Ford Market News

[Dirtymilkman]

We always joked Ford stood for F*cking. Owner. Really. Dumb. ..........I think we can change the O to Officers. 

[kscarbel2]

Ex-Ford design chief J Mays joins appliance maker

Nick Bunkley, Automotive News  /  September 17, 2018

Longtime automotive designer J Mays is going from Ford Mustangs and F-150s to washing machines and refrigerators.

Mays, 63, who retired as Ford Motor Co.'s chief designer in 2013, has been appointed vice president and chief design officer of Whirlpool Corp., an appliance maker headquartered in western Michigan.

At Whirlpool, Mays will be charged with "translating consumer insights, needs and wants ... into next-generation product design concepts," the company said in a statement Monday. His job starts Oct. 15.

"Throughout my career, I've learned the importance of finding an emotional connection with the customer," Mays said in the statement. "My interests extend far beyond automobile design, and that's why this opportunity caught my eye. I look forward to leading and collaborating with the already strong Whirlpool Global Consumer Design team. The team has a wealth of talent, is vibrant and passionate and a driving force behind creating customer interest, desire and satisfaction."

Since leaving Ford, Mays has held consulting and advisory roles including in the movie industry. He also has been a visiting professor at the Royal College of Art in London.

Mays worked in the auto industry for three decades, including early-career stints at Audi, Volkswagen and BMW. He created concept cars that led to the Audi TT and Volkswagen New Beetle.

He joined Ford in 1997, taking responsibility for a portfolio that comprised eight brands at the time and leading development of concepts including the Ford Interceptor, Fairlane, Shelby GR-1 and 427, Jaguar F-Type and Lincoln MKZ.

His production designs included the 2013 Ford Fusion, 2012 Focus, 2011 Fiesta and 2010 Taurus, as well as the 2004 and 2009 F-150, 2005 and 2010 Ford Mustang, 2005 Ford GT and 2008 Jaguar XF.

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[james j neiweem]

Whirlpool truck on the way?

[Hayseed]

He & "Office Furniture man" can compare notes..

[kscarbel2]

Ford Offers Fleet-Only Options for 2019 Transit Connect

Paul Clinton, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  September 18, 2018

Fleet managers who purchase the 2019 Ford Transit Connect compact van will have a choice of several options not available to retail buyers, including an exclusive engine with a natural gas prep package and other options.

The 2019 Transit Connect is entering its third generation with plenty of upgrades that include a new diesel engine choice, an array of driver-assisting technology, connectivity, and fuel-saving technology. Ford has been selling the compact van in the U.S. since 2009.

"Fleets have embraced the Transit Connect for its maneuverability, flexibility and efficiency," said Tim Stoehr, Ford's general fleet marketing manager. "The compact van does even more for our customers, adding two new drivetrains, including the only diesel in the segment, as well as smart, intuitive technology such as standard pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection, standard embedded modem, standard Side Wind Stabilization, available blind spot alert with cross-traffic alert, available lane keeping system, available wireless phone charging and available adaptive cruise control."  

Among the three available engines, Ford will offer a 2.5-liter iVCT inline four-cylinder gas engine with a CNG/propane autogas prep package as a fleet-only option on XL and XLT cargo vans and XL passenger wagons. It will be paired with a six-speed automatic (SelectShift) transmission and standard 60-amp battery that's rated at 590 CCA (cold cranking amps). An optional heavy-duty 80-amp battery is rated at 800 CCA.

Other fleet-only options include a third-row seat delete in the wagon, carpeted floor cover for all rows, and two engine governors to cap top speed at 65 mph or 75 mph.

Ford's MyKey programmable ignition key remains standard for Transit Connect XLT. The feature enables fleet administrators to set warnings and limits for vehicle speed, and restrict the entertainment system's audio to 45% of maximum volume.

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[kscarbel2]

Longtime Ford finance whiz Schloss to retire

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  September 20, 2018

DETROIT -- Neil Schloss, who helped Ford Motor Co. avoid bankruptcy during the Great Recession and became CFO of the automaker's mobility arm, plans to retire at the end of December, Ford said Thursday.

Schloss, 59, has spent 36 years at Ford and served in a number of financial roles, including a decade as treasurer.

He most notably helped the automaker secure a $23 billion loan in 2006 by mortgaging most of its assets to help survive the economic downturn. Then in 2009, Schloss led a creative debt buyback plan that cleared $10.5 billion off Ford's books for $3.5 billion in cash and equity.

In 2016, he became the founding CFO of Ford's mobility unit, which was created to explore and invest in mobility services, information technology and global data insight and analytics. Ford said it would name a successor at a later date.

"For almost four decades, Neil has played an important role in driving our business forward," Ford CEO Jim Hackett said in a statement. "It was appropriate that he finish his career at Ford by helping to start the businesses that will be core to our future."

Schloss reports to Marcy Klevorn, president of Ford Mobility.

