Can this car save Ford?

1868 Views 20 Replies 19 Participants Last post by Ttple, Apr 29, 2008

1931Chevy

Discussion Starter · Apr 22, 2008 (Edited)

Ford is betting its future on a new strategy, starting with a small car built for the whole world.

What makes a Ford a Ford? The question is simple, and a 105-year-old company should know how it wants its cars to look, feel, and drive: the resistance in the steering wheel, the spring in the seats, the rumble from the exhaust. But Ford is still struggling to find an answer. So on a blustery spring morning, CEO Alan Mulally and 25 top executives from the United States and Europe meet at a test track near company headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., to tease that question out, one component at a time.

As the executives cluster around a whiteboard, Mulally, dressed in a blue Ford windbreaker, sounds off on the first topic: the new transmissions for the lineup. These offer consumers the option of shifting themselves or letting the car do it automatically. The question is, Should Ford offer drivers buttons on the steering wheel or racing-style paddles behind the steering-wheel spokes? It is a small detail - each component costs about $25 - yet it produces spirited discussion.

Mulally wants to know how the gear changes will be signaled to the driver. Mark Fields, who runs Ford's car business in the Americas, worries about durability and warranty costs. More fundamentally, he questions whether drivers even want to shift gears themselves. "I'm concerned we're going in the wrong direction," he says. Jim Farley, newly recruited from Toyota (TM) to oversee global sales and marketing, is thinking about how the action will feel: "If the paddle shifter is well done, it could be a big advantage for us." After 30 minutes, the paddle shifters seem to be winning. But before the issue is resolved, the group moves on to the next topic: the electronic chimes that remind drivers to turn off the headlights or remove the ignition key.

continue at the link

See less See more

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

plane

· #2 · Apr 22, 2008 (Edited)

No this car cannot save Ford.
Aligning and standardizing manufacturing processes can help.
Building products that consumers crave would do even more.
It's not a single car that counts - it's the sound, repeatable business processes that will make Ford a winner.

1931Chevy

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 22, 2008

What I think they want to say with the article is that if the global fiesta since it will be the first global car in Fords portfolio fails it will sink Ford but that wont happen because after this car comes about 6 month later comes the new global focus and so on

Uzzy

· #4 · Apr 22, 2008 (Edited)

plane said:
No this car cannot save Ford.
Aligning and standardizing manufacturing processes can help.
Building products that consumers crave would do even more.
It's not a single car that counts - it's the sound, repeatable business processes that will make Ford a winner.

You might be on to something...but of course Ford is looking for that one car to save them, as usual.

Did the Fusion save Ford? Nope. Did re-naming the Fivehundred, "Taurus" and giving it a fugly grille save Ford? Not even close. Did the Edge save Ford? Nope. New NA Focus? :lmao: Will the Flex (shoulda been called Fairlane) no, that's won't quite cut it. So why should this little Fiesta/Festiva, whatever they're going to call it do the trick? Ford can't simply rely on a single saviour to pull them up. This is not 1986 anymore. You can't just put one good car out there and hope for the best. However, doing this "will the XXXXXX save Ford" might work, once all of their cars have been replaced with potential saviours...if they survive long enough to do so, and I think they will, as long as Mercury dies.

igor

· #5 · Apr 22, 2008

luckily Ford is past "this one car will save us" mentality - like plane said.

Unfortunately, I thin GM still thinks that sometimes - but it might be just the way they MARKET stuff - like Apple - every new model is the nest thing since sliced bread.

But no - no single model can save Ford - ESPECIALLY A LOSS MAKING SUBCOMPACT - I love how the BIG media outlets are the most clueless.....
Igor

dratnol

· #6 · Apr 22, 2008

Uzzy said:
You might be on to something...but of course Ford is looking for that one car to save them, as usual.

I have yet to see where Ford said this car will save them. Now if you had said CNN, then I would agree. I would really like to know when Ford said the Flex, Edge, etc would save them.

emh

· #7 · Apr 22, 2008

Uzzy said:
You might be on to something...but of course Ford is looking for that one car to save them, as usual.
Did the Fusion save Ford? Nope. Did re-naming the Fivehundred, "Taurus" and giving it a fugly grille save Ford? Not even close. Did the Edge save Ford? Nope. New NA Focus? :lmao: Will the Flex (shoulda been called Fairlane) no, that's won't quite cut it. So why should this little Fiesta/Festiva, whatever they're going to call it do the trick? Ford can't simply rely on a single saviour to pull them up.

