Jump to content

As Farley's tenure begins, Ford focuses on growth, improved execution, faster transformations


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, ice-capades said:

 

I think what may be confusing to some is that the replacement vehicles are in regard to the plants where they're produced and not the customers looking for a vehicle that will meet their needs and/or budget.


I know but it’s been explained over and over.  I guess some people just don’t want to understand.

 

Its not just the factory though - it’s also product development, testing, certification, marketing, etc.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Correct, the vehicles change at the plants but so too do the buyers.

As I see it:

Instead of making and selling +200k Focus, Ford is changing that to +200k of Ranger and Bronco

Instead of 250k of Fusion/MKZ, Ford is switching to 250k of Bronco Sport and Maverick pickup.

Instead of 70k Fiesta, Ford is looking at 40,000 Mustang Mach E.

I don't think it's quite that straight forward of a swap. You're still sacrificing potential sales and market share by not selling cars at all.  Once upon a time you could buy a Bronco, ranger, a contour, an Escort, and a Taurus all at the same time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, probowler said:

I don't think it's quite that straight forward of a swap. You're still sacrificing potential sales and market share by not selling cars at all.  Once upon a time you could buy a Bronco, ranger, a contour, an Escort, and a Taurus all at the same time.


Yes you’re sacrificing sales but how much profit are you sacrificing?  Probably not very much.  And in order to keep everything in production you’d have to add or expand factories and hire additional staff.  The staff alone would wipe out any possible profit so why bother if you’re going to break even or lose money?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, probowler said:

I don't think it's quite that straight forward of a swap. You're still sacrificing potential sales and market share by not selling cars at all.  Once upon a time you could buy a Bronco, ranger, a contour, an Escort, and a Taurus all at the same time.

Too bad Ford ended its relationship with Mazda. Mazda could have helped Ford with a sedan and small CUV. While I think

the new Escape was a good Ford effort, Mazda has that little extra when it comes to sporty sedans and CUV's that Ford could use going against the Asian auto companies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, FordBuyer said:

Too bad Ford ended its relationship with Mazda. Mazda could have helped Ford with a sedan and small CUV. While I think

the new Escape was a good Ford effort, Mazda has that little extra when it comes to sporty sedans and CUV's that Ford could use going against the Asian auto companies.


Yeah that would have been super.

 

2018 sales

escape.  272k.   Cx3. 16K

 

focus. 113k (previous year was 158k).  Mazda3.  64K

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, akirby said:


Yeah that would have been super.

 

2018 sales

escape.  272k.   Cx3. 16K

 

focus. 113k (previous year was 158k).  Mazda3.  64K

 

You're missing his point.  Co-development could've occurred that would've lessened the expenditure for both.

 

Doesn't help the factory allocation issue, though.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, FordBuyer said:

Too bad Ford ended its relationship with Mazda. Mazda could have helped Ford with a sedan and small CUV. While I think

the new Escape was a good Ford effort, Mazda has that little extra when it comes to sporty sedans and CUV's that Ford could use going against the Asian auto companies.

 

Mazda's contribution was overrated for years. Ford didn't lose anything by selling it's interest in Mazda. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

 

You're missing his point.  Co-development could've occurred that would've lessened the expenditure for both.

 

Doesn't help the factory allocation issue, though.


Ok, but from that standpoint the only thing that would make sense is rebadging.  Like Mazda used to do with Ranger and Explorer.  But again there just isn’t enough profit there to make it worth the effort.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, ice-capades said:

 

Mazda's contribution was overrated for years. Ford didn't lose anything by selling it's interest in Mazda. 


First gen Escape, Fusion and Edge were pretty good on Mazda derived platforms as were the Duratec engines derived from the Mazda L engine.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, akirby said:


Yeah that would have been super.

 

2018 sales

escape.  272k.   Cx3. 16K

 

focus. 113k (previous year was 158k).  Mazda3.  64K

Wow!!! Focus is gone and costing Ford hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars for crappy transmissions that Ford stubbornly stayed with. And the CX-5 is rated best in class year after year and wins every comparison test. And the Escape is a small CUV and the Bronco Sport is even smaller by 8 inches. AND no contest between Cx-3 and tired effort Ecosport

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, FordBuyer said:

 And the CX-5 is rated best in class year after year and wins every comparison test.

 

Being best and class and winning comparison tests doesn't mean anything when it comes to profits...dismissively all it means is they spent the most for advertising that year for that publication. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, probowler said:

I wonder why Ford is so slow in regards to BEVs when Tesla was able to come out of nowhere and own the space.

 

It's easier for Ford to maintain the status quo than to innovate. Actually, all of the incumbent automakers are way behind Tesla with BEV for this reason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

 

It's easier for Ford to maintain the status quo than to innovate. Actually, all of the incumbent automakers are way behind Tesla with BEV for this reason.

