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Ford may accelerate “Way Forward” plan

07/20/2006, 4:29 PM

By admin

Ford will move more quickly with its “Way Forward” restructuring plan following disappointing financial results in the second quarter of 2006, Ford Americas President Mark Fields said today. “We need to go farther and faster,” he admitted. “If we have to move faster and cut deeper, we will.” During an earnings conference call this evening, Fields said the turnaround effort will be “led by the Edge and the MKS.” Fields made the comment after being pressed on the nature of the “Way Forward” plan, and what it will actually involve.

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07/20, 4:30 PM

posted by:

Raul

i hope they dont discontinue the towncar

07/20, 4:35 PM

posted by:

Atomicbri

They need to hurry and replace the Focus, a car that can sell well if they update it. It sold for Ford very well even with all the recalls….but now, 7 years long in the tooth, it has dropped significantly in sales despite it now being fairly reliable.

07/20, 4:38 PM

posted by:

manny

could ford possibly accelerate bringing good car from australia and europe to the us? would be faster than designing new cars ground-up…

07/20, 4:45 PM

posted by:

Slade

I hope this doesn’t hurt my chances of getting a Falcon in the States.

07/20, 4:49 PM

posted by:

Raul

there getting harder to find

07/20, 4:49 PM

posted by:

V V

TO GMrules,
Bro I cought you, ha ha, hey lets be honest here. GM has couple cars that are ok, but GM is in serious trouble. Hey VW might have some electrical problems but man that thing atleast has style. So in conclution you thought you would never get caught HA? Yep this world has smart people like me and we can track you down. HAHA
GM and that camaro suck!!!

07/20, 4:59 PM

posted by:

Wayne

Yes, Ford needs cars pushed way forward. Say, a new Focus, a 500/Freestyle facelift + the 3.5L, and a Fiesta-based vehicle. They needed those yesterday.

Unfortunately their way forward doesn’t seem to include cars.

07/20, 5:16 PM

posted by:

Mark Fields Hairpiece

The edge is hideous, shoulda brought in the S-max from Europe instead. Mark Fields has the worst hair I’ve ever seen. The MKS is OK but looks too Japanese

07/20, 5:35 PM

posted by:

GMrules is GAY and RETARDED!!

LOL, GMrules goes to Clark college and in special education classes cuz all normal college classes are too advanced for him. Cuz his idiotic brain is filled with impressions of GM success (ya right, GM is tanking as we speak) with no room left in his brain to learn important stuff in college!

Betcha he’s gonna run home (like forrest gump) to his momma and tell her that all LNN posters are being too mean to him. LOL

07/20, 5:54 PM

posted by:

Uphill Gardener

#10 gay guys have way too much taste to drive Saturns, why do you feel the need to insult them by saying they like Saturns?
The Fusion is an old Mazda platform, the new Mazda CX7 and CX9 look much better than the Edge. I’m still looking for the edge in the Edge.
The GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave will be way superior Crossovers than Fords attempts. ANy VW or Toyota or Honda is better than the Fusion or Milan

07/20, 5:56 PM

posted by:

Look At The Rocks That I Got

Why is it OK to insult minorities and women on this site?

07/20, 6:18 PM

posted by:

Love it

Yeah, I’m avoiding all GM cars. I, too, test drove a lot of GM vehicles last year. I was disappionted. The quality wasnt good. The switch buttons were ugly and still are. Just about everything. Ewww!!

Ford and Chrysler are better than GM. I just need to check out the Ford Edge before leasing it. I can’t tell by the picture. You people need to save your comments till you’ve seen the Edge in person.

07/20, 6:19 PM

posted by:

Atomicbri

Folks lets stay on subject here, FORD MAY ACCELERATE WAY FORWARD…..what is all this about Saturn Skys and GMRules and all, enough already! Sheeze! Lets have some good postings to conversate about! I love cars and the industry and I would think most of you here would too! All of this name calling is for 8 year olds (and if you posters are 8 years old sorry)

07/20, 6:22 PM

posted by:

Upstream River

I LOVE THE EDGE!!! :-) Go check out other websites with more pix of Edge and the interior. Neat! I am definitely going to test drive it. And the similar MKX, too.

I agree with #14 “Love it” above. It just upsets me whenever i look at any GM cars or trucks. Too much plastic. Wow. All gm cars and trucks are FUGLIES!

07/20, 6:25 PM

posted by:

cool man

I agree with #10, #14, and #16.

Anyways, i think this Way Forward will work. There was a new Focus test driving on the road in Mexico. Its slated for U.S. in 2008. I hope. also, they mentioned of bringing the Festiva here to complete with Fit, Yaris and others in couple of years. Bring it on, Japs!

