| Daniel Howes: Thursdays with Alan | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 6:46:49 AM by Blog57 Team | | A lan Mulally gives new meaning to "turning the screw" at Ford Motor Co. He says he doesn't want to "lean on the past" -- meaning criticize -- then calmly describes how there are six Fords around the world, not one, how there is "the complexity of brands" followed by the "complexity of product lines within the brands." CEO of Ford for a grand total of six weeks, he says he's happy with his management team and doesn't plan to oust any or recruit from the outside -- "not now" -- and that more people are arriving earlier and staying later. Then he suggests people "self-select" when a new boss arrives because the work's "too hard" or they're "tired." Translation: He doesn't need to fire them because they do it for him. He says "the No. 1 thing we've got to do is deal with the reality" of Ford's dire predicament, its fight for "viability." Then he describes the Thursday "business plan review" meetings he uses to manage it all in terms, confirmed by several participants, that make the three-hour sessions sound like equal parts sance, final exam and Marine boot camp.... | |
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| | | Feds Investigate Reports of Engine Fires on Some Ford Escape and ... | | Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 12:47:16 PM by Blog57 Team | | The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into some Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute sport-utility vehicles after receiving complaints of engine compartment fires, Ford said. NHTSA said it has received eight complaints of engine fires around the vehicle's antilock braking system's electronic control module. Five of these said the fires occurred after the SUV had been parked. In two additional cases, NHTSA received reports of smoke or melted electrical connectors and wiring near the antilock braking system. A Ford spokeswoman said there have been no reports of injuries due to the fires and the automaker was cooperating with the agency's investigation. The investigation involves more than 600,000 SUVs from the 2001-2003 model years.... | |
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| | | Ford SUV lets Harper Woods nurse 'Escape' | | Posted Friday, October 20, 2006 10:45:57 PM by Blog57 Team | | Christine Robinson looked at the mud-splattered sides of her 2004 slate-gray Ford Escape and sighed. "I just washed this," she said. "But I went to Popeye's Chicken last night and there was construction nearby." Robinson, a member of the nursing staff at Bon Secours Hospital in Grosse Pointe, also uses her compact four-door SUV to go much farther than grabbing dinner. She drives to visit her son, grandmother and aunt in Alabama. She traveled to Mount Pleasant to check out the casino. She has been to Chicago several times, transporting a family member to college in the Windy City. "That's why I buy rather than lease -- I don't want to have to watch the miles so closely and I can drive where I want," said Robinson, 40, of Harper Woods. "With the foldable rear seats, I've had enough room to carry furniture, even something as big as a dresser," she said.... | |
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| | | Amanda Congdon Videoblogs Across America | | Posted Thursday, September 28, 2006 2:45:58 AM by Blog57 Team | | Actress and pioneering videoblogger Amanda Congdon announced her latest project, AmandaAcrossAmerica.com, where she and a group of friends will travel across country to her new home in Los Angeles in the world's first hybrid SUV, the Ford Escape Hybrid. Amanda, who is in Washington, DC today, will be documenting their experiences along the way via a multimedia website, including mobile, video, photo and text blogging. During their journey, Amanda and her co-pilots will be meeting with people all over the country who are doing interesting work in blogging, grassroots media, and environmental activism, as well as prominent political and cultural figures, to create an online portrait of some of the most interesting people and places in the United States today. In a first for the emerging medium of videoblogging, Amanda has enlisted the help of a number of sponsors and partners to make the trip possible.... | |
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| | | Ford to Present Ford Escape Hybrid Taxi Case Study to City of ... | | Posted Monday, August 28, 2006 8:45:52 AM by Blog57 Team | | PRNewswire -- Aug. 2: Ford Motor Company will present a case study on the successful use of Escape Hybrid taxis to Mayor Wynn and representatives from the City of Austin, Austin Energy and local commercial fleet managers, to raise awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of an Escape Hybrid. Cities across the country, including San Francisco, New York, and Chicago are successfully turning to hybrid-electric vehicles to meet their clean air goals and reduce fuel costs - from taxicabs to municipal fleet vehicles. .... | |