Isn't that often a typical problem for large businesses?

But I still find it odd that they could fall so far behind when they have the massive advantage of their existing infrastructure, history, and knowledge in automobile manufacturing.

They're so great at building cars when they put in the effort... all they had to do is figure out how to do it with an electric battery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, probowler said:

Isn't that often a typical problem for large businesses?

But I still find it odd that they could fall so far behind when they have the massive advantage of their existing infrastructure, history, and knowledge in automobile manufacturing.

They're so great at building cars when they put in the effort... all they had to do is figure out how to do it with an electric battery.


Because Tesla has yet to deliver a consistent profit without massive cutting of corners and fuzzy math aka. selling carbon credits. The legacy companies see that and know there really is no incentive to rush until BEVs are consistently profitable. 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, rperez817 said:

 

It's easier for Ford to maintain the status quo than to innovate. Actually, all of the incumbent automakers are way behind Tesla with BEV for this reason.


Ford does a lot of innovation.  They just direct it to things that actually make money.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, probowler said:

Isn't that often a typical problem for large businesses?

But I still find it odd that they could fall so far behind when they have the massive advantage of their existing infrastructure, history, and knowledge in automobile manufacturing.

They're so great at building cars when they put in the effort... all they had to do is figure out how to do it with an electric battery.

Back in the early 1900's there were a bunch of electric car makers in Detroit and they had a good chunk of the market. Nothing revolutionary about it. Musk is a visionary that knows how to innovate as he slips deeper into mental illness as of late. Maybe Farley has a little visionary tendency in him coming from the Edison Project in Corktown.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, ice-capades said:

 

Mazda's contribution was overrated for years. Ford didn't lose anything by selling it's interest in Mazda. 

They were great vehicle platforms, much better than early Ford Europe stuff but Mazda definitely needed Ford more than Ford needed Maxda

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mazda almost went under once upon a time with superior products compared to Toyota and other Japanese automakers. Ford stepped in and saved them.

 

Fun fact if you look at the history of the auto industry. It is typically the automakers that focus too much on engineering that go under. Why? They never focus on their business. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, FordBuyer said:

 Maybe Farley has a little visionary tendency in him coming from the Edison Project in Corktown.

 

Yes sir FordBuyer, Farley has experience with Edison Project, with Ford Smart Mobility & Autonomous Vehicles and with other projects at Ford that don't involve manufacturing traditional ICE powered cars and trucks. He is definitely a visionary businessman, like Elon Musk is, but in Farley's own way.

 

Farley said a couple months ago that 4 of Ford's most formidable competitors amid the ongoing automotive industry revolution are Tesla, Apple, Amazon, and Baidu. He's absolutely correct.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, probowler said:

Isn't that often a typical problem for large businesses?

But I still find it odd that they could fall so far behind when they have the massive advantage of their existing infrastructure, history, and knowledge in automobile manufacturing.

 

Yes sir probowler, large businesses in all industries have to contend with the risk of complacency. The thing with Ford's "existing infrastructure, history, and knowledge in automobile manufacturing", is that those things can be both an advantage for running its traditional vehicle manufacturing and marketing operations as well as a shackle when it comes to experimenting with new strategies, approaches, and business ideas.

 

Both Jim Hackett and Jim Farley understand this, and are doing their part to get Ford out of the "old world" and into the new.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, akirby said:

Ford does a lot of innovation. They just direct it to things that actually make money.

 

fuzzymoomoo said earlier in this thread that Ford's innovation oriented business segment (Smart Mobility + AV) is "not even delivering profits at the moment".

 

Also, Ford was not among this year's 50 most innovative companies in the annual analysis on innovation done by BCG. GM also failed to make the list. In fact, other than Tesla, all of the automotive OEM or Tier 1 automotive component supplier companies on the list are European or Asian. 

 

image.thumb.png.f78274cffd56d333a13c679f8ab9eea5.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, FordBuyer said:

Wow!!! Focus is gone and costing Ford hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars for crappy transmissions that Ford stubbornly stayed with. 

That was based on managements decision to install the transmission in a vehicle/engine combination that it was not designed for (meant to go in Fiesta).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, rperez817 said:

Also, Ford was not among this year's 50 most innovative companies in the annual analysis on innovation done by BCG. GM also failed to make the list. In fact, other than Tesla, all of the automotive OEM or Tier 1 automotive component supplier companies on the list are European or Asian. 

 

image.thumb.png.f78274cffd56d333a13c679f8ab9eea5.png

 

What is exactly the metric they are using to judge this? And technically FCA is also an American company, since they do have what, Four American brand name plates under their banner?

 

 

  • Like 1
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...