07/20, 6:26 PM

posted by:

VB

If Ford’s “WAY FORWARD” doesn’t include alternatives to petroleum-based fuels, they’re moving backwards. As much as I like their redesigned Mustang, the GT, the Euro-Focus, etc., they’re doomed for failure if they stick with petroleum. Yeah…yeah…infrastructure, I know what you’re gonna say, and I’m inclined to agree. BUT, somebody has to strike first. Did you know that when Rudolph Diesel developed his engine, it was originally designed to operate on renewable fuel? There are people installing vegetable oil conversion kits on their diesel cars/vans/trucks. AND THE BLASTED THING WORKS LIKE A DREAM!!!! Look at this>> http://www.greasecar.com

07/20, 6:27 PM

posted by:

Uphill Gardener

The Edge is a bland blob, Ford’s Rendezvous. It will fail

07/20, 6:30 PM

posted by:

Dago Wop Wop

WHo makes the festiva and where can you get it as its not availble in Europe, you DogsKnob

07/20, 6:32 PM

posted by:

Robert

What I can’t understand is the snail’s pace of their product introductions. It’s not that we don’t know what’s coming but just that it hasn’t come. The Edge was introduced in December or January. Why will it take until November to get them on dealer lots? They’ve been planning the 500 update since the day it was launched, why will it take until April of next year? The F-series Super Duty truck was delayed until January. They’ve known the new Toyota Rav4 was coming this year, so why are we not expecting the new Escape until next summer over a year after Toyota launched their product? There is no excuse for the Focus – the one bright spot is that Toyota won’t replace its Corolla until 2008 – but again, we know they’ve been working on one. Their whole B-segment line-up, which again, we know is coming, but which won’t start showing up for at least two years!

I’m not sure if it is administrative politicking (possible), UAW politicking or hurdles (possible to likely) or just good old-fashioned crossing all i’s and dotting all t’s (something it appears Toyota has forgotten to do recently, and what I really hope all of this is so that the resulting product is bulletproof). But, regardless, we know the product is coming, it just can’t seem to make it out of the starting blocks fast enough.

07/20, 6:36 PM

posted by:

Patrick

Ford should probably find a new marketing slogan first off, because “way forward”, well it just doesnt do it for me. think about it. it means absolutely nothing.

07/20, 6:43 PM

posted by:

VB

One more thing….look at these sites. This can be our future if the big boys can get past all of the corporate politics/greed! Let Ford begin to work and share ideas with these guys. The possibilities are there!

http://www.rexresearch.com/klein/klein1.htm

07/20, 7:00 PM

posted by:

The Stig

Fire Mark Fields. He probably doesn’t believe his own bull****.

07/20, 7:46 PM

posted by:

mystikranger

Can we all stick on topic to the article which is Ford and the Edge, not GMRULES. Ford’s plan sounds good and hopefully they’ll keep sending out new cars. I dont think that the Edge will sell like “hotcakes”, but it’s kind of early to tell. The Edge dosent have a forgetable exterior style but it’s interior is bland. The MKX and MKS are very nice vehicles.

07/20, 10:35 PM

posted by:

Anonymous

i think the edge will do very well

07/21, 12:48 AM

posted by:

Andrew

I am a GM Guy but I do like some Ford products,like the Fusion, Mustang, and new SportTrac. I do overall know that GM is better than Ford especially after test driving nearly all their new products from Cadillac down to Chevrolet. I will admit their new products are pretty damn good and the interiors are a giant leap ahead. Whoever said Chrysler was better than GM must be seriously deranged after I have read numerous articles stating the bad interior quality and also that reviewers said they had buched carpet and other irregularities. Just read the full review on Edmunds of the Jeep Compass. To all GM haters I got two words for ya S**K IT!!!!!!!!!!!

07/21, 12:52 AM

posted by:

Andrew

I do think Yes that the Edge and MKS will sell well. They are nice vehicles from what I have seen in the pictures and previews. Ford needs to turn out nice vehicles like these. They need to redo the Five Hundred it could have been better.

07/21, 2:45 AM

posted by:

Dave M.

All in all I feel Ford is in way better shape (car-wise) than GM. Products well-designed and crafted.

I had the joy of driving a new (

07/21, 3:40 AM

posted by:

Anonymous

I think the Edge could do well if they really push it, but the MKS is dead in the water.

07/21, 8:37 AM

posted by:

fat_lazy_union_worker

Ford and GM are both going to eat ****. With rising gase prices and drab products, Americans are going to be cutting back on new vehicle purchases.

07/21, 9:40 AM

posted by:

FXDriver

I’m concerned about any car company “accelerating” their plans. If the cars were truly ready, we would have them by now, so are they going to cut corners just to get them on the street sooner? However, it is getting annoying having to hear about potentially interesting stuff from Ford coming out in 2008/2009. Will there even be a Ford at that point? I do think the edge will do well, so they do need to bring that soon.

07/21, 9:41 AM

posted by:

Anonymous

The further Forward that Ford moves, the closer they are to bankruptcy. Everyone wants GM vehicles anyways so Ford should just quit while they are ahead

07/21, 11:26 AM

posted by:

Carnut4ever

As I said it before, Ford styling is still stuck to the boxy, SUV, pickup-like styling. It may work on crossovers and SUVs but it definitely makes cars look dated. Better let the European Ford design studios take the lead in Ford design(New Galaxy, S-max, upcoming new Mondeo).

07/21, 12:11 PM

posted by:

Steve-O

Ford is going to be just fine. Let’s face it, everyone knew that 2006 was going to be a bad year, which underscores why the re-organization (Way Forward) was needed so badly.

But the Fusion/MKZ/Milan, Mustang, and F-150 are already solid successes and the Edge looks like a winner, but time will tell.

I agree, they really need to step up their product introductions, though. They are so damn sloooowwwww!!

 
 
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