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Ford Confirms Meeting with Kerkorian

ANTAUS

By ANTAUS
in Executives & Management

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NickF1011

NickF1011

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Posted

The last few paragraphs are really going to put a damper on salsaking's rants:

 

"Because it is still controlled by the Ford family, Ford Motor is considered to have more ability to withstand pressure from Tracinda or other outside investors. The Ford family controls 40 percent of the shareholder vote through its special Class B stock with super voting power. The family owns 70,852,076 Class B shares.

 

Morgan Stanley analyst Jonathan Steinmetz said Tracinda is likely to modify its pattern of activist behavior because of the Ford family control.

 

"Something will have to give," Steinmetz said in a research note. "In this case, we believe Tracinda is unlikely to be activist in the conventional sense, given the voting structure."

 

Instead, Tracinda is likely to be a "constructive agitator" and ultimately could push for a seat on Ford's board of directors, the analyst said. York would be the likely candidate to hold any board seat allocated to Tracinda."

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mlhm5

mlhm5

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The last few paragraphs are really going to put a damper on salsaking's rants:

 

"Because it is still controlled by the Ford family, Ford Motor is considered to have more ability to withstand pressure from Tracinda or other outside investors. The Ford family controls 40 percent of the shareholder vote through its special Class B stock with super voting power. The family owns 70,852,076 Class B shares.

 

Morgan Stanley analyst Jonathan Steinmetz said Tracinda is likely to modify its pattern of activist behavior because of the Ford family control.

 

"Something will have to give," Steinmetz said in a research note. "In this case, we believe Tracinda is unlikely to be activist in the conventional sense, given the voting structure."

 

Instead, Tracinda is likely to be a "constructive agitator" and ultimately could push for a seat on Ford's board of directors, the analyst said. York would be the likely candidate to hold any board seat allocated to Tracinda."

 

That may be one of the reasons Ford stock is so low. After Bill Ford, investors figure that when Mulally corrects the problem at Ford, the family might just stick another Ford at the helm and drive the car in the ditch again.

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NickF1011

NickF1011

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That may be one of the reasons Ford stock is so low. After Bill Ford, investors figure that when Mulally corrects the problem at Ford, the family might just stick another Ford at the helm and drive the car in the ditch again.

 

Except it wasn't a Ford (at least Bill Ford anyway) that drove Ford into the ditch to begin with. Learn some Ford history before you spout off at the mouth. :finger:

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mlhm5

mlhm5

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Except it wasn't a Ford (at least Bill Ford anyway) that drove Ford into the ditch to begin with. Learn some Ford history before you spout off at the mouth. :finger:

 

The family controls the company and that has not been good for Ford until this CEO or did I miss some history over the past 10+ years.

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NickF1011

NickF1011

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The family controls the company and that has not been good for Ford until this CEO or did I miss some history over the past 10+ years.

 

The family has controlled the company since its inception. I would hardly say a rough patch here or there equates to the Ford family failing at running the company. The fact that the company still exists after this long is testament to quite the opposite.

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pcsario

pcsario

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Except it wasn't a Ford (at least Bill Ford anyway) that drove Ford into the ditch to begin with. Learn some Ford history before you spout off at the mouth. :finger:

 

He drove Ford further into the shithole after Nasser left.

 

- We got a mediocre, underpowered sedan, that couldn't even beat an old Honda launched years before.

- A crossover with mediocre brakes, a terrible interior, with a cheap mouse fur headliner which hangs down like a tent.

- Promoted a bunch of old thinking idiots in a time where talented fresh blood was needed. Result? FNA is the worst division at Ford.

- Due to his negligence and complacency, Ford lost two key sales crowns to the same competitor (CR-V)

- In addition to all the lost ground lost to the competition during his tenure at Ford, he never wanted to do anything drastic.

- Fucked up twice with the Focus. FNA ended up paying MORE than if they had brought the C1 in the first place.

- Greenlighted a bunch of mediocre patchjobs when all new, industry leading products were needed.

- Constantly made false promises and turned FoMoCo into the laughing stock of the industry.

- Cancelled the Hurricane and made some other equally as dumb decisions, like downgraded brakes for the Escape.

 

We could go on and on... you get the point. There's a reason why only RJ considers his hero Bill Ford a martyr, a victim, etc. when everyone else couldn't be happier the idiot and his gang are gone, and the official BON grouch is in charge.

 

And no, the outgoing F150 and Mustang were Nasser's legacy, so were the D3 triplets, althought those ended up being flops. There's a reason why there's a drastic sea of difference between an effort such as the F150, and some rushed, Kia-worthy products like the Fusion, FuckUs, etc. Nasser made a bunch of idiotic decisions too, but wanting to raise the bar wasn't one of them.

Edited by pcsario
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Edstock

Edstock

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or did I miss some history over the past 10+ years.

Add another 90 years to that. Yes, you missed a lot of history.

 

Now, has family control been bad for Ford?

 

Over a century? No.

 

Starting with Duryea, there have been THOUSANDS of US car companies. Yes, thousands. Today, there are 2 remaining: Ford, and GM and it seems that Ford is doing what it has to do to continue as a major manufacturer.

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Edstock

Edstock

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He drove Ford further into the shithole after Nasser left.

:hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical:

 

We could go on and on...

And you do, one negaspin after another after another after another after another after another after another after another after another after another after another after another, ad infinitum ad nauseum.

 

sario4.jpg

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NickF1011

NickF1011

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He drove Ford further into the shithole after Nasser left.

 

Hmmm...yeah.

 

- We got a mediocre, underpowered sedan, that couldn't even beat an old Honda launched years before.

 

Which has a much higher retail take rate than the Taurus (probably the Contour too). Was it perfect? No. But it was a start.

