http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...k-fields_N.htm
Odd that I should mention turnaround in the previous post....hadn't read this one....about....turnaround...

[quote]Ford rolls on its 'Way Forward' turnaround


As some encouraging signs start to emerge from Ford Motor's turnaround plan, much of the credit is likely to go to Mark Fields.

Fields, an executive vice president, is Ford's domestic car and truck chief. But he's not as stiff as his title might make him sound: His cellphone ring tone plays a song from the old rock group AC/DC.

Ford surprised analysts by posting a $100 million first-quarter profit. It did it, in part, by cutting 40,000 jobs since 2005 and vowing to better coordinate its production around the world. One show of confidence came from billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, who announced he has taken a 4.7% stake in Ford stock and signaled he intends to buy more.

Ford's ongoing Way Forward recovery plan — with full-year profitably promised for 2009 — has run head-on into an economic slump that has hammered sales across the industry.

High gas prices have caused buyers to demand more small cars, which are less profitable in general than the big SUVs that have powered Ford's earnings for years. Its next all-new small entry, Fiesta, won't come to market in the USA until 2010.

Meanwhile, the company is mounting a major effort to attract potential buyers who it believes have written off the Ford brand entirely. A new "Drive One" ad barrage aims to get more shoppers into a Ford for a test drive.

Fields spoke with USA TODAY auto reporter Chris Woodyard at a nostalgic car show, Fabulous Fords Forever, in the parking lot of the Knott's Berry Farm theme park in Buena Park last month. His comments were condensed and edited for clarity.

Q: You've said that you see opportunity to make small cars profitable. How is that coming?

A: In the past, (small) was "cheap and cheerful" — just give somebody some basic transportation. That's changed now because small is not only practical, but it also could connote "image" if you do it right. And that's why we spent so much time on the design of the Fiesta and the features of it, so it's a no-excuse car for people.

Q: Are you frustrated you can't bring Fiesta to market faster?

A: Sure we're frustrated, but in a positive way. What we wanted to do when we came out in the marketplace with a small car, a B-size car, we want to come out with a no-excuses car that really represents where Ford is heading. And sure, I would love it today. I would have loved it yesterday. But we want to do it right. And I won't say we'll be last to the party, but we're sure going to be best dressed.

Q: How big is gas a consideration in buying a car?

A: It's a secular shift. Once in a lifetime.

Q: How is that playing out when it comes to sales?

A: Our trucks and SUVs are down, but our cars and crossovers are up a lot. So we've based our (analysis) on looking at the segment shifts. The pickups will come back, but not to the extent they did three or four years ago. But it does offer us opportunities on the car side and crossovers.

Q: What have gas prices done to Ford's "Way Forward" plan?

A: We're on plan. Last year we were actually ahead of plan. But we always build a degree of flexibility into the Way Forward plan. And one of the hallmarks of it is as we see changes in the external market, we'll adjust and we'll continue to do that because we're not going to walk away from our milestones.

Q: Any changes you can talk about that show that flexibility?

A: As we've seen the industry (sales) come down, we've looked at other opportunities. As people trade down, they … don't want to compromise on features. They're willing to trade down on size. So there are revenue opportunities there. We've continued to work the cost side of the business. We're going to cut this year about $3 billion in structural costs, wh

 

Kirk just doesn't give up. He failed to buy out Chrysler twice and GM once, now he's trying to buy Ford. I think he needs to just retire and leave Ford alone before they decide to pick out wedding rings for BMW.

I'm surprised that they want to use the Fiesta nameplate. I hardly have a positive association with that nameplate since it is too similar to Festiva and once again its another annoying F-name. I thought the plan was to cut down on F-names, not dig up more names that are too similar sounding to their lower quality re-badged models.

 

I agree with that. I was just thinkimg to myself... man that car was a piece of junk. Cheap no frills and then you got to the Fiesta Ford needs to really think on this one.

 

12 Inch Rims....I guess the upside is you could wheels on the cheap...from JC Whitney in the form of Trailer rims!

 

The truth of the matter was I didn't catch the difference at first. I went to look up what the Fiesta was going to look like and see who was going to make it since Kia no longer makes cars for Ford. I couldn't find any info about sharing this car with Kia in the years I knew were made by Kia, so I did a search on the cars they had in the 90s before I was reminded that was called the Festiva instead of the Fiesta. I think they should call it the Escort since that nameplate brings back memories of fuel economy, adequate reliability, and looks no uglier than what this model is going to be. Considering that name will not be as easy to confuse with the Festiva (and won't have as severe negative image if taken incorrectly) it would be a wiser choice, plus it provides name variety and reminds people of the better days of Ford's history. The only name I can think of which could cause confusion is with the Escape with having the same first three letters, but considering that the Escape is successful and not an absolute cheap piece of junk (unlike the Festiva), it wouldn't be as high a price to pay for confusion.

 

Speaking of Escorts...still blown away we haven't seen an onslaught of small diesels. 56 MPG for the Diesel Escort, even at 4 a gallon the math works out....

 

It is partly due to environmental regulations that they can't bring the diesels over until they get them up to a obsessive compulsive standard, the other issue is Ford is stubborn, clueless, and stubborn. My uncle who worked for Ford for 30 years have debated I don't know how many times about this. He cites the failure back in the 80s of diesels and refuses to understand that people want diesels. This is something the Big Three are going to come in on in about 5-10 years after Honda and Volkswagen introduce their offerings here after they prove the demand exists despite the proof that already exists from the sales of the Diesels offered in small SUVs, the high demand for used Volkswagens, the demand for used Mercedes E-classes, and their 3/4 to ton trucks.