http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9760229/

“For all the progress, we recognize we’re very far from the finish line,” Bill Ford said. “We need a dramatically different business structure and we need innovation to drive everything we do.”

 

The cut backs by both Ford and GM are only going to be felt by all in the US, not just the automotive industry. Yet somehow surprising American's are buying imports at an increasing alarming rate. We're doing it to ourselves. Sure there's some fat trimming to be done, but the rate of which this is happening is scary to say the least.

Wonder if we'll see more strategic DCX/Ford/GM technology partnerships in the short term? The Ford/GM 6 speed automatics and DCX/GM two stage hybrid systems come to mind. Spreading the development and production costs might help in making the NA companies more competitive.

 

I doubt it, it'd make better sense to partner with a "prosperous" company then a "hurting" company.

 

Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai are opening a significant amount of plants here in the US. I don't have any sympathy for Ford and GM, made themselves uncompetitive.. Capitism is a bitch, what can I say?

 

^
Reads cover of book... knows everything in book.

 

I'm still sort of irked that Ford is replacing the Lincoln LS with a FWD/AWD Five Hundred based vehicle. To be honest I can't name any other maker that squandered such a potential winning chassis in my life.

With the lone exception of the Mustang, Ford seems to be headed towards the point where it's no more exciting than Toyota.

 

Would you rather Ford:
A: Make exciting cars that don't make money and file bankruptcy in 2009
or
B: Make cars that are great looking, have potential to be exciting (with the help of SVT), and make a ton of money and make ~$1B in 2009

Ford would have LOVED to make money on the LS, just ask the DEW program manager and the employees at Wixom. Unfortunately they painted themselved into a costly-chassis corner when money got tight and they had to cancel the other programs. It happens everyday in this business...

 

You know that I agree with you and would like to add that Cadillac faces the same issue with sigma. Many forget that Cadillac only sells about 50k CTSs a year compared to MB selling 200k E-Classes. A lot tougher to make a business case.

 

Ok, what went wrong? Why didn't DEW's initial business plan pan out? It just seemed that after the LS, S-Type and T-Bird.....Ford just simply walked away from DEW.

Designing DEW98 to only package the Jag derived AJ V8 and not the bread and butter (as it turned out), Mod motors was probably a pretty big failure of imagination/forethought.

Is D2C really that much cheaper than DEW? If Mustang had used more DEW in it's architecture...as was originally envisaged....would that have saved DEW?

 

Looking at manufacturing costs of X amount of operations vs. X amount of operations. The DEW is definatly more costly then D2C.

 

You're right on...hopefully that can be changed with Sigma II and other future RWD vehicles

Yep, DEW is quite a bit more expensive. That is why S197 went back to the drawing board. I think Ford compromised perfectly, except they might end up with some wasted packaging when the IRS goes in...

Well, that is where opinion seperates from fact. I think that it was a combination of LS and T-Bird not living up the already low volume standards set for them, funding disappearing for programs that were going to help spread out costs due to the Firestone debacle, and some sort of monumental f-up regarding powertrain clearances for S197.

 

Yet another batch of bad news for the American automakers

 

Personally, I think that was a monumental f-up. Really inexcuseable.

 

Their old business formula no longer works in todays marketplace. They can continue to throw money down the hole and deny the world has changed or they can alter their business model so that they can be profitable again.

Business is a mathematical formula and when one or multiple parts of that equation are off the end result can be a significant loss of money.

When the auto industry had younger workers they required less healthcare but as the average age of their workers have become older all of a sudden pentions, healthcare, and etc have eaten a huge chunk of their profits.

 

Hmmmm....sounds like more of that Nasser idiocy to drive Ford products upmarket by using the jag (AJ?) motor. Why bother making it big enough to fit the mod motors if they are to ho-hum to be considered competitive enough compete in the market that the LS was designed to compete in. Then again we are talking about the company that had..... (drum roll please)....

351 windsor (only engine they needed)
351 cleveland (waste of time and money)
351 modified (another waste of time and money)

all being built at the same time.