Autoblog

Back in the mid eighties, we think Ford could have had a winner with the corporate slogan "Bold Moves", with vehicles like the original Taurus (and our editor's personal fave, the SHO) boldly going where no vehicle had gone before. These days, with uninspiring designs like the current Taurus, "Bold Moves" just doesn't seem to fit. So, out with the old and in with the new: "Ford. Drive One." We think that the new tagline is much more in line with the Blue Oval's current position, as they make pretty good cars which do well when compared directly with their competition. Unfortunately, as was already mentioned, striking styling and innovative design are a bit lacking, so getting customers in the drivers seat is something Ford should be concentrating on.

This new tagline is the work of marketing maven Jim Farley, chosen by Alan Mulally as the man to lead Ford back from the brink, and was developed in coordination with Ford's dealer network. Ford hasn't had a hit slogan since "Have You Driven a Ford Lately" -- which is indelibly marked on the brain of anyone who's ever watched television in the eighties and nineties. According to Ford's own data, only 41% of consumers consider Ford vehicles, and this new tagline was developed to improve on that dismal number. The next hurdle will be converting those drivers into buyers. So, is this the slogan that finally sticks? We're not sure, but we do think it's a helluva lot better than "Bold Moves".

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Right now the thing Ford needs more than anything else is competitive product. They're doing everything they can to get those products to market, but it takes time. They can't tell us what the product is because it would further-deteriorate their competitive position, so we just have to wait and see if they're worth buying. Other aspects of recovery that Ford can work on more immediately include very important items like improving quality, lowering warranty costs, finding ways to cut materials cost, and making commercials that get the attention of potential customers. Ford is no-doubt working on all that and more, but It's hard to do if you feel none of it will matter in the end.

Many of Ford's goals have not been met on the Way Forward and it's bringing moral down. January retail sales numbers were 10,000 vehicles off projections and February and March don't look much better. Material cost reductions are also below expectations. New products like the Edge and MXK are selling well, but production hasn't ramped to the point where they're really helping the retail standings for Ford either. The biggest problem, though, may be that employees don't believe in the plan. Only 38% of all employees polled felt Ford had the products to compete and 45% feel the Way Forward plan is working. It is tough for employees to see the light at the end of the tunnel when the next hope for profit is 2009. Ford headlines have been very tough lately and employees could really use some good news to help boost their spirits. The problem is, good news is still a year or two away.

[Source: Detroit News]

In the interest of not going belly-up, Ford will be hard at work over the next three years to remake their entire Ford, Lincoln and Mercury fleet. We've got high hopes that the Bold Moves will start to come at us quickly now, and that great new product will offer significant improvements over their current offerings. It makes us wonder how long we'll have to live with the Five Hundred's rhinoplasty and the newly penned Focus. Ford also indicated an interest in selling "B" segment cars, which are sub-Focus size. Along with offering new small cars, technology integration will play a role in revamping the offerings. The newly unveiled and very cool Sync system is another way Ford will add value and substance to their wares. We also expect to see interesting developments on the hybrid and fuel-cell (and fuel-cell powered hybrid) fronts.

Our hope is that a little attention be given to the house of Lincoln Mercury first. The recent introduction of the Fusion, along with the refresh of the Focus and Five Hundred has bought Ford a little time, but the Town Car's looks have not aged well, and it's the odd-man-out styling-wise. The bold lines of the MKR concept bode well for some style to return to the long barren flanks of the bulbous Town Car. Mercury could stand some strategic focus. More effort should be paid to further differentiate Mercury, rather than just being tarted-up Fords. There has to be a reason for people to wander into the showrooms. We'll see in the coming months the fruits of Dearborn's labor, as they've got a lot of dedicated people working extremely hard at stanching the bloodflow at the Blue Oval.

[Source: Automotive News sub req'd]

Episode 30 of the Ford Bold Moves documentary has just been released. It's the final episode in this long series of short videos that has chronicled Ford and its journey down the Way Forward path since the middle of last year. No doubt by this time the producers had hoped to show a triumphant Mark Fields, mullet blowing in the wind, declaring directly into the camera that he had, indeed, shown this company the way forward. Looks like they ran out of tape before that could happen, so episode 30 turns its lens towards the Showroom of the Future event that Ford held for its own employees and the media last month. You'll see what we saw inside of Cobo Arena where about two dozen future Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products are shown hanging out under white sheets. We think Ford should just yank the sheets off for everyone to see and get an honest thumbs up or down reaction from the public. That way they can judge if they are heading down the wrong path and still have time to turn around if needs be. Regardless, episode 30 is meant as a morale booster for any Blue Oval fan. There's just something about Fields staring into the camera and passionately exclaiming "We can do this" that makes me want to run out and score a touchdown.

[Source: Ford Bold Moves]

None of you probably noticed the we skipped reporting on the release of Ford Bold Moves - Episodes 26. Yeah, we watched it, but its subject matter didn't even register on our Interesting Meter, so we passed. Episode 27, however, entitled Proving our Metal, hits the company pretty hard with the recognition right up front that a large portion of the population still thinks "FORD" is an acronym for "Fix or Repair Daily."

