Jump to content

Autoextremist om Ford


Recommended Posts

12 minutes ago, atomcat68 said:

Pete D. does not have a good outlook for Ford...

 

http://www.autoextremist.com

 

Autoextremist's opinions are extreme by definition. :) He once said that "growth is the lifeblood of Ford's business" which of course is not true. As with all Autoextremist articles, people reading the latest posting have to be careful not to interpret it too literally.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I said at GMI:

 

Ford is PDL's punching bag as of late, especially now that Farley looks to be in line for CEO, and PDL has beef with Farley for the reasons mentioned above.

He'll rotate between Ford/Farley, GM, and Sergio, and now Sergio is gone, so he's got one less thing to harp about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, jasonj80 said:

Well when someone fires you and you lose a substantial part of your income, you tend not to like them. When Farley takes over he’s going to be posting bi-monthly on what a train wreck he is. 

 

At least Farley seems to be a car guy and not just a bean counter. I remember when the Fiesta was introduced, Farley insisted on the hatchback being available, and not just the sedan as first proposed. Hackett needs to go. Only reason he is there is the Ann Arbor/UofM/Bill Ford connection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He’s there because Fields was a disaster that anyone who worked with him could have seen a mile away yet he kept moving up as he was a chosen one in the right circle at Ford. There was massive infighting at the board when all of this went down and Ford had to go outside to get order and new eyes to figure what exactly the F*** was going on. Hackett has done more in the structure than people give him credit for however some product have had issues as the backend became more streamlined. 

Edited by jasonj80
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, jasonj80 said:

Hackett has done more in the structure than people give him credit for however some product have has issues getting the backend more streamlined. 


That’s the problem-no one is really paying attention to that issue. It’s a shame that the supposed progress Mullay did just went to complete shit. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, AGR said:

Of course, PDL also relentlessly bashes Elon Musk and Tesla, but you all probably agree with that...

 

Autoextremist is welcome to bash anyone he wants, and he does that very well. His articles may be bare-knuckled, unvarnished, and high-octane, but the "truth" part can be elusive. They are meant to entertain, not inform.

Edited by rperez817
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I said Ford couldn't borrow their way to prosperity-in another thread a week or so ago.

 

The only thing Peter and I differ on is the time frame-I was being more generous in saying "within 5 years" Ford will be bought (but it will be positioned as a "merger").

 

Autoextremist says 18 months.......  

 

Well....Pete and I both agree Ford is in trouble.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, CKNSLS said:

I said Ford couldn't borrow their way to prosperity-in another thread a week or so ago.

 

The only thing Peter and I differ on is the time frame-I was being more generous in saying "within 5 years" Ford will be bought (but it will be positioned as a "merger").

 

Autoextremist says 18 months.......  

 

Well....Pete and I both agree Ford is in trouble.

 

13 minutes ago, CKNSLS said:

I said Ford couldn't borrow their way to prosperity-in another thread a week or so ago.

 

The only thing Peter and I differ on is the time frame-I was being more generous in saying "within 5 years" Ford will be bought (but it will be positioned as a "merger").

 

Autoextremist says 18 months.......  

 

Well....Pete and I both agree Ford is in trouble.

 

I would say every auto company is in trouble right now. Who knows what kind of consumer demand awaits. At least Ford is strong in work trucks and Vans. Have to wonder how many retail sales are out there for cuv like vehicles for the foreseeable future. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, silvrsvt said:


That’s the problem-no one is really paying attention to that issue. It’s a shame that the supposed progress Mullay did just went to complete shit. 

Well I have to wonder, where was Bill Ford.  Seems to me Mulally recognized the sorry state Ford was in with respect to a "cover your ass" culture-my words but I think it is  what I seem to have read- and he did something about it.  The guy saves the company and over time, things went right back to the way they were.   Can't see how that could happen-in particular given fact I thought Fields was Al's choice to lead the company????

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Bob Rosadini said:

Well I have to wonder, where was Bill Ford.  Seems to me Mulally recognized the sorry state Ford was in with respect to a "cover your ass" culture-my words but I think it is  what I seem to have read- and he did something about it.  The guy saves the company and over time, things went right back to the way they were.   Can't see how that could happen-in particular given fact I thought Fields was Al's choice to lead the company????

