Ford CEO Cancels Order For Lexus
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Ford CEO Cancels Order For Lexus
Ford CEO Cancels Order for Lexus
By JIM IRWIN (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
January 04, 2007 1:25 AM EST
DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford CEO Alan Mulally said he respects Toyota and its luxury brand, but that he canceled his order for a Lexus after taking the top job at the U.S. automaker. He said traveled to Japan last month to meet with Toyota executives just to show his appreciation, and not in an effort to bring the companies any closer.
Mulally, who took over at the nation's No. 2 automaker last year, said Wednesday he deeply admires the Japanese automaker for its manufacturing processes and product development strategy.
Mulally called Toyota "the finest machine in the world, the finest production system in the world. So we went to study with the master. I really wanted to connect with each of the manufacturers in the industry and to do it quickly," said Mulally, who was hired away from aircraft maker Boeing Co. by Ford Motor Co.
Reports that Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Fujio Cho met in Tokyo with Mulally at the latter's request had sparked investor hopes about a potential alliance.
Mulally squelched that speculation again Wednesday, saying manufacturing methods - along with safety engineering, fuel economy and environmental issues - are topics that all automakers discuss with each other.
"We have so many things in common as an industry that we can work on together," he said.
Ford on Wednesday reported an 8 percent drop in U.S. sales last year compared with 2005. But it was able to hold off Toyota after Toyota's sales surpassed Ford's for the first time in July and again in November.
Ford lost $7 billion during the first three quarters of 2006 and is in the midst of a major restructuring plan to shrink its factory capacity to match lower consumer demand. Mulally said the automaker still expects to return to profitability by 2009, aided not only by shedding jobs and closing factories but also by bringing new products to showrooms more quickly.
Dearborn-based Ford is on track to meet its goal of having 100 percent of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury lineup represented by all-new or substantially reworked vehicles by 2010, Mulally said.
"Our recovery here in North America is going to be product-led," he said.
Another goal for 2010 or shortly afterward is for Ford to match the efficiency levels of Mazda Motor Corp., said Derrick Kuzak, named last month as head of global product development. Ford owns one-third of Mazda.
Mulally, Kuzak and Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said Ford's painful recovery will be driven by new products brought to market more quickly. They spoke to reporters at a private dinner that featured a briefing and question-and-answer period.
"Despite the numbers, it (2006) was a year of incremental progress for us," Fields said. "It's like building a house. We built the foundation last year. But you don't see the house. You see a hole."
Ford's top management also is making slow progress toward changing attitudes, the executives said.
"The culture at Ford Motor Company is, `God forbid you ask for help - it means you're weak," Fields said.
Mulally, a Kansas native who spent 37 years at Boeing, said the Detroit automakers' signature event - this month's North American International Auto Show at Cobo Hall downtown - will be the first one he has ever attended.
"I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "I don't know whether I'm showy enough for the show, but I'm going to try to do my best to represent Ford."
---
By JIM IRWIN (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
January 04, 2007 1:25 AM EST
DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford CEO Alan Mulally said he respects Toyota and its luxury brand, but that he canceled his order for a Lexus after taking the top job at the U.S. automaker. He said traveled to Japan last month to meet with Toyota executives just to show his appreciation, and not in an effort to bring the companies any closer.
Mulally, who took over at the nation's No. 2 automaker last year, said Wednesday he deeply admires the Japanese automaker for its manufacturing processes and product development strategy.
Mulally called Toyota "the finest machine in the world, the finest production system in the world. So we went to study with the master. I really wanted to connect with each of the manufacturers in the industry and to do it quickly," said Mulally, who was hired away from aircraft maker Boeing Co. by Ford Motor Co.
Reports that Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Fujio Cho met in Tokyo with Mulally at the latter's request had sparked investor hopes about a potential alliance.
Mulally squelched that speculation again Wednesday, saying manufacturing methods - along with safety engineering, fuel economy and environmental issues - are topics that all automakers discuss with each other.
"We have so many things in common as an industry that we can work on together," he said.
Ford on Wednesday reported an 8 percent drop in U.S. sales last year compared with 2005. But it was able to hold off Toyota after Toyota's sales surpassed Ford's for the first time in July and again in November.
Ford lost $7 billion during the first three quarters of 2006 and is in the midst of a major restructuring plan to shrink its factory capacity to match lower consumer demand. Mulally said the automaker still expects to return to profitability by 2009, aided not only by shedding jobs and closing factories but also by bringing new products to showrooms more quickly.