This episode of the Bold Moves web documentary tackles quality issues at Ford, which have admittedly improved by a factor of ten in the past few years. Nevertheless, a bad quality rep sticks like white on rice, and Ford, along with the other domestics, have yet to change many minds. Episode 27, however, just might help. We get to see the beating Ford vehicles take at the company's Arizona Proving Grounds where their durability is tested to the breaking point and beyond. Also on screen is a new way to test a vehicle's durability that can achieve results in the lab after only two weeks versus seven months out in the field.

[Source: Ford Bold Moves]

In the month of November, Ford outpaced all other automakers in incentive dollars per vehicle; unfortunately, truck loads of cash incentives did not boost sales. Ford led the way over all manufacturers with $4,231 per vehicle in incentives, followed by Chrysler at $3,735 and GM at $3,011. Interestingly, Nissan was next at $2,236, with Honda and Toyota at $914 and $751 respectively. Now Ford is stepping up yet again with an additional $1000 bonus cash in addition to any existing rebates or interest rate deals on 19 of its Ford and Mercury vehicles, which now includes the popular Mustang coupe and Explorer SUV.

Ford states that inventory levels, at a 93-day supply, are "outstanding". That number compares to 90-days at GM and 76-days at DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group. Working to get production more in line with demand, Ford has reduced its inventory from 752,900 units in November of 2005 to the current 627,800.

One glaring concern is in the profit-critical truck market, where Ford's problems were most pronounced. Demand for Ford trucks was down 51 percent from a year ago, and incentive spending was up 51 percent In contrast, GM's incentive spending on trucks is down 13 percent for the same period, and sales were up 16 percent, mostly due to the introduction of the new GMT900 platform trucks. While the F-150 will still reign supreme in sales this year, its current year-to-date total of 725,459 units through November is 10.7 percent off last year's pace.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Ford's Rouge plant is an icon in automotive manufacturing, having at one time built the Model A, military warcraft after WWI and during WWII, 40 years of the Mustang and currently the F-150. It's over 100 years old, but you wouldn't know it while on a tour of the facility. Ford has revamped Rouge to be a cutting edge manufacturing plant, not only with all the latest high-tech production processes, but also with a lot of green technology to lower the plant's impact on the environment. The best example of this is the plant's living roof, the largest of its kind in the world, that filters storm water running into the Rouge River, keeps the plant cool and protects the roof. We haven't taken a tour of the facility yet ourselves, but Episode 25 of the Ford Bold Moves web documentary is the next best thing to actually getting of our duffs and driving to Detroit.

[Source: Ford Bold Moves]

One thing that seems to be working at Ford is the advertising group's creativity. There have been some pretty clever ideas coming from those studios, and if you follow this link to the Shelby Autos website, you'll see the fruits of their labor once again. As a follow up to the Mustang GT burnout "how to" featuring the father and son in a parking garage and the GT500 "couldn't find a suitable speed limit' spot, we hope to see this one on TV as well. We're a little curious as to why they used the rental-only Shelby GT-H in the video instead of the available-to-everybody Shelby GT, but it's not like it diminishes the fun in any way. Enjoy.

[Source: Shelby Autos]

Bam, just when you think you're safe, another episode of the Ford Bold Moves documentary hits the web waves. Episode 24, titled Driving the Future, is all about Ford's focus on alternative fuels, including clean diesel technology and hydrogen fuel cells, among others. The documentary begins at the AltWheels Festival where some manufacturers actually showed up to show off their green stripes. Ford had its hydrogen fuel-cell powered Focus on hand, along with its hydrogen-powered bus (on sale now), its gaggle of hybrid Escapes and Mariners, and some E85 capable vehicles. Episode 24 is a chest thumper in which the Blue Oval pats itself on the back for all the investment dollars it's spent on green R&D. The producers also got a couple alternative fuel boosters to testify on the company's behalf.

[Source: Ford Bold Moves]

Ford's marketing push behind the "Bold Moves" taglines is one step away from becoming part of modern pop culture. We've been inundated with TV, print and web ads since the campaign began, and you've no doubt noticed the web-based documentary of the same name. FoMoCo executives can't even make it through a single speech without evoking the "Bold Moves" god before which they bow. Ford dealers, however, are reportedly not impressed by the campaign that from the beginning has focused itself on lifestyle messages. The best example of this is the Bold Moves television commercial that shows a young lady in a Fusion paying for her dry cleaning and "boldly" paying the bill for the guy in the Mustang behind her. Yes, Ford would have us believe that a bold move is paying for someone else's dry cleaning, and oh yeah, buy a Fusion and a Mustang while you're at it. Dealers have voiced their concern to Ford and the company is responding with a new round of ads that drops the lifestyle angle in favor of some hard facts about Ford's new vehicles, particularly its lineup for 2007. New ads will focus on the availability of all-wheel drive in the 2007 Fusion and new Ford Edge commercials are already in circulation that offer specific talking points on the product. Ford did, however, pay a lot of money for that dry cleaning ad and others like it and said it will continue running them, although you'll begin to see them less frequently as these new product-driven ads began to appear on the boob tube.

[Source: Amy Wilson / Automotive News - sub. required]