Harley Lover Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 Here's a quote from Hackett regarding Farley: "Farley comes back with a track record, not only in Ford Europe, of being transformative as well. But before he came to Ford he had a sterling career in inventing things. (He’s a) perfect partner for me to look at the status quo, in all of our markets, but also eases some of the span of control challenges that I saw so that I could have a smaller team," Hackett said of Farley. "So he’s going to take more responsibility." Sounds like he will embrace guys like Farley and look to build a small, nimble, collaborative team. I forgot to add, I think the above quote establishes Farley as the favorite to become CEO in a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Except they don't. They really really don't. Comparing Ford's net to Tesla's fantasy land accounting is like saying that you're richer than Warren Buffett just because you happen to have more money in your billfold. I've said that to several people but they just don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 He seems to be widely recognized as an agent of change and transformation especially for older companies with a lot of legacy baggage. If that's true it could be a really good thing. Well I hope you are correct-but didn't Al M get the culture/legacy baggage corrected? And IMO I would be a lot more comfortable if Ford if anything, slowed up the pace as far as the self driving BS goes...let someone else take the lead and learn from their mistakes when the lawsuits start as everyone scrambles to fend off the lawsuits when this "new technology" really hits the streets. The legal profession will as always be the big winners. And flipping through all my Seeking Alpha posts today -always with a grain of salt- one of the Reuters stories actually paints a negative picture of what this guy did for Steelcase stock. Isn't the stock price the big driver behind this entire change??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Isn't the stock price the big driver behind this entire change??? Not really. The stock price is just a symptom of the problem - ignoring current products, too slow to introduce new products and too many quality issues. The difference is they probably won't do whatever it takes to turn the stock price around quickly because that would be detrimental long term. Instead I think they'll fix the problems and let the stock price take care of itself over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I mean, you've got a director getting hired into the CEO spot after the board of directors grills Fields. That's just so, so, so, so stupid. That's like what happened at GM with Akerson. BoD got fed up with Wagoner and picked one of their own to replace him. Stupid. This is knee-jerk stupid. So I'm wondering about Mark Fields, he had the company wound down and running really efficiently, North America is still making good profits, Europe is back in the black...what more do these people want? All the talk about being more connected / Uber / autonomous vehicles sounds great to investors and the stock market but none of that really pays the bills, it's really risky to bet the farm on those techs being better than today's focus. I wonder if Fields got fired because Ford wasn't seen to be doing all the trendy nuveau stuff as quickly as the board and stockholders wanted....are we seeing the people in power wanting to return to the Nasser days when auto brands and allied companies are treated like dot com start ups...I'm getting an eery vibe about this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosetang Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) I think there's less "one big reason" and more a case of: Some Wall Street and Board concern that he wasn't doing enough to diversify the company and seek new growth opportunities beyond the traditional new car market. Some Wall Street and Board concern that he was was neglecting the core business of selling cars in his attempt to diversify the company and seek new growth opportunities Some Wall Street and Board concern that his diversification of the company to seek new growth opportunities was moving too slowly, while core products got stale. Morale and quality problems seem to be ticking in the wrong direction Internal and External Political concerns Given all that, it would be hard for him to pitch a "stay the course" or "trust me, i have this" to Wall Street and the Board, even with the profits. My guess is he tried, they weren't persuaded, and this is the result. Edited May 23, 2017 by Moosetang 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Bottom line is Fields focused on BS that most people don't give a rip about and wont for the forseeable future. He forgot about the core products that are the baseline of the company. It should have never taken this long for the new products to get here (Bronco, Ranger, Expedition, Nav), and the rediculous refreshes that drew very little enthusiasm from anyone, including existing Ford customers, should have been better. After all, it is an automobile company last time I checked. Good ridance, on to the next. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) Bottom line is Fields focused on BS that most people don't give a rip about and wont for the forseeable future. He forgot about the core products that are the baseline of the company. It should have never taken this long for the new products to get here (Bronco, Ranger, Expedition, Nav), and the rediculous refreshes that drew very little enthusiasm from anyone, including existing Ford customers, should have been better. After all, it is an automobile company last time I checked. Good ridance, on to the next. and I'd put it too you that the very reason he was fired was because he actually focusing too heavily on regular product and didn't advance those BS projects quick enough for the board, things that Investors get all excited about... My only criticism is that he probably stuck too closely to the Mulally plan instead of adding more products like the ones you mentioned. They've had Fields on a short lead for years, so it's not like he wasn't following their instructions too...regardless of what's being portrayed now. Maybe career Ford manager don't make good CEOs, perhaps that outsider influence is needed to keep perspective on quality versus frugal versus downright stingy, morale destroying strategies. Edited May 23, 2017 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 They want the stock to be at $300 a share.... ...what more do these people want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I forgot to add, I think the above quote establishes Farley as the favorite to become CEO in a few years. That's what I think too, Farley will be CEO in a few years. Well I hope you are correct-but didn't Al M get the culture/legacy baggage corrected? And IMO I would be a lot more comfortable if Ford if anything, slowed up the pace as far as the self driving BS goes...let someone else take the lead and learn from their mistakes when the lawsuits start as everyone scrambles to fend off the lawsuits when this "new technology" really hits the streets. The legal profession will as always be the big winners. And flipping through all my Seeking Alpha posts today -always with a grain of salt- one of the Reuters stories actually paints a negative picture of what this guy did for Steelcase stock. Isn't the stock price the big driver behind this entire change??? I dunno, it seems (to me) like the Ford family wants to push this "transition" faster, adding more self driving and "mobility" projects.....why else would they put the mobility guy in charge of the whole company. Yeah, I read that about the stock price this morning and found that odd. I think there's less "one big reason" and more a case of: Some Wall Street and Board concern that he wasn't doing enough to diversify the company and seek new growth opportunities beyond the traditional new car market. Some Wall Street and Board concern that he was was neglecting the core business