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.

Unfortunately times are volatile. We have seen twice what happens when Bill Ford makes declarations. They end up being retracted and add fuel to the fire. Ford cannot afford to be forthcoming with too much. There are too many like yourself that have been burned and only need a reason to attack. Ford Jr, Fields and team are trying their best to communicate as much as possible while not pre-committing to plans that are constantly being modified because of the externals. I think the way forward cascades and Septembers announcements are managemenst way of addressing those concerns that you raise. I know that much of that stuff sounds like marketing material and does not address most of the issues but the plan is 6 months old and still developing. They have shown some changes to product to make them more bold...maybe your frustrated at the ACH/Visteon situation then anything else. Just be lucky you don't work for Delphi.

The nerve of them not foreseeing Oil refineries shutting down for non-routine repairs and war between Lebanon and Israel. I mean who did not see that coming. The fact is that Trucks were selling well up until June. All trends showed that full sized pickup owners had tremendous resilience to gas prices. The truth of the matter is that people are now realizing that these prices are here to stay. Constant unrest in the middle east without stopping...constant refinery problems....This is a shift that has been accelerated by current events. You don't foresee current events, you foresee trends and up until June the trend looked a lot more positive.

Let me assure you that the 08 escape is adequately updated. I also don't understand how SixCav can be concerned with the pricing on the Edge. Look at the pricing on the '07 Expedition. I doubt the base Edge is going to cross with the base Expedition. Let's be logical.

Well, let me be the first to tell you NEVER trust your feelings because they are wrong. The 2008 Escape looks different both inside and out. I don't know what would make you "Feel" like it won't fool anyone. I don't think Ford tried to fool anyone in the first place. Especially with the new Explorer. Just because it does not look completely different does not mean significant updates were not made. I guess you would prefer the same underpinnings and technology as long the styling looked completely new. Sounds pretty ignorant to me. What does "it's just one step beyond what they did with the Explorer" supposed to mean? The explorer was very well executed in my opinion. The only complaint people have is that it does not look different enough. I would rather have product that only needs cosmetics than an outdated POS car/truck that looks good.

Can you make a better business case for why Ford should make such a vehicle? The fact that a Wrangler type vehicle is what you need does not make for a strong argument.

Why do people make sweeping generalizations about Upper and Middle management with no idea of what they do or what decisions they make on a day to day basis. Most importantly many have no idea of the obstacles or barriers that impede their best efforts. I understand that Upper management deserves criticism but don't harp on LL6's and LL5's because they work just as hard as the people on the bottom with few perks other than a management lease. There is dead weight at all levels in every organization. I would never categorize all UAW workers as lazy with entitlement issues but at the same time we all know that some are.

I don't think it resembles Chevy at all. I hate the new Chevy interiors because it looks like a car. The SD still looks like a truck interior. An F-150 truck to be specific.

Cut your crap! It is an American car that is assembled in Mexico. Ford is employing lots of U.S. workers in engineering, finance, marketing, supply chain/procurement to create products like the Fusion. When the majority of the strategy, design and financing comes from Mexico/Japan then you can talk.

You would rather be known as a bigot because being a "faggot" carries more negative connotations. Quite frankly I cannot understand how anyone can utter the word. It is very crass and projects a strong sense of hatred. I believe that a persons sexual preference should not be public debate. Unfortunately, bigotry and hatred has forced these debates into the public sphere. People discriminate against gays and pass judgement on a diverse group of people without any background except that they are gay. Gays pose no threat to anyone and just want the same rights afforded to others. That is why they march, protest and engage in public debates. As long as forums like this conjure up biased and hateful posts there will be a need for events denouncing homophobia and seeking gay rights.

UMMMM...Actually noone realy cares how hard you work!!! Americans in general can't stand the UAW and don't support them because of the attitudes they portray to the public. Americans have no job security, are increasingly overworked, benefits being reduced, benefits increasing in costs and much more. Why do they endure? Because it is the cost of keeping a job and working for a company that remains competitive in todays global economy. What do people see and hear from the UAW. They see people saying "NO". No to wage cuts, no to paying for benefits, No to holding underperforming union workers accountable for being dead weight. The fact is no matter how hard you work, your profession is your choice. Americans as a whole do not have a fraction of the UAW luxuries and when they see UAW members act like victims all the time it is appalling. Take your check and join the non-unionized world. Let me be the first to say welcome to no overtime, ridiculous healthcare costs,lack of job security and ever increasing responsibilities.