RangeRover

What are you talking about? Do you think Ford just decided not to pay without reason? This supplier is clearly holding Ford hostage and is only screwing themselves in the long run. 1. Ford will not willingly want to continue their commercial relationship 2. GM.DCX and everyother OEM sees how they conduct business and will not touch them. You never disrupt supply. That is the cardinal rule. For Ford not to pay means that this situation is serious. Don't automatically assume that Ford is the bad guy. I would not be surprised if Navistar was robbing Ford blind for these stupid engines. At some point you have to say enough!

I work for Ford and think that this is a good move. These bonuses are nothing in the overall scheme of things. Morale is low, stress is up, attrition at an alarming rate and more work then you can imagine. This bonus is only a token gesture but it shows that management just might care. White Collar workers have very little incentive to stay with Ford and I think the attrition cannot be ignored anymore. I think this is a small price to pay for a morale booster at Ford. Despite the bottom line there are alot of people in our organization fighting like hell to win this war. Costs are down, quality is up! Workers got nothing but buyouts and no merit increase. Why don't you ask HR if these bonuses were a good idea. They are tasked with talent retention and boosting morale.

Let it go people. Mercury sells higher trim level Ford's to people that like Ford vehicles but want better service and a something a little different. In exchange Ford gets a healthy profit on each vehicle. Plus Mercury dealers are not a stand alone Dealers they are all attached to Lincoln. Unlike Saturn Dealers that have to fend for themselves. Honestly, what makes anyone think that Ford cares enough about Mercury to sink alot of money into unique product. Importing sexy product for Mercury might be the exact plan that Ford is working on. Has anyone heard anything about a new Mercury? I have seen new Fords, Lincolns, Jags, Volvos, Mazdas.....but NO MERCURY's. The Mercury version of the Freestyle was scrapped so what gives? These are calculated decisions and it will be interesting to see Ford's plan for Mercury.

Ford is developing their own 6 speed transmission. You would think that Dodge would have learned from Ford's mistake. As long as Dodge sells in low volumes they are fine. If the truck gets too popular they run the risk of Aisin not supporting the volumes. Don' t forget that Toyota has a horse in the truck race. It sounds great and the truck is here today but it just seems like typical Dodge behavior. Stick a big enginer in it and hope it sells.

I have a friend in marketing that handles Fleet sales for the big rental companies and the stories are quite interesting. The renatl car companies and the car renter are going to face stiff realities in the years to come. Ford is capping their rental car sales at 15% to my understanding. It is kind of funny...a sales team that does not sell. Ford has gotten to the point where they are telling rental companies what they can buy. If you think Ford is just going to replace the Taurus Fleet sales with something else your wrong!

I think the level of refresh is fine since a completely new SuperDuty will be here in another 2 years. This will do. I think the design still looks better than the competition.

Why are you always focusing on negatives? I think we all understand the history of Ford's failed turnaround plans. I get it! You like to point out Ford's failures. Sometimes people need to just take a situation for what it is and try like hell to make it better or focus on what needs to be done. Wall Street, U.S. Gov't, U.S. consumers, U.S. Media are not interested in supporting companies/industries that struggle. They are labeled as hopeless and doomed to failure and anything positive is quickly noted and followed up with bad news. Bottom line is that I am a proud U.S citizen. I never want to work for a foreign company and I never want to see U.S. business lose!! I can handle honest and objective criticism about Ford. They are in big trouble and the product is improving but won't be good enough until 2009/10 MY. The unfortunate part is that daily I hear misinformation being spread by the media and regurgitated by friends & family. Ford & GM don't stand a chance unless the attitudes and ill-sentiment towards the U.S. auto companies improves. Please be more objective and interject some positives along with your negatives. I think you will be surprised by the level of discourse that you would initiate. I am one for good debate as are most on this board but constant negativity from the same people makes me not want to visit and contribute on this forum.

There are more things involved in calculating the cost of running a plant at capacity then OT. As mentioned productivity is drastically reduced when a plant runs at capacity and so does quality. To calcualate wages as the only cost is grossly underestimating the costs of running at capacity.

No, blame American Leadership for not demanding reciprocity on free trade. America is open to any and everyone. We are killing the American Middle class and there is no end in site. The problem is not globalization, it is the free trade policies of the U.S. that allow foreign competitors to exploit our markets while protecting their own!

In the long run running OT is not cheaper. It is fact that a plant should not run at 100% capacity. You should have at least 3-5% excess or else you are asking for trouble. Toyota may be running plants at 100%+ but I gaurantee that is short term and not apart of their mid or long term plans. It is a disaster waiting to happen. The media and investors love it because it shows strong demand but from a manufacturing standpoint it is NOT a sound practice.

Ford's definition of new/updated has changed. Many models being launched now and for 2008 have been significantly revised as much as possible given the short lead time. Going forward what Ford considers new is a whole new tophat. Did you listen to Mark Fields speach? The F-150 was halted for 2 months and given a complete redesign from front to back. I cannot say that Ford does not act in a reactionary mindset but that is what Ford is trying to change. Your statements point out the current flows and fails to recognize the things that Ford is doing to address them. As to your last point, Ford is not just now recognizing the strengths of Toyota. For you to make this statement is pretty naive! You are too critical. When Ford started to focus on quality and improving launches did they fail? Look at the launch of the D3's and CD3's. They have revamped the product development process and it is pushing out refreshed products in 2 years...look at the D3's for example. I think when Ford wants to get it right, they do! The problem has been lack of focus and direction. You cannot pioneer when you have no product plan and products in the pipeline. Oh, and I hardly think the Escape Hybrid was late to the game. Nor were the 6 speeds or the Anit-Rollover technology or the IRS and fold flat seating. OOPS I almost forgot the mustang. Point is Ford is not ALWAYS late to the party.

Let's not be overly dramatic. I think Ford realized that they had a lack of management talent, product plan and leadership a long time ago. To say they just realized the problem and to say that they have none of those things is a bit sensational.

Your negativity towards anything Ford is so draining!! Do you really think that Richard wants to be someone else? The point of marketing like this is to give your product a fun and youthful appearance and to give younger generations something to reach for. Until the teenagers and 20 somethings can afford a GT500 they will have to buy a base or GT and just drool over the GT500. For the adults that can afford a GT500 they get exclusivity and admiration from those that can only dream of owning a 500 HP musclecar.

No company willingly gives up money. If a case is settled there are reasons why. It is so easy for people to be critical. Let's sling some more dirt at peoples decisions with limited info on their rationale. Come on, let's hear about those pathetic Ford Lawyers that give away billions in cash.

This thread is retarded. All of these what if scenarios about business names and usage of words and logos associated with Ford are pointless. The bottom line is there are laws and systems that protect businesses from people that exploit the successes of others. If you have a soft spot for the little guy, so be it but at the end of the day an illegal action is illegal despite who committs the infraction. I assure you that Ford attorneys know patent and trademark infringement when they see it. If you think it is in poor taste WHO CARES. If it were your business and trademark you would think otherwise. Especially when the infringement is linked to parts that are associated with your product. Unhappy consumers will always blame the big guy. Ford has the right to protect their brand and anything that might hurt it.