guionM
04-25-2005, 07:16 PM
Chairman of Ford from 1993 to 2000 & creator of the Ford 2000 program, which spawned the LS chassis which was initially to cover all of Fords RWD programs for the early millinium.
As originally envisioned, the Ford 2000 program would simplify Ford's production by condensing Ford's platforms into a few worldwide world class chassis, while at the same time dumping marginally profitable vehicles.
It was under him Ford killed the Thunderbird (which was still slightly outselling Monte Carlo), Cougar (the MN-12 version), Probe, and Windstar.
Thunderbird was to be more profitable being made in low numbers on the DEW chassis, Cougar was dropped & Probe killed so the Probe's replacement would go to where it was needed (Mercury) and leave the Mustang clear for a new upgraded LS based chassis, originally scheduled for the 2002-2003 timeframe (yes, I'm serious, no that's not a misprint!!).
It was also under him that he tied executive bonuses to warranty claims on new cars. Also, cut new product development times, moved emphasis to long term reliability, and pushed suppliers to find ways to cut costs back in the mid 90s. He was also one of those rare CEOs that was asked to stay on after his contract expired.
I'm pretty mixed on this guy (IMO Jac Nasser was worse).
He did a bang up job making Ford money, but it was under him that Ford gained the mentality of not spending more on performance (or anything else) than the bare minimum. He invested into the future of RWD with a world class sophisicated chassis when no one else was, but more Fords were killed off during his term than any other over the same period. Ford's quality went through the roof with warranty ratings dropping like bricks, but management desparate to protect their bonuses started shafting people over warranties over seemingly obvious flaws and shortcuts that happened just at waranty expiration (ie: Cooling fan bearings, 3.8 V6 head gaskets, Taurus SHO V8 camshaft sprokets).
Also marked the time I gave up on Ford & bought a Chevy.
Perhaps some of you behind the scenes guys might comment.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1102&e=2&u=/ap/20050425/ap_on_bi_ge/obit_trotman&sid=95616385
As originally envisioned, the Ford 2000 program would simplify Ford's production by condensing Ford's platforms into a few worldwide world class chassis, while at the same time dumping marginally profitable vehicles.
It was under him Ford killed the Thunderbird (which was still slightly outselling Monte Carlo), Cougar (the MN-12 version), Probe, and Windstar.
Thunderbird was to be more profitable being made in low numbers on the DEW chassis, Cougar was dropped & Probe killed so the Probe's replacement would go to where it was needed (Mercury) and leave the Mustang clear for a new upgraded LS based chassis, originally scheduled for the 2002-2003 timeframe (yes, I'm serious, no that's not a misprint!!).
It was also under him that he tied executive bonuses to warranty claims on new cars. Also, cut new product development times, moved emphasis to long term reliability, and pushed suppliers to find ways to cut costs back in the mid 90s. He was also one of those rare CEOs that was asked to stay on after his contract expired.
I'm pretty mixed on this guy (IMO Jac Nasser was worse).
He did a bang up job making Ford money, but it was under him that Ford gained the mentality of not spending more on performance (or anything else) than the bare minimum. He invested into the future of RWD with a world class sophisicated chassis when no one else was, but more Fords were killed off during his term than any other over the same period. Ford's quality went through the roof with warranty ratings dropping like bricks, but management desparate to protect their bonuses started shafting people over warranties over seemingly obvious flaws and shortcuts that happened just at waranty expiration (ie: Cooling fan bearings, 3.8 V6 head gaskets, Taurus SHO V8 camshaft sprokets).
Also marked the time I gave up on Ford & bought a Chevy.
Perhaps some of you behind the scenes guys might comment.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1102&e=2&u=/ap/20050425/ap_on_bi_ge/obit_trotman&sid=95616385