 

I'm starting to think that maybe it was a circle the wagons type moment for some management in Ford...Fields played the game making Mulally think he was buying into what he was doing.

 

Just looking at the changes that Hackett has been doing at the management levels of Ford, maybe they are trying to more effectively break up those masses of people so they don't keep repeating the problems they've been having?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, silvrsvt said:

 

I'm starting to think that maybe it was a circle the wagons type moment for some management in Ford...Fields played the game making Mulally think he was buying into what he was doing.

 

Just looking at the changes that Hackett has been doing at the management levels of Ford, maybe they are trying to more effectively break up those masses of people so they don't keep repeating the problems they've been having?

 

I certainly hope so.  Hackett's a pretty smart guy and he's not part of the good old boy network.  You gotta get rid of the bad apples and make sure the leadership is onboard with the new culture and not just blowing smoke like Fields.   I'm sure Farley is on board (also not part of the good old boy network).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Correct, he just doesn't buy the whole BEV circus, believes the public desire for them is over hyped.

 

 

I don't think it's a circus outside of the folks who think Tesla has a viable financial model or that BEVs will take over the entire market in 5 years.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, akirby said:

 

I certainly hope so.  Hackett's a pretty smart guy and he's not part of the good old boy network.  You gotta get rid of the bad apples and make sure the leadership is onboard with the new culture and not just blowing smoke like Fields.   I'm sure Farley is on board (also not part of the good old boy network).

 

The challenge with large bureaucratic organizations - whether in government, or in the private sector - is that large sectors of the organization believe they can "wait out" the efforts of a leader determined to change things. That appears to have happened at Ford, which is why Mulally's efforts unraveled so quickly. 

 

As for DeLorenzo - he can be entertaining, and his rants have  been 100-percent accurate at times. But given his history with Farley, I'm inclined to take everything he says about Ford and Farley with a rock-sized grain of salt. 

Edited by grbeck
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

William Clay Ford Sr. and Bill Ford Jr. share a common trait........they were and are both loyal to a fault. Over the top loyal to a fault. Just look to the Detroit Lions and 60+ years of losing and hiring and staying too long with losing coaches. Even Martha suffers from the same fault. So I would think that Hackett will stay as long as he wants because Bill is loyal and treats him like his father treated Russ Thomas....a blast from the past. The coming Ford shareholder's virtual meeting should be interesting.

 

I'm probably wrong, but for me a CEO should be judged on profitability, share price, dividend growth, market growth, employee relations, sustainability, and so on. Also, execution of your turnaround plan needs to be graded. The buck has to stop somewhere. I just hope that Bill doesn't suffer from Detroit Lions disease, because we know how that turns out year after year. Probably not good to fire Hackett in middle of crisis, but dang maybe it's the best time. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, FordBuyer said:

I'm probably wrong, but for me a CEO should be judged on profitability, share price, dividend growth, market growth, employee relations, sustainability, and so on. Also, execution of your turnaround plan needs to be graded. The buck has to stop somewhere. I just hope that Bill doesn't suffer from Detroit Lions disease, because we know how that turns out year after year. Probably not good to fire Hackett in middle of crisis, but dang maybe it's the best time. 

 

I doubt Hackett is going anywhere, maybe next year, not now.  And even if the Board did replace Hackett with Farley right now, there would be little change in Ford's current performance.  All manufacturers are in survival mode and will be so until the factories reopen and start to generate some cash.  Maybe next year, if and when things return to "normal," Hackett will step down.   But it's up to the Board to decide those kind if things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, theoldwizard said:

VW take over Ford ?  Not likely.

 

VW take over much/most/all of Ford of EU, likely.

 

What can Ford E.U. provide VW, which they don't already have?  I wouldn't put it past VW taking an equity stake in VW where the Ford family could maintain some sense of interaction with VW's oversight.  The Piëch-Porsche family, which essentially controls VW, Skoda, Seat, Man, Porsche, Bugatti, Audi, Ducati, Bentley, Lambo and Scania have maintained and grown a pretty nice automotive empire.

 

As for PDL, he recently worked for Bill Ford Jr. and has some insight on Ford's operations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, jasonj80 said:

Hackett has done more in the structure than people give him credit for however some product have had issues as the backend became more streamlined. 


That's very debatable... unfortunately I can't comment on some of the things I've been told but let's just say there are some out there that are buying the buzzwords. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...