's Chef, which offers an inside look from the kitchen. According to the author, who goes by the pseudonym Kenji Fujimoto (he says Kim threatened to kill him), the Dear Leader has a 10,000-bottle wine cellar, likes Mazda RX-7 sports cars, enjoys dog soup on Sundays and "every special dog-eating summer day" and thinks his second son, Kim Jong Chol, is "like a girl." The book claims Kim forces officials to attend nonstop banquets that last up to four days, a duty eased somewhat...
...founder's great-grandson, is focused on cutting new-vehicle development time from the current three years (a full year longer than industry leader Toyota) and increasing parts-and-platform sharing. Ford's new Futura sedan, due in 2005 to replace the outgoing Taurus, will use a Mazda platform that Ford plans to leverage across 10 cars and crossover vehicles in its global lineup, including its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands. (Ford owns a controlling stake in Mazda.) But the core of Ford's global "product-led revival"--65 new models in the next five years--doesn't kick...
...expanding the market. Says Donald Kaufmann, 52, an insurance agent in Baton Rouge, La., who just bought the new Nissan: "I felt I was getting a lot of car for the dollar." Since Honda introduced its S2000 in 1999, sales of the $35,000 roadster have jumped nearly threefold. Mazda's Miata, introduced in 1989, is still purring along, with around 15,000 sold each year. Though Chevy's Corvette celebrates its 50th birthday next year, it still accounts for a third of all U.S. sports-car sales, and with its price pushing $50,000, it turns a nice profit...
...question of priorities," says Chris Theodore, Ford's vice president for North American product development. "Nobody here says you can't build a two-seater, but it comes down to making the business case." The automaker is banking on its retro-styled Thunderbird, rumbling Mustangs and the upcoming Mazda RX-8 (Ford owns 36% of Mazda) to hang on to its sports-car credibility. Few of Ford's top designers and engineers, however, are working on them. Says J Mays, vice president of design: "A lot of our top talent goes into trucks...