Mullaly rings man who chooses Ford Fusion Hybrid over Toyota Prius
When applicants were first being interviewed to replace Bill Ford as the top man in the Blue Oval Office, we wonder what exactly the process included. It turns out that in addition to being a pretty good salesman, Alan Mulally is also adept at making house calls. The FoMoCo CEO personally phoned Michael Snapper, a lawyer hailing from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to thank him for purchasing a Ford Fusion Hybrid over a Toyota Prius.
To put this into perspective, could you imagine getting a personal call from Honda's Takeo Fukui, personally thanking you for purchasing a Honda over a Harley? Or from Steve Jobs, congratulating you for choosing an iPod in lieu of a Zune? Ridiculous, no?
If this seems like nothing more than a publicity stunt, well, it's exactly that. Regardless, Ford is a company that can use all the positive pub it can get right now, and a phone call from the very top of the company symbolically sets an example that customer service is among the highest of priorities for the automaker – from the top down.
Gallery: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Nick 2:23PM (2/03/2009)
Good job Ford! While it may come off as a 'stunt' a CEO I think this sends a great message - and this is a message that only costed a few minutes of Mullaly's time and a few pennies to their telecom provider. The contrast is stark with Chrysler's 1 page "thank you" ad!
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dsharp23 2:32PM (2/03/2009)
"costed" .....hmmm, nah, I'll leave it at that. :)
why not the LS2LS7? 2:25PM (2/03/2009)
Okay, that's just weird.
But still, the Fusion Hybrid seems like a good car, so more power to it.
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zamafir 2:43PM (2/03/2009)
very much so, it can use all the marketing it can get to help move the things, they're beyond competitive with the toyota offerings.
sw 2:30PM (2/03/2009)
Excellent products, brilliant PR moves, shift away from just concentrating on suv's and trucks and having a diverse lineup. Not participating in the legalized robbery of Americans and Canadians. Ford is the only American automaker that deserves to survive because of these reasons.
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chad.dawkins 3:09PM (2/03/2009)
How is it robbery when they'll pay the money back with interest? I wish someone would rob me that way...
hokieman09 5:26PM (2/03/2009)
I know rite that would be sweet. I wish the media would call it a loan like it is instead of a bailout. Its not fair at all especially when the fiance industry gets way more with no strings attached
Big Rocket 7:15PM (2/03/2009)
@chad.dawkins, hokieman09: The loans that GM and Chrysler are receiving from the taxpayers come with a very low interest rate. If they try to get a loan without government assistance, their poor credit rating would result in very high interest rates (or they wouldn't even be able to get any loan at all). In theory, the difference between the very high and very low interest rates is the amount of free handout given to these companies, which could be substantial when we are dealing with multi-year loans for multi-billion dollars here. In reality, if these companies go completely Chapter 7 and default on their loans, the taxpayers lose everything.
In summary, this is the worst of both worlds: high risk, low payoff. No sane investor would agree to this type of proposition. That's why when the American (and Canadian) taxpayers are being forced into it, there is some truth to the term, "legalized robbery". That the Wall Street "legalized robbery" is worse, doesn't make this one easier to put up with.
Mr.K 2:31PM (2/03/2009)
Sounds cool, but I wouldn't even believe that I was speaking to the man himself. Anyone could call me up saying they were a CEO of company xyz that I bought a product from and I'd have no idea who I was talking to =/.
Still cool though, and regardless of the fact this a publicity stunt, it's sending a positive message about what ford thinks of your business.
I'm traditionally very anti-ford (I'm a gm guy) but lately I've been more and more impressed.
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Gardiner Westbound 2:32PM (2/03/2009)
Editorial insertions are more believable and effective than millions in paid advertising, and they're free!
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TigerMil 2:35PM (2/03/2009)
WTF is Mullaly when the Ford is in the shop getting fixed? Notwithstanding Ford's reduction in warranty costs....
I recall a project manager class case years ago in regard to Ford's Probe transmission vs the same trans mfd in Japan....1/10 the warranty costs of the Jap trans nothwithstanding the identical design. Seems the Japs would have six-sigma parts...one in a million parts failed the specs....Ford would do their standard machining and inspect and reject...tolerance stackup led to poor warranty costs.
I suspect Ford is leaning more towards six sigma...but the Japanese are already into seven sigma
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Tagg 2:44PM (2/03/2009)
Huh? What are talking about? Did you just feel like hearing yourself talk?
In case you haven't noticed this is not the 1980's or the 1990's anymore.
letstakeawalk 3:03PM (2/03/2009)
@ TigerMil
You are about a decade behind. Ford implemented its six-sigma plan back in 1999.
http://www.qualitydigest.com/june03/articles/02_article.shtml
I'm not aware of any auto OEM who implements 7-sigma. Could you name the Japanese company that has?
Seminole 3:04PM (2/03/2009)
Words random stringing together does sentence not make.
jamie 3:06PM (2/03/2009)
icansayanythingiwantandiamsureyouwillunderstandeverywordisay.
why not the LS2LS7? 4:01PM (2/03/2009)
Six sigma is bullcrap anyway. Why argue about it?
caddy-v 4:25PM (2/03/2009)
Ah the Probe. A car one never wants to be "rear-ended" by.
Hamud 5:43PM (2/03/2009)
Yeah, like Six Sigma was a japanese creation... It was created by Motorola and it's used by Ford in each one of its plants around the world.
the vegas style guy 8:30PM (2/03/2009)
Let it go Biatch!
ollie 2:44PM (2/03/2009)
I heard he actually punched in the last 4 digits HIMSELF!
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