Word: petersen
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Under the innovative leadership of Chairman Donald Petersen, Ford is not simply coasting with its established models. Last month it introduced the Probe, a sporty two-door hatchback that may turn out to be nearly as successful as the Taurus. For a base price of $10,459, the Probe offers front- wheel drive, a zippy but economical four-cylinder engine and the sleek, aerodynamic look of a European or Japanese import. That should not be surprising, because Ford designed and developed the Probe in a joint project with Mazda, the Japanese company in which Ford owns a 25% interest. Mazda...
...company is prepared to weather a downturn, Ford is. The bleak years of 1980 through 1982, when it lost $3.26 billion, taught the company how devastating a recession can be. Philip Caldwell, Ford's chairman at the time, was forced to cut costs drastically and boost productivity. When Petersen took over as chairman in 1985, he oversaw an equally relentless slashing of expenses...
Cost cutting, though, was only one part of the recovery plan. Under Petersen, the company has developed a worldwide strategy for prospering in an increasingly competitive business. Ford has always had a major presence overseas, especially in Europe, but its operations around the world often duplicated one another's efforts. A European subsidiary, for example, would make cars for its market, while Detroit was building similar vehicles for the U.S. There was remarkably little coordination, specialization or division of labor, even though domestic and foreign vehicles were becoming more alike...
LONG GONE (HBO). Paul Hemphill's novel about life and love and selling out in Class D baseball was turned into a wryly observant film. William L. Petersen headed a terrific cast, and even the baseball scenes looked authentic...
Amid the frenetic activity, says Ford Chairman Donald Petersen, "the real battle will be won by whoever is best able to utilize capacity." Above all, that is a call for more automaking efficiency, meaning greater use of low-cost suppliers, more highly automated and productive plants -- and, in all likelihood, fewer workers, who will receive lower wages in return for better guarantees of job security. The reality is that the future for the major U.S. auto companies is already here. The heartening fact is that not one of them is trying to avoid...