Ford's Mulally to sell cars at US dealership
Alan Mulally told Ford dealers at the annual NADA conference that he will spend a couple of days selling cars at a dealership sometime this year. According to the L.A. Times, the offer to do so was made behind closed doors at the Las Vegas conference, and Ford's people are already at work figuring out where and when the new CEO will play salesman. When asked what he thought about the invitation, Mulally said, "It was cool."
Funny, that's how we feel about his doing this as well. We like Mulally's candor and his willingness to put himself in a situation like this dealership gig. Publicity stunt or not, it's something you wouldn't necessarily see other CEOs do, and Mulally will get to hear firsthand from shoppers exactly what they think about the products he's pitching. We sincerely hope that the PR folks don't overmanage this and turn it into a lame media-friendly event. This could be a good thing, so our fingers are crossed.
[Source: Bloomberg/LA Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Drewboy 12:44PM (2/05/2007)
Hello Alan, I'd like a Ford Fusion with the new V-6 that the "new" Lincoln has in it. You know, the one with HP number competitive with the Asian competition. (I'd definitely have to pick one of those up... Its what I'm holding out for.)
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JayP 12:45PM (2/05/2007)
I'd like to see Mulally get behind the desk of a Service Advisor to see what Joe Blow has to say about his Ford that's in for repairs.
Finally, he should go in to a dealer in any town as a prospective buyer. See how some dealers like to throw on $600 window tint and tire pressure monitors.
Ring me when that happens.
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SSBR 12:47PM (2/05/2007)
Wrong position. He should have played, Ford repair mechanic.
http://www.rolesor.com
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david 1:12PM (2/05/2007)
jay, if you think ford is the only one that adds on, visit any car dealer. neighbor accross the street ordered an accord and when he picked it up the dealer added on pin stripes (tape $170.00), paint protector(wax $205.000), fabric protector (3m spray $80.00), and to top it off, rust proofing. ($260.00)needless to say, after causing a horrific scene at the showroom, they gave him the add ons for free.
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Howard Kerr 1:18PM (2/05/2007)
I agree with the posters here: I'd be more impressed if this hadn't been announced BEFORE the guy visits a dealership. He should go undercover as a new hire in sales, in the service adviser role, and as a customer at different dealerships in different markets. Just the thought that the stranger they are talking to might be the Big Boss could would wonders at the dealerships.
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BOB 4:15PM (2/05/2007)
COULD BE GOOD -- If he does it at Galpin dealerships in the San Fernando Valley (most or all Ford and PAG brands adjacent) or, maybe Santa Monica or Beverly Hills. He won't learn much if he tries this in Michigan, or elsewhere in the Midwest.
Let him be exposed to areas where the Biggish Three are at their weakest, so he can see why. In Beverly Hills, west LA, and Santa Monica, the Ford 500 and most GMs and Chrysler sedans are rentals - except the Chrysler 300 -- and the most common car is either Mercedes or BMW. In the rest of the area, #1 is Toyota.
(I am a huge fan of Fords and the domestic brands, very upset to have seen it get so bad. To recover, you have to see why you failed.)
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Gardiner Westbound 1:36PM (2/05/2007)
I would like to see him on King of Cars putting some poor sap with negative equity in his current ride into a $19,000 Dodge Dakota for $400 a month for 72 months.
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John P. 2:04PM (2/05/2007)
I have to agree, if he just went and did it, and then told us later I'd be all over it. But,... It would be interesting to hear what he has to say after he spends some time with car salesmen.
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Adam 2:29PM (2/05/2007)
I want to go to the dealership that Mulally is and say the following:
Your Fusion, Mustang, and F-Series are fine. But lets talk about the other junk you sell.
1- My wife wants a minivan, do you have one? Oh you dont, because the Freestar was junk.
2- My son wants a compact truck. do you have one? Oh you dont, because the ranger is inferior to Tacoma.
3- My doughter wants a small compact, do you have one? Oh your focus is soooo out dated. I will buy a civic then.
4- My grandpa wants a large sedan, do you have one? Oh your crown vic dates to 1979 huh? I think I will buy him a Buick Lucernne.
5- My aunt wants a small SUV, do you have one? Oh you have a brand new one called Escape but it is already outdated with its styling and powertrain huh? Well I am buying a CRV or RAV or Equinox.
Sorry Allan, I am not buying here. Thanks for the coffee.
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Geroge Mcphee 3:52PM (2/05/2007)
Toyota CEO Jim Press routinely goes to dealerships. Put his name and visit and dealership in google and you will see he visits them very often.
This is nothing more than a publicity stunt by Ford. I am dissappointed that something that makes sense like this was not done there before. Maybe thats why their ship is sinking. So much disconnect at the Ford Empire and Consumers.
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Matt 2:45PM (2/05/2007)
Al gets a cookie if he manages to sell a Focus.
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Doug 4:45PM (2/05/2007)
Ahh..the pessimists are back. This is no stunt. My understanding is that Mr. Mulally was so available during the annual NADA event, that when one Ford dealer put him on the spot about selling cars he said "done". I applaud him for doing it. That he didn't do it according to the schedule of the perpetually cynical......well too f'in bad. Alan is the real deal and he has made more progress opening up Ford in 5 months than Bill Jr. ever did. Ford is on their way back....
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Bob R. 5:34PM (2/05/2007)
Alan Mulally is just what Ford needed. In his 5 months as being CEO, he has shown a number of different things that a Ford executive in the past wouldn't go do, this being one of them.
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Mike 8:32PM (2/05/2007)
I'd love him to see what sharks dealerships are when it comes to sales. I could point him to a dealership where I live with sales staff that sound so desparate.
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Scott 9:57PM (2/05/2007)
I did an internship at the WHQ for FMC several years back, and it was a known fact that the weakest link Ford had with its customers was dissatisfaction with the pre and post-sales experience. If Ford could sell directly to customers, they would do it. I hope this is intended to determine how to improve the customer experience. One attempt was "blue oval certified" but not much has happened since then....
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GhostDoggy 5:42AM (2/06/2007)
I think it is an excellent idea. Maybe he should do the same and disguise himself for a few days while selling the competition's product and see exactly what those customers are buying.
Its kind of difficult to steer a ship like Ford if you are busy tanning youself on the stern. Good to see he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and any chip knocked off his shoulder.
But even spending a few days selling Ford products will not be enough. He needs to find out for himself why more people are not buying Ford consumer products. Maybe he should go and rent some Ford cars for a couple of weeks and see how they are holding up in the real world. Then go rent some of his competition's products and do the same.
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