What are the Managers of Ford Thinking?
Ford is dire straits and we knew that. So what do they do? Sell Aston Martin! Idiots!!!! I am being harsh because I have not seen that much lunacy in a while. Aston Martin is profitable for Ford, and they sell what is profitable. What does Ford keep? Whatever is loosing money.
The Premier Auto Group, bogged down primarily by Jaguar, handed in a pretax loss of $344 million. Mulally, Ford’s top executive since September, has said Jaguar is not currently for sale.
Annual production dipped as low as just 46 cars in 1992. But the brand [Aston Martin] has enjoyed a resurgence this decade — a record 7,000 Aston Martins were sold worldwide last year and a similar number are expected to be purchased in 2007.
Oh yes let’s keep the stuff that is bleeding Ford and sell what is profitable for Ford! Yes that is smart, NOT!
Let me illustrate with a similar situation. BMW bought Rover to expand its brand. Rover turned out to bleed BMW. It became a crucial issue and BMW decided to make the hard decision to sell Rover. That did not go over well in the UK. Though BMW sold Rover, they keep Mini. At first I could not understand that, but I saw that BMW had the vision to make the Mini into an icon. It worked for BMW. Now x years later BMW and Mini are sitting pretty.
If I was running Ford I would get rid of Jaguar. Jaguar is a dud, and I always wondered why Ford bought Jaguar. The problem with Jaguar is that it has a bad reputation and for the amount of money a consumer pays you don’t get a Mercedes, Lexus, or BMW.
I would have kept Aston Martin and worked to expand the brand. What I would do with Aston Martin is a Porsche move. Porsche has for the most part very high end cars, much like Aston Martin. Though to attract the lower end market Porsche created the Boxster. The Boxster was instant success because it was an “affordable” sports car from a high end car maker. I personally see quite a few Aston Martins here in Switzerland, and let me tell you they are sweet. The curves the lines are truly amazing and you crave to own an Aston Martin. If Aston Martin were to create a James Bond mini version I am tempted to believe it would sell quite well. Like Porsche, Aston Martin has mystique and a breath of exclusivity.
So Ford sells Aston Martin to fund its turnaround plan. To me this is like buying more blood while ignoring the bleeding. It’s throwing good money after bad money. It bothers me because I get the feeling we are seeing the last days of Ford. I wonder if Ford will survive into the next decade. My guess right now is no. I am not just saying this because of this sale, but because Ford keeps bungling things. Here are some further examples:
- Kept focus on the Explorer and SUV much too long.
- Ford has a hybrid, and they did not capitalize on it. Toyota is seen as the hybrid innovator and thus as a green company even though their CO2 car fleet average is not great.
- Ford has an active ethanol program and could be the first car maker to ship an ethanol fleet. So where are cars on the showroom floor?
Ford is making an idiot of itself and the only people to blame are the managers, not the unions, not the consumer, but the management. Truly sad to see…
Hello There Mr Roboto!
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4 Comments Add your ownSubscribe
1. Phil | March 14th, 2007 at 7:14 am
I would have kept Aston Martin also.
I think Ford’s problem is they are run by accountants, not engineers.
For example - I love the mustang, but I would not buy the new version because it has a live rear axle. I findi it insulting that they went to all that effort, then cut corners because an IRS setup would have added 5k to the cost.
It would have handled better, been safer and would have improved on the 1960s technology in the original mustangs.
Similarly with the Focus - the European car is awesome, but they continue to sell the older version in the USA. To me, that smacks of contempt. They have the 500, when they could be sellnig the Ford Falcon (www.ford.com.au) in its place. It is as if they have little respect for the consumer.
They don’t know how to leverage their international design teams. They have the cars to replace the trucks and SUVs, so why don’t they use them?
2. Christian Gross | March 14th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Funny that you mention this because there is quite a bit truth to what you say. For example, did you know that the hybrid SUV is not available in Europe?
Yeah I know what you mean they seem to have little respect for the consumer.
Overall it just baffles me that a company that could be doing much better isn’t…
3. Mustang Enthusiast | June 17th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Ford had such momemtun during their ford taurus glory years. Simple good engineering and quality …. than the bean counters take over and the quality and focus goes down ….. Gee wonder why Ford and the other US automakers are laying off and getting their butt kick …..
4. Auto Parts for Brains | August 9th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
One of the biggest problems for Ford is the fact that the government keeps looking for ways to bail them out. This is actually happening with most of the major Detroit auto makers.
Basically, our government has decided these major car manufacturers need to do well, wether they provide any value or not. It’s actually better for these companies to do poorly so the government will come in and subsidize their poor efforts. When did we become a socialist country? Why would Ford keep their profitable companies in these circumstances?
Thanks for your interesting post. Check out my auto parts store sometime.
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