of selling cars in his attempt to diversify the company and seek new growth opportunities Some Wall Street and Board concern that his diversification of the company to seek new growth opportunities was moving too slowly, while core products got stale. Morale and quality problems seem to be ticking in the wrong direction Internal and External Political concerns Given all that, it would be hard for him to pitch a "stay the course" or "trust me, i have this" to Wall Street and the Board, even with the profits. My guess is he tried, they weren't persuaded, and this is the result. Your points all contradict each other (though that can also explain why Fields was in a tough spot). It did seem like Fields had a lot of product - both "regular" products and the "future" products (meaning electrified, driverless, etc. that the markets seem to want) - on the horizon for the brand, but too far on the horizon. If most of the new product that's supposed to come out over the next few years were here now and next year, it'd probably be a different story. As I've said several times before - when your "big announcement/introduction" at NAIAS is a powerpoint with a picture of a map and a canyon that say "Bronco and Ranger coming!!!!" and another slide that says "look at all these hybrids/electrics that are coming!!!!" without showing anything, optically to the public, it looks like things aren't going well at the company that they don't have anything to show. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 One of the articles I was reading about Fields was the overall handling of the politics with the election of Trump and the Ford name being in the news because of that. I don't think the Ford family was too happy with the way that was being handled either. I'm divided over the product improvement and introduction of new products. Ford went through a major product improvement/introduction that started in 2012 or so and only wrapped in in 2015 or so. We are only 6 months into 2017...some products had better refreshes then others...I think the gas was lifted off the pedal because of nearly everything being redone and resources being stretched out because of that. The Ranger and Bronco where only greenlighted in the past 18 months or so when the CUV/truck market showed signs of life and gas prices staying low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 and I'd put it too you that the very reason he was fired was because he actually focusing too heavily on regular product and didn't advance those BS projects quick enough for the board, things that Investors get all excited about... You might be right, I ultimately do not know. But I can speculate that about the only advanced product the average person might care about right now is a reasonably priced, normal looking, EV with decent range. All the other advanced projects may be of interest in the future, and they should be working on them, but perhaps not at the expense of vehicles that people want and can actually buy, so you have the money to continue working on those advanced projects to be ready for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Top heavy. Can't carve the corners. Also can't stand the fact that I have a heated steering wheel in my Focus, but not in a 33k Titanium Escape. Back to the nickel and dime point. You can get a heated wheel in the Escape, was added for 2017. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 You might be right, I ultimately do not know. But I can speculate that about the only advanced product the average person might care about right now is a reasonably priced, normal looking, EV with decent range. All the other advanced projects may be of interest in the future, and they should be working on them, but perhaps not at the expense of vehicles that people want and can actually buy, so you have the money to continue working on those advanced projects to be ready for the future. But see, that's the very conundrum faced by all manufacturers, the mix of fundng for current and future projects has to be a balanced and measured approach that's agreed to by not only the CEO but also the board and the Ford Family. It's kinda sad that those in power now blame Fields even though he was operating with their approval and while he didn't want to put Ford in a precarious position by chasing more sales in the recent boom, that also cost Ford a lot of revenue and profit. I'm left with the distnct impression that this change is all about appearances more than substance... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 You can get a heated wheel in the Escape, was added for 2017. Not with the Sport package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Not with the Sport package. Yeah, some of their package limitations lately have been bizarre. Some of them have been fixed now - Like no HID headlights on Sport models of Edge and Explorer despite Sport being one of the top trims (they now offer them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Not with the Sport package. Well that is just Ford and their stupid packaging. It's so confusing that you end up not getting certain features if you want other things. Hopefully the new CEO fixes this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe771476 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Fields got a raw deal! Multi-billion dollar profits in the last several quarters isn't good enough?! These investors kill me! You're not going to see any big increase in share price! I've never heard GM or Chrysler ousting a guy to increase marketshare! NEVER! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Fields got a raw deal! Multi-billion dollar profits in the last several quarters isn't good enough?! These investors kill me! You're not going to see any big increase in share price! I've never heard GM or Chrysler ousting a guy to increase marketshare! NEVER! Again - it's not about the share price itself. Only the day traders and analysts are really saying that. It's about letting current products rot and not bringing new products fast enough and too many recalls and quality issues adding unnecessary cost. It was a leadership problem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Well that is just Ford and their stupid packaging. It's so confusing that you end up not getting certain features if you want other things. Hopefully the new CEO fixes this. . Heated steering wheels all around!! Heated steering wheels all around!! Make it rain!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 (edited) Again - it's not about the share price itself. Only the day traders and analysts are really saying that. It's about letting current products rot and not bringing new products fast enough and too many recalls and quality issues adding unnecessary cost. It was a leadership problem. I think it was his decision to push back product cycle changes and run a lot of vehicles to 2020 with another MCE. I'm wondering if that didn't go down well in high places, it's squeezing the penny too much. Edited May 24, 2017 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdegrand Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 So, why not bring Mullaly back to help out? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 . Heated steering wheels all around!! Heated steering wheels all around!! Make it rain!!! I'll be happy if I can just get a RWD station wagon with a manual transmission and a diesel mill. That's not asking much, is it? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY93SHO Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 I'll be happy if I can just get a RWD station wagon with a manual transmission and a diesel mill. That's not asking much, is it? Warning! Jalopnik troll !!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosetang Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Your points all contradict each other (though that can also explain why Fields was in a tough spot). Yeah that's basically where I was going. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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