Dearborn-based Ford is on track to meet its goal of having 100 percent of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury lineup represented by all-new or substantially reworked vehicles by 2010, Mulally said.
"Our recovery here in North America is going to be product-led," he said.
Another goal for 2010 or shortly afterward is for Ford to match the efficiency levels of Mazda Motor Corp., said Derrick Kuzak, named last month as head of global product development. Ford owns one-third of Mazda.
Mulally, Kuzak and Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said Ford's painful recovery will be driven by new products brought to market more quickly. They spoke to reporters at a private dinner that featured a briefing and question-and-answer period.
"Despite the numbers, it (2006) was a year of incremental progress for us," Fields said. "It's like building a house. We built the foundation last year. But you don't see the house. You see a hole."
Ford's top management also is making slow progress toward changing attitudes, the executives said.
"The culture at Ford Motor Company is, `God forbid you ask for help - it means you're weak," Fields said.
Mulally, a Kansas native who spent 37 years at Boeing, said the Detroit automakers' signature event - this month's North American International Auto Show at Cobo Hall downtown - will be the first one he has ever attended.
"I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "I don't know whether I'm showy enough for the show, but I'm going to try to do my best to represent Ford."
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Lexus Champion
Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Florida
OUCH!!!!
Was that a lot of corporate speak and the translation really was....Love You Mean It.....while he is cancelling the car?
I suppose it would not have looked right if he kept it on order but he also seems an advertising master to have announced cancelling it in a worldwide press fashion as he did.
Was that a lot of corporate speak and the translation really was....Love You Mean It.....while he is cancelling the car?
I suppose it would not have looked right if he kept it on order but he also seems an advertising master to have announced cancelling it in a worldwide press fashion as he did.
if i made as much money as those CEO's did, why, in my rite mind, would i even drive a ford...ford/lincoln/mercury have nothing into comparison with a true luxury car.
i doubt they threatened his job with actually owning the lexus...because if thats the case, then i can pretty much bet a lot of the work force @ ford drives a vehicle that ford had nothing to do with--fire them too!
i doubt they threatened his job with actually owning the lexus...because if thats the case, then i can pretty much bet a lot of the work force @ ford drives a vehicle that ford had nothing to do with--fire them too!
Lexus Champion
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From: Florida
Ford has in Mazda.
I can think of maybe one or two I would take out
for a spin now and then.
I figured he'd have to back off Toyota's nuts a little. If he didn't do that he would have been ousted. He works with smug american workers building a product for smug american buyers that think that if you buy asian you are a traitor and should be sent off.
By buying an asian car he was sending the message that it was ok to not buy american and that was going to dig him in a hole he couldn't get out of with stockholders and other carriers of ford interest and the american market.
Asian supporters will have to live with the fact that they know what he REALLY wants to drive, but cannot due to poopieganda.
By buying an asian car he was sending the message that it was ok to not buy american and that was going to dig him in a hole he couldn't get out of with stockholders and other carriers of ford interest and the american market.
Asian supporters will have to live with the fact that they know what he REALLY wants to drive, but cannot due to poopieganda.
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Lexus Test Driver
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I figured he'd have to back off Toyota's nuts a little. If he didn't do that he would have been ousted. He works with smug american workers building a product for smug american buyers that think that if you buy asian you are a traitor and should be sent off.
By buying an asian car he was sending the message that it was ok to not buy american and that was going to dig him in a hole he couldn't get out of with stockholders and other carriers of ford interest and the american market.
Asian supporters will have to live with the fact that they know what he REALLY wants to drive, but cannot due to poopieganda.
By buying an asian car he was sending the message that it was ok to not buy american and that was going to dig him in a hole he couldn't get out of with stockholders and other carriers of ford interest and the american market.
Asian supporters will have to live with the fact that they know what he REALLY wants to drive, but cannot due to poopieganda.
Lexus Champion
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From: IL
If I were him, I would have kept the order and told the Ford employees "When Ford can develop a car that competes with my LS460, then I will get rid of it". Let them have something to shoot for.
On second thought, he probably realized he could have one of these comped and changed his mind really quick - I know I would
On second thought, he probably realized he could have one of these comped and changed his mind really quick - I know I would
EV ftw!!!
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Lake Ontario
If I were him, I would have kept the order and told the Ford employees "When Ford can develop a car that competes with my LS460, then I will get rid of it". Let them have something to shoot for.
On second thought, he probably realized he could have one of these comped and changed his mind really quick - I know I would
On second thought, he probably realized he could have one of these comped and changed his mind really quick - I know I would
Lexus Champion
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