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| | | Ford's Latest Wrong Turn | | Posted Sunday, August 27, 2006 1:02:02 AM by Blog57 Team | | Ford's (NYSE: F - News) latest retrenchment is under way and, unsurprisingly, it includes dramatic production cuts. While it's true that structural disadvantages vis-a-vis foreign competitors are a major reason for the company's woes, at least some of the floundering has to do with an inability to execute a coherent strategy. A couple of recently released reports suggest that Ford has again missed a long-term opportunity. .... | |
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| | | Ford to Present Escape Hybrid Technology Clinic in Sacramento | | Posted Saturday, August 05, 2006 12:46:03 PM by Blog57 Team | | IRVINE - July 26, 2006: Cities across the country are successfully turning to hybrid-electric vehicles to meet their clean air goals and reduce fuel costs - from taxicabs to municipal fleet vehicles. Ford Motor Company hybrid engineers will conduct a technology clinic with representatives from the City of Sacramento and local commercial fleet managers to raise awareness of the economic and environmental benefits of the Escape Hybrid. In addition, Ford engineers will host an Escape Hybrid consumer clinic, to answer consumer questions about hybrid technology. The Ford Escape Hybrid Technology Clinic to the City of Sacramento will take place Wednesday, August 2nd at the Marriott Hotel off Sunrise Blvd. in Rancho Cordova. The event kicks off at 10AM. The Ford Escape Hybrid owner clinic also takes place on Wednesday, August 2nd at the same location, and will run from 6 to 8PM.... | |
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| | | Retail Sales For Ford's New Mid-Size Sedans Climb 18 Percent in July; Ford Posts Second Best Retail Month in 2006 | | Posted Thursday, August 03, 2006 10:45:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | * Retail sales for the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr were a record 19,440 in July, up 18 percent compared with June. Total sales (including fleet deliveries) for the company's new mid-size sedans were 20,129. * Overall, Ford's July retail sales were up 7 percent compared with June - the second best retail month in 2006. * Ford's total July sales were down 34 percent compared with July 2005 when Ford offered employee prices to all customers. DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 1 -- Retail demand continues to grow for Ford's new mid-size sedans (Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr). Retail sales for the trio totaled 19,440, up 18 percent compared with June 2006. Total sales (including fleet deliveries) were 20,129. Demand is expected to remain strong in the coming months as 2007 models, which went into production on July 31, will incorporate several standard safety features (e.g., side air bags) and all-wheel drive as an option.... | |
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| | | Ford workers accept offer | | Posted Thursday, July 13, 2006 12:45:58 PM by Blog57 Team | | The Ford Motor Co. said 150 of the 4,900 hourly workers at its Claycomo plant accepted a separation package from the company earlier this month. The separation offers are still available, and Ford officials said more employees at the plant might ask for one of the offers Ford has made as part of a restructuring that will close 14 plants and eliminate about 30,000 jobs in North America by 2008. About 80 percent of the 150 took one of the three retirement or early-retirement packages, said Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman. The others took either a pretax, lump-sum payment of $100,000 or the educational incentive, according to Evans. For the educational incentive, departing Ford workers could receive up to $15,000 for tuition reimbursement over four years while receiving half of their standard wage rate and full health benefits.... | |
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| | | Hybrids fuel L.A. rental agency's fast ride | | Posted Wednesday, July 12, 2006 2:46:15 AM by Blog57 Team | | Like most Americans these days, Jeff Pink sees dollar signs when he pulls in at a gas station. But instead of flowing out of his wallet, the dollars are flowing in. As chief executive of EV Rental Cars, a Los Angeles agency devoted solely to hybrid vehicles, Mr. Pink is one of the few U.S. business owners actually enjoying, and profiting from, the current surge in oil prices. Daily rental rates range from $35 to $75 for the combination gasoline-and-electric cars in his fleet, including Toyota's Prius, Camry and Highlander, the Honda Civic and the Ford Escape. Depending on the make, the hybrids average from 30 to 50 miles per gallon and, in some cases, upward of 600 miles per tank of gasoline -- a powerfully attractive number to anyone who plunks down $60 or more to fill up an all-gas SUV.... | |
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