 

- A crossover with mediocre brakes, a terrible interior, with a cheap mouse fur headliner which hangs down like a tent.

 

Bitch all you want about the Edge. It instantly took over the midsize CUV market. There is no way on any level it could be considered a failure.

 

- Promoted a bunch of old thinking idiots in a time where talented fresh blood was needed.

 

Mark Fields is an old thinking idiot? Bill Ford also hired Alan Mulally.

 

- Due to his negligence and complacency, Ford lost two key sales crowns to the same competitor (CR-V)

 

Escape and.....what's the second one? You must be referring to "Best-selling SUV". Whoopie. Escape is still close on its heels. Edge is outselling the Pilot.

 

So far, half of your rants are about total sales. Completely ignore that it was under Bill Ford that the start of massive rental fleet sale reductions started. Of course sales are going to drop on certain models that were common fleet vehicles (Escape and Explorer being the two relevant ones in this case).

 

- In addition to all the lost ground lost to the competition during his tenure at Ford. Never wanted to do anything drastic.

 

Axing half of the employee workforce and announcing the closure of 11 plants isn't "drastic" enough for you?

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NickF1011

NickF1011

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- Fucked up twice with the Focus. FNA ended up paying MORE than if they had brought the C1 in the first place.

 

Maybe. Focus sales are still up considerably, while LESS of them are going to rental fleets at the same time. Conclusion: Resale value on most Fords (even the Focus) has increased. Yes. I think it's ugly. But it's certainly not flopping in the marketplace like so many predicted.

 

- Greenlighted a bunch of mediocre patchjobs when all new, industry leading products were needed.

 

This is one point I will generally agree with, though there were a couple of exceptions such as the S197 Mustang and Edge.

 

- Constantly made false promises and turned FoMoCo into the laughing stock of the industry.

 

Define "laughing stock". And show me one company that has never made a promise it didn't deliver on.

 

- Cancelled the Hurricane and made some other equally as dumb decisions, like downgraded brakes for the Escape.

 

I very much doubt that Bill Ford himself had any input whatsoever about what kind of brakes the Escape had. Are you kidding me? If those types of decisions make it to a CEO's desk, there's something seriously wrong with the way things are being run.

 

We could go on and on... you get the point. There's a reason why only RJ considers his hero Bill Ford a martyr, a victim, etc. when everyone else couldn't be happier the idiot and his gang are gone, and the official BON grouch is in charge.

 

In hindsight, Bill Ford got the ball rolling in what is resulting in Ford's current turnaround. Do you really think that Mulally's actions in just one year have turned a $12B loss into breakeven, and likely profitability by next year? Give me a break. The VAST majority of the cost-saving and quality-improvement measures that are now in place at Ford Motor Company were enacted under Bill Ford's tenure.

 

And no, the outgoing F150 and Mustang were Nasser's crown jewels, so were the D3 triplets, althought those ended up being flops. There's a reason why there's a drastic sea of difference between an effort such as the F150, and some rushed product like the Fusion, FuckUs, etc.

 

It's very difficult to draw a line where one had influence over what product and who had influence over another. If Bill Ford was as incompitent as you claim, I'm sure he would have frozen the '04 F-150 and '05 Mustang and found a way to screw those up too. If anything, the Fusion we received was an IMPROVEMENT over the project that was started under Nasser.

 

Oh, and if you're going to put BLAME on Bill Ford for the product decisions made in the US, you must also give him CREDIT for the product decisions made everywhere else in Ford's global portfolio. Where's the credit for the Mondeo? The Fiesta? The Kuga? The Transit? The Transit Connect? The Falcon? After all, he was the CEO of FORD MOTOR COMPANY, not Ford North America.

 

Your rants are really starting to look desperate as Ford returns to prosperity. I really want to stick around to see what kind of things you'll be bitching about in another couple of years. :hysterical:

Edited by NickF1011
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pcsario

pcsario

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Posted (edited)

Fields, Kuzak and Mulally were pretty much Bill Ford's "Plz forgive me guys lol" farewell gifts.

 

A concession that his gang of old thinkers were a monument to incompetence .

 

Again it's not a coincidence that almost a decade later, FNA is still the worst division at FoMoCo. Yes, long after Nasser left.

 

BTW, the realists already won, Fields and Mulally are doing the stuff we all said needed to be done. Being one of the biggest Ford fans here, of course I'm happy to see things FINALLY changing in the right direction.

Edited by pcsario
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351cid

351cid

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Starting with Duryea, there have been THOUSANDS of US car companies. Yes, thousands. Today, there are 2 remaining: Ford, and GM and it seems that Ford is doing what it has to do to continue as a major manufacturer.

 

 

5531 US car manufacturers in the automotive history of America.

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mlhm5

mlhm5

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Why don't you go back to your digital camera forums and debate magapixels or something like that...

 

Posts by mlhm5 on Steves-digicams.com Forums

 

Sure Ford has done real well over the past 10 years and is really worth a lot more than the stock price suggests. Those guys on Wall Street just don't know anything, now do they.

 

As far as cameras, if you have an interest in a cheapie, I reccommend the Fujifilm F20 for an excellent point and shoot that can take excellent pictures under extremely low light without a flash. You can buy one for $100 and there is not a better camera under $300 on the market today.

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NLPRacing

NLPRacing

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Sure Ford has done real well over the past 10 years and is really worth a lot more than the stock price suggests. Those guys on Wall Street just don't know anything, now do they.

 

Has anybody claimed that Ford has "done real well over the past 10 years"?

 

As far as cameras, if you have an interest in a cheapie, I reccommend the Fujifilm F20 for an excellent point and shoot that can take excellent pictures under extremely low light without a flash. You can buy one for $100 and there is not a better camera under $300 on the market today.

 

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out!

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