Clik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 6: Is Alan Mulally Billy Ford’s Human Shield?
Thirty-five million dollars, the keys to the corporate jet and a Detroit McMansion is a pretty good compensation package for any aspiring executive. Obviously, if freshly-minted Ford CEO Alan Mulally...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 7: Jump Down Turnaround
Another day, another turnaround plan. For those of you keeping score, Ford’s “Way Forward 2.0” is actually the third version in four years. In terms of strategy, the new, new plan holds few surprises;...
View ArticleClik here to view.
General Motors Death Watch 91 / Ford Death Watch 8: GM and Ford To Merge?
The idea that Ford and GM will merge or, as they say these days, “form an alliance” is yet another sign that we’re reaching the End of Days, Detroit style. Sorry, haven’t you heard? This morning’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 9: Capacity Utilization is Job One
Auto industry analysts have cast their beady eyes on The Blue Oval's third turnaround plan, and they don’t like what they see. Despite the fact that Billy and Alan and Mark have mashed the gas on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 10: Wielding the Culture Club
This morning, I met with a management consultant who works for The Big Two Point Five. Back before the recent “unpleasantness,” Ford’s top brass engaged the consultant to tackle a marketing issue...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 12: By the Numbers
First the good news. For the first time in eight long months, George Pipas, Ford's man in the crosshairs Manager of Sales Analysis, could deliver glad tidings to anxious stockholders and stakeholders....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 13: Ford Feels Edgy
Star Trek based many of its best episodes on simple homilies. In “The Lights of Zetar” (Star date 5725.3), Memory Alpha is attacked. Creatures from the planet Zetar concoct an energy storm that ravages...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 14: The Race is On
Is there any doubt that that Ford is heading for Chapter 11? Sure. There are plenty of auto industry eggheads and company officials who continue to believe that FoMoCo has what it takes-- or will have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 15: Those who do not learn from history
The new CEO of the company walked into the boardroom. The mood was grim. Recruited from another company in another industry just a few months previously, he carried bleak news. The automaker had just...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 16: Bold Snooze
Last Friday, JWT invited me to the Big Apple to discuss their Bold Moves internet documentary series. The ad agency wanted to interview "one of Ford’s fiercest critics" about their client’s decision to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 17: Dealer or No Dealer?
As bad as Ford’s third quarter results (version 1.0) were for Dearborn’s darlings, the future doesn’t look much better. Ford’s Chief Financial Officer Don Leclair has publicly admitted that he expects...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 18: Betting the Farm
To combat the commonly held (if accurate) belief that FoMoCo’s product pipeline is drier than a Vermouth-free martini, FoMoCo recently unveiled the “Showroom of the Future.” Ford ushered retirees,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 19: Ford By Name, Four’d By Nature
November’s sales figures are out, and FoMoCo’s treading unfamiliar waters. For the first time since, well, ever, Dearborn’s darlings find themselves off the sales podium. The General, Toyota and both...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 21: We’re Number Three!
The average American car buyer is completely unaware of Ford’s financial troubles. They don’t know Alan Mulally from Bertie Ahern. They don’t know that Ford’s taken out The Mother of All Bank Loans,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 22: The Spin Starts Here
The Detroit News recently enlisted J.D. Power and Associates to help explain Detroit's pressure drop, and figure out how Ford and the other 1.5 can stop the rot. After gathering data from 500 survey...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 23: There are 12k parts in an average Ford. This is a story...
Enthusiasts don’t tend to wax eloquent about seat tracks. They’re the automotive equivalent of the sliding rails that support file cabinet drawers when you pull them all the way out. A vehicle’s front...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 24: Jaguar: Momento mori
Once upon a time, a dapper German auto exec named Wolfgang Rietzle dreamed of running BMW. When the Bavarians gave Wolfie the cold shoulder (twice), he left their employ to build his own, even larger...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 25: The Transmogrification of the Taurus
Sin City’s casinos are designed to create the illusion of chance. Vegas’ neon lights, chiming bells and piped-in oxygen keep hopefuls dazed, confused and distracted while their dollars are vacuumed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 27: Staking the Raises
February’s sales figures are in. Ford continues to sing the blues. While FoMoCo’s spinmeisters invite us to savor the consistency of their domestic market share and clock their lessening fleet...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ford Death Watch 28: Alan Mulally Wants to Be Where the People Are
Back in ’98, the BBC aired a fly-on-the-wall documentary series called “Back to the Floor.” A camera crew followed five British bosses who left the relative safety of the executive suite for a week's...
View Article
