Word: motoring
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...needs a lot more of its founder's inexhaustible curiosity than it does its later devotion to spreadsheets. "Bill is the first Ford since Henry Ford to have the ability to operate mentally with no boxes," says Douglas Brinkley, a historian who wrote Wheels for the World, about Ford Motor. "He is wide open to possibilities, and that's the same way Henry...
Although Ford Motor's new plan will hack costs, Bill Ford knows the real question is whether his company can produce cars that have the quality, style and value that drivers want. The biggest challenge is "to restore a sense of confidence, both externally and internally, in the company," he says. Despite an emotional new ad campaign that stresses innovation, the turnaround is complicated. Brands like Toyota have better reputations; their cars resell for as much as $2,500 more than American cars, according to Ronald Tadross, auto analyst with Banc of America Securities. "Ford has a revenue problem...
Will the new designs be enough to stop the rot? Ford Motor's share of the U.S. auto and truck market has been steadily declining, from 24.1% in 2000 to 17.4% last year, while GM's shrank from 28.3% to 26.2%. To put that into perspective, Ford last year made 3.15 million vehicles, although it has the infrastructure to make 3.9 million, by Harbour Consulting's calculations. That kind of capacity utilization--79%--is hideously inefficient. The company's stock price has fallen 39% in a year--wiping out more than $10 billion in shareholder value...
...Ford Motor is in much better shape than GM, in part because it is smaller by about one-third in the U.S. While GM is awash in red ink, Ford Motor overall is still profitable, thanks to trucks like the F-150 and its finance and global business, which includes Mazda, Volvo and Land Rover. (Another brand, Jaguar, is losing money.) On the cost side, the U.S. carmakers are dragged down by the huge burden of benefits for retired workers, such as health care, which account for $930 of the cost of each of GM's vehicles, $560 of Ford...
...chain while going on an acquisition spree of luxury brands. After Bill Ford fired Nasser and stepped into the CEO job, his gentler approach was a relief, yet some industry executives are skeptical. "So far, the company's driving him," says Gerald Meyers, former CEO of the defunct American Motor Co. and an expert in crisis management. "He needs to say, 'This is not about the past, this is about the future--we need some shock and awe.' Is Bill Ford prepared to do that? I don't see it so far." Counters Mark Fields, president of Ford's Americas...