The problem is Europe doesn’t want what Ford does best (at least not at high volumes) and what Europe wants isn’t profitable for Ford for a lot of reasons.  They either remain a niche player or they have to develop lower cost vehicles that can be sold profitably.

Maybe the lackluster reception of Capri and explorer will convince them to change their approach moving forward, just like Ford's design studio seems to have altered they perspective following the three row disaster. 

Ford needs to develop BEV pickups because that’s what they do best and you need a dedicated plant to be efficient.  If they can get a couple of other products there it’ll be a good investment.  Not having enough usable factory capacity has been a big problem for Ford the last 20 years.

Meanwhile, the brands that are putting actual effort into their exciting EVs and other products seem to have a lot of hype around them. That upcoming twingo concept for instance has a lot of buzz around it. Because they didn't spit in the fact of the original car, they simply made a new one that upheld the character and style of the original, that really is all it takes a lot of the time.    Ford's strategy is good, but the execution hasn't been great. They're trying to appeal more to the enthusiasts crowd while making choices guaranteed to piss off the enthusiasts crowd. If you're telling me you're gonna build really cool shit, then build really cool shit, share the same EV platform to optimize costs and maximize profitability, and give us a retread of Ford's greatest hits. Skateboard platforms offer so much flexibility, Toyota showed off a Lexus, that MR2 concept thing, and a compact crossover, all using the same platform, if Toyota can do it, so can Ford.   Don't give us a shitty crossover named after an iconic car and then pretend like this new crossover is iconic because of it. It's starting to really damage their reputation. 

This is what I would do.   Declare that known defects or potential problems must be reported up the chain as soon as they are known.  Hiding or failing to report an issue is grounds for dismissal and that goes for executives as well.  If your boss tries to ignore or hide something you’re required to escalate it.   Make 20% of management pay discretionary with a range of 0-150% based on these KPIs:   warranty costs as a percentage of revenue - 60% profit margin percentage - 20% (vary by division) customer satisfaction- 20%   I would phase in the targets based on where they are at today with significant improvement expected each year until final targets are reached.     This works if you’re willing to hold people accountable and get rid of the ones who act in their own best interest first.  I’ve seen it.  I’ve escalated known problems and was rewarded for it while who waited to report it got dinged.  But that has to come from Farley and the entire executive team.

You can say whatever you want.  But people act based on their own self interest.  If you punish people for cost overruns and missing dates but don’t punish them for poor quality and warranty repairs then you will always get poor quality.  Farley said compensation would be based on quality going forward so we’ll see if he sticks to it.

So true. I attended many of these as well. Even took some online classes when required for engineers and earned some "merit badges" and a beautiful plaque. Trouble followed when the principles would be compromised for some short term gain. Mullaly seemed the last one to value honest evaluations of programs and quality goals. The marketing guy that followed did not understand production. The furniture guy, all I ever heard were football metaphors. After that I retired. Hearing from some former coworkers, looks like too many parts shortages, incomplete builds and rework. All recipes for poor quality. The plants are built to run. Starts and stops need to be planned well to preserve quality. I mostly comment from a Paint perspective, but from what I observed in other areas, it remains true.

3 years from an all-new Maverick. I wonder if the timing of the reopening of the India plant would allow for production there for export to Australia/NZ and other markets. 

I should have said that Ford Australia has been trying to get a RHD Maverick since early 2022  but that wasn’t possible due to parts supply and limited production of desirable vehicles…   Since there’s no RHD version already developed, it’s going to take time for anything like that…

Absolutely, Ford talks a good game on quality but encourages staff to save money at every turn