Fortune interviews Alan Mulally

http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/1...51103

Some choice quote:







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Ford's financial independence is largely due to a new operational discipline that Mulally has installed, as well as some timely strategic moves he initiated. So while GM suffered the ignominy of seeing the Treasury Department's auto task force depose chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, and Chrysler has declared bankruptcy, Ford stands alone as an independent company and, potentially, a Detroit survivor.


Quote, originally posted by Fortune »
The Mulally method has pointed Ford to some smart strategic moves. Sensing a recession in 2006, Mulally decided to borrow $23.6 billion against Ford's assets. Piling on more debt wasn't an easy call, but the extra cash meant that Ford could say no to government loans when sales fell apart last year. Mulally is moving to integrate the company globally, despite several failed attempts in the past. In 2010, Ford will be selling small cars in the U.S. that were developed in Europe. Mulally persuaded Bill Ford to dispose of Jaguar and Land Rover and focus its resources on the Ford brand, and by moving quickly he managed to sell them to India's Tata in 2007 when there was still a market for makers of luxury vehicles.


Quote, originally posted by Fortuen »
"I arrive here, and the first day I say, 'Let's go look at the product lineup.' And they lay it out, and I said, 'Where's the Taurus?' They said, 'Well, we killed it.' I said, 'What do you mean, you killed it?' 'Well, we made a couple that looked like a football. They didn't sell very well, so we stopped it.' 'You stopped the Taurus?' I said. 'How many billions of dollars does it cost to build brand loyalty around a name?' 'Well, we thought it was so damaged that we named it the Five Hundred.' I said, 'Well, you've got until tomorrow to find a vehicle to put the Taurus name on because that's why I'm here. Then you have two years to make the coolest vehicle that you can possibly make.'?" The 2010 Taurus is arriving on the market this spring, and while it is not as startling as the original 1986 Taurus, it is still pretty cool.

 

My Ford stock is way down today.

 

yup down a buck

 

Thats because they sold more stock to raise cash.

 

Mulally had the ***** to invest in future design while hoarding as much cash as possible for the company... how do you pull that off? Then, when offered bailout money, he said, "No thanks, our plan works..."

4+ months after sitting on the Hill, how are GM and Chrysler doing WITH bailout money? Guess they should've started about 3 years ago like Ford, ehhh???

Mulally early leader for CEO of the Year... because he had the stones to DO SOMETHING... and it's working in a down economy...

 

The fact that Mulally doesn't come from a car company (doesn't love steel) is a big deal

 

So far, Mullaly is doing a pretty good. I'm glad at least one American car company has a CEO who kind of gets it and sees where the problems lie.

If I'm in the market for a domestic product, Ford is definitely going to be on the top of my shopping list. The new Fiesta looks hot. They just need to drop the Fiesta name because it is completely lame.

 

I'm was not impressed with Mullaly's decision here. I think he was (and is) wrong (though that could change). Yes, the Taurus nameplate sold well for many years, but Ford, IMO, did exactly the right thing naming that newer car the Five Hundred and not the Taurus. It was NOT a Taurus; in fact, IMO, it was a far BETTER car than the Taurus, especially with the AWD option. All the renaming did, IMO, was to bring back a chintsy name to a nice vehicle worthy of something better than that.

Of course, now that the Taurus SHO is on the way, the name change back to Taurus may (?) or may not have been justified in the long run....we'll wait and see how the SHO sells. The two previous Taurus SHOs pretty much bombed out in the marketplace because they cost as much or more than rival Pontiac Grand Prix GTO/GXP models and produced less power, even with the Yamaha-built V6s and V8s. Pontiac, though, this time, will not be as much as a factor....they will be gone in less than 2 years, and the new Taurus SHO, despite the chintzy Taurus name, appears to be a far better product than the first two SHOs were.