Comments on: Ford CEO wants to mimic Toyota’s global model

By: VDuv Kux Klan

VDuv Kux Klan — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 04:11:15 +0000

bah bull****, they need to copy the japanese companys to make some money

By: A4

A4 — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:10:36 +0000

peter g, the new mondeo everyone wants hasnt aged a day, considering its not even out yet

By: Aussie#1

Aussie#1 — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 14:10:06 +0000

Does this mean that cars like the Ford Falcon will no longer just be built in Australia??? like the Camry or something if thats the case its going to destroy all of Ford Australia and manybe even Ford Europe and thats not what i want.

By: Carnut4ever

Carnut4ever — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 11:14:32 +0000

Why did it took so long for them to realize this. And with Ford’s US styling studios in a boring mess, they need a lot more realizatons before they can fix things up. Shooting themselves on the foot like not making a V-8 available to their upcoming top Lincoln sedan surely will not help.

By: Hyperion

Hyperion — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 07:59:59 +0000

My suggestion that Ford kill the Mustang to fit this business model is in essence a poke at Toyota for offering nothing similar of their own in that product category.

Other than my quip that Toyota builds boring vehicles that I’d never care about buying (but which do sell in truckloads for some reason), I’d commend them for doing this to fix their business.

By: Manster

Manster — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 06:43:14 +0000

Well, if Mulally can pull it off, that would be the best move that Ford could possibly make. Ford has some really great cars in Euroe and Australia, but for some reason the North American market gets the short end of the stick…..

By: LamborghiniZ

LamborghiniZ — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 02:20:31 +0000

Of course he does, because Toyota is a brilliant company that knows what the public wants and knows how to make money, Ford would be making a good move if they did this, because what they’re doing now IS NOT WORKING and Toyota is only making more , and more money.

By: leviathan18

leviathan18 — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 01:32:08 +0000

you dont need to discontinue mustang at all just offer something like mondeo and good mid size cars like corolla or civic ……

By: Hyperion

Hyperion — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 00:17:02 +0000

Ford wants to mimic Toyota’s business model…….

That means they need to discontinue the Mustang and all the halo cars.

Then improve their interiors and exterior designs and the quality of their paint.

And they need to go back to FWD engines.

By: davidg1977

davidg1977 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 23:54:54 +0000

This is the absolute perfect opportunity to import Ford of Europe products as Mercury vehicles. C-MAX, Mondeo, C1 Focus… put a waterfall grill and make it happen. The price points will be a bit higher than Ford but that’s exactly what they should be… a nicer version for 10-20% greater price but less than a Lincoln. I see platform sharing for the Lincoln/Volvos and then differentiated Mercury’s (akin to the Opel / Saturn relationship that is emerging).

On a side note, I saw a Saturn Outlook in my in-laws neighborhood yesterday… much larger vehicle than I had expected. This with the GMC/Buick versions will completely push the Trailblazer/Envoy to the scrap heap.

By: peter g

peter g — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 22:37:43 +0000

The obvious thing to do. The Focus is a great car, especially the Focus ST. And so is the Mondeo, even though both models slowly are aging.

By: A4

A4 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 22:30:17 +0000

just saying

By: A4

A4 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 22:02:57 +0000

zanary what are you talking about
lets hope they have it in mind that they need to succeed otherwise theyre asses should be out the door
and nodody wants a focus THAT bad that theyll black market it in for 40k

By: 04focus

04focus — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:50:27 +0000

Mulally just saying he wants to mimic Toyota boosted Ford’s stock by 29 cents. Impressive.

By: Brendino

Brendino — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 20:36:38 +0000

I actually like Ford’s current and future lineup (Mustang, F150, Fusion, Edge, Expedition, refreshed Focus, 500 with new engine, Freestyle with a little style, Fairlane, even the Explorer is solid albeit outdated-looking, and the new Escape looks promising)…I can see this benefiting Mercury more than anything. Give Merc some new and unique stuff via platform sharing, then pour some money into a unique model or 3 for Lincoln, and Ford will have completed their turnaround.

By: Zanary

Zanary — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 20:07:14 +0000

For all of you praying for a C1 Focus in the States…either sneak it in or buy a Mazda 3. The Mazdaspeed model would seem a fun compromise….

As far as the “new” Bill…either he succeeds or the ocmpany dies. Both Bills and Mark seem to be proceeding with that reality in mind.

By: kellyp

kellyp — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:59:35 +0000

dude’s got balls. hopefully the old guys will let him get away with it.

By: maxim303

maxim303 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:53:08 +0000

yes, this is a good move — they can realize significant economices of scale and spread R&D and production expenditures among many more uints, bringing the average unit costs down. however, this is a strategy you cover in introductory MBA classes… what took Ford so long?

By: Endeavor1776

Endeavor1776 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:45:18 +0000

Bring in the Australian fords, rear wheel drive V8, UTEs / Rancheros

By: A4

A4 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:36:42 +0000

maybe the mondeo AND the fusion… they could market the mondeo instead of the five hundred. please

By: Lucifer

Lucifer — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:29:39 +0000

does this mean we get the mondeo instead of the fusion? and the euro focus? wow, ford could be great again..

By: rey323

rey323 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:59:51 +0000

Agreed with Mr. Jerk. That is a Bold Move. About friggin’ time.

By: A4

A4 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:42:10 +0000

finally something good, finally
execute it well

By: A4

A4 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:41:18 +0000

DOES THIS MEAN WE GET THE GOOD FOCUS

By: mujician

mujician — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:12:29 +0000

Awsome, to see all the best ford has to offer around the world come to all markets.

By: Random Jerk

Random Jerk — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:11:47 +0000

Finally, an actual real BOLD MOVE.

By: YourNameHere

YourNameHere — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:04:20 +0000

Euro focus….now…no..yesterday

By: nowei

nowei — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:03:56 +0000

this could be very good or very bad.

/no