Dec 16
The name on the logo is the name of the boss
The “Big 3”…. GM, Chrysler, Ford.
Two are in big trouble. One isn’t. Why?
I maintain that Ford is okay because their management, the Ford family, was playing with their own money. GM and Chrysler’s (until recently) management were not. GM and Chrysler’s management could profit by kicking problems such as pensions, work rules, labor contracts, and inefficient distribution down the road. Profit today. Bonus today. Problems later.
Ford, actually run by its owners, cared about the long term.
The GM and Chrysler boards are accountable – they are supposed to act like the Ford’s did.
Personalized profit. Shared risk. Bad results.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Ford designs vehicles that others copied just to keep market share, e.g. Taurus and Escort. They also looked to reuse designs, e.g. ’72 Mustang used a ’64 Thunderbird chassis. Ford’s future cars will do the same, e.g. hatchback, pony and muscle with trucks unchanged. Look for old chassis under new tops that match past sellers. Honda knows Ford is dangerous!