Did you guys even skim the article (much less read it)? Ford isn't saying this one car is to save the company. The title of the article is insinuating that Fiesta is the first car developed under the current unified global effort. Fiesta is validation of the process that may save Ford -- not the car itself.

mooseman

· #8 · Apr 22, 2008

So, when they say the Fiesta is a 2010 intro, do they mean MY2010 or CY2010? CY2010 seems like an awfully long road. They need that car here yesterday. 20 months from now would not be good.

CJ Thunder

· #9 · Apr 22, 2008

NO DAMN CHIMES. Have **** turn off in 5 minutes for the stupid people. But dongs and beeps for every little damn thing is so annoying.

GMfan1111

· #10 · Apr 22, 2008

Will this car save ford? Of course not. just like how the stunning enclave can't keep Buick afloat forever, Ford is going to need more than one hit car to save itself. Besides the fiesta ford also needs to roll out the new mustang, Flex, and the new Taurus ASAP. I already like the shape of the new mustang I actually saw one on my last trip to MPG granted it was wrapped up but you could make out the shape and it looked great. Also ford needs to revamp the ford edge and Lincoln MKX they're ok crossovers but they could have been done better

igor

· #11 · Apr 22, 2008

mooseman said:
So, when they say the Fiesta is a 2010 intro, do they mean MY2010 or CY2010? CY2010 seems like an awfully long road. They need that car here yesterday. 20 months from now would not be good.

My sources indicate 12 months from now, but Kuzak said "we cannot get it here before 2010" - and it got people worried - the worst case scenario is VERY early 2010 calendar year - and yes that is very late - but as should be pointed out - the B-car segment is still only 4% of the whole market - while it is growing it is still TINY

Igor

prowlerjc

· #12 · Apr 22, 2008

They're still bringing the 3-door at intro, right?

ausrutherford

· #13 · Apr 22, 2008

prowlerjc said:
They're still bringing the 3-door at intro, right?

Yes and the sedan and 5 door

ChevroletRevived

· #14 · Apr 23, 2008

Some pretty interesting stuff. I really like how they're coming up with "Ford DNA", something that sets it apart from other cars. I really think that should be done for brand as well, like at GM. For instance Buick could have it's own sounds, key fobs, steering wheel design and switchgear. I expect we'll see that as things continue to improve and GM makes progress in the marketplace. Anyway though, back to the topic at hand. Like others have said, this car alone won't "save" Ford. It really isn't like that as much anymore when one whole car in and of itself can save a whole company. A hit product can help revitalize one (like the iPod for Apple) but it must be accompanied with other product, marketing, etc. If any car would come close to saving Ford, it certainly wouldn't be this Fiesta subcompact.

2648562

· #15 · Apr 23, 2008

I'll confess, never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine the words "save Ford" and "Fiesta" to be used in the same sentence.

blank disk

· #16 · Apr 23, 2008

So this is the next flavor in what makes for a good title...saving an entire corporation with one product!!!

Did they not say the same thing with the Fusion.
Did they not say the same thing with the Edge.
Did they not say the same thing with the 2004 F-150?
Did they not say the same thing with the Five Hundred?
Will they not soon be saying the same thing with the Flex?

"they" being journalists.

Are we not tired as hell of sensationalistic journalism?

DuSpinnst

· #17 · Apr 23, 2008

CJ Thunder said:
NO DAMN CHIMES. Have **** turn off in 5 minutes for the stupid people. But dongs and beeps for every little damn thing is so annoying.

I never got this, why can't the headlamps just cut out 1 minute after ignition off regardless of position? Or even better why are Automatic lamps NOT STANDARD!

peabody

· #18 · Apr 23, 2008

nope!

t-rex

· #19 · Apr 23, 2008

I think some of you are missing the point.

The Fiesta itself isn't going to save Ford. It's the thinking behind it that will. The rationalisation. The instillation of a Ford "feel". The globalisation of Ford...

THAT'S what the article was about. Nobody's suggesting a 75k units-per-year subcompact (in the US at least) will save the company.

paul8488

· #20 · Apr 29, 2008

t-rex said:
The Fiesta itself isn't going to save Ford. It's the thinking behind it that will. The rationalisation. The instillation of a Ford "feel". The globalisation of Ford...

THAT'S what the article was about. Nobody's suggesting a 75k units-per-year subcompact (in the US at least) will save the company.

If that's what they mean then I agree... as you say this one little car it's going to change Ford on its own.

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.