"Under Neil's leadership, we have been able to establish Ford Mobility as a robust business unit designed to create value for the company for years to come," Klevorn said in the statement. "We're fortunate that someone of Neil's global experience and deep knowledge was able to guide us through this important foundational stage of our company's transformation."

Ford's mobility arm has invested heavily in self-driving vehicles and is exploring alternative modes of transportation, such as shuttle services and bicycle rentals.

Schloss joined Ford in 1982 in the controller's office at Ford Aerospace, where he held a variety of positions. He joined Ford's treasurer's office in 1991.

Since then, he has held a number of positions in funding, risk management, international financing, banking and trading with both Ford and Ford Credit.

Schloss was appointed treasurer and elected a corporate officer in March 2007.

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[kscarbel2]

Ford paid $90M for Detroit train station, city records show

Kirk Pinhom Crain's Detroit Business  /  September 24, 2018

DETROIT -- The dilapidated Michigan Central Depot in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood -- which Ford Motor Co. plans to transform into a campus dedicated to electrified and autonomous vehicles -- was purchased by the automaker for $90 million, according to government records.

The disclosure on the city's property sales history page puts an end to months of speculation about how much the automaker ponied up to the Moroun family for the vacant building off Michigan Avenue.

A purchase price of $90 million puts the purchase price at $150 per square foot for the 600,000-square-foot depot, which has long been seen as emblematic of a city that decayed over decades.

In comparison, General Motors in 1996 purchased its Renaissance Center headquarters -- a couple of miles from the train depot -- for $75 million.

Dennis Bernard, founder of Bernard Financial Group, a prominent commercial real estate finance company, was surprised by the cost.

"DAMN!!!!!," he said in an email to Crain's Detroit Business, an affiliate of Automotive News.

Ford finalized the depot purchase May 22, according to public records. The company is seeking nearly $239 million in local, state and federal incentives for its planned $740 million campus in the Corktown neighborhood west of downtown, with the train station as the focal point of the 1.2 million-square-foot project that is expected to bring 5,000 autonomous and electric vehicle technology workers to the area.

The company's new Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC subsidiary will be based primarily at the campus.

The 104-year-old depot is expected to be turned into about 313,000 square feet of office space, about 42,000 square feet of residential space spread across 40 or so units, 43,000 square feet of commercial space and 60,000 square feet of event space.

A nearby former Detroit Public Schools book depository is expected to be transformed into 205,000 square feet of office space and 20,000 square feet of commercial space.

A former brass factory is set to be leveled starting later this year. What will rise in its stead is expected to be a 290,000-square-foot building with 247,500 square feet of office/lab space along with 42,250 square feet of commercial space.

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[kscarbel2]

Lightning Systems Debuts All-Electric Ford E-450 Cutaway

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  September 24, 2018

Lightning Systems announced new battery-electric powertrain options for the Ford E-450 suttle bus and Ford E-450 cutaway.

The new Lightning Electric models for the Ford E-450 will be available in 14,500-pound gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) with an all-electric range of 110 miles. Orders are being accepted immediately, and delivery of the new products will begin by the end of 2018.

“We’ve become the only stop you have to make to get zero-emission vehicles for all of your fleet needs,” said Tim Reeser, CEO of Lightning Systems. “This follows our strategy of electrifying popular high-quality platforms in the Class 3 to 8 segments. Fleets can get the job done around town or on the worksite, while saving fuel and meeting their sustainability and environmental goals.”

The new Lightning Electric Ford E-450 model will offer peak power of 220 kW, which is the equivalent of 295 hp. Torque is rated at 700 Nm, equal to 516 pound-feet. There is a five-year, 60,000-mile warranty on the powertrain with maintenance performed by trained local dealers. Clean fleet vouchers and incentives are available in many states through the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust.

The new model will have an electric range of 110 miles – depending on route and driver. Full regenerative braking, with industry-leading efficiency, adds range while reducing wear and tear on the friction brakes. Featuring a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery system, the new Lightning Electric Ford E-450 will accommodate a full charge in two hours with DC fast charging.

In addition to the new all-electric E-450, existing vehicles can be repowered to be zero-emission trucks and shuttles with the Lightning powertrain.

Lightning Electric is available for the Ford E-450 as part of Ford’s eQVM (Advanced Fuel Qualified Vehicle Modifiers) program. Ford’s vehicle warranty covers the base chassis for vehicles with the Lightning drivetrain. Ford QVM participants perform installations and service. Earlier this year Lightning Systems began deliveries of the Lightning Electric upfit for the heavy-duty Ford Transit, which is also covered by Ford’s eQVM program.

Lightning Analytics, a cloud-based analytics system that provides predictive maintenance, route scoring, range analysis, driver behavior, and geofencing for maximum range and efficiency, is available as an option on every Lightning Electric vehicle. The analytics system provides fleets with real-time information to operate their fleet at peak efficiency.

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[kscarbel2]

Ford CEO Says Metals Tariffs Took About $1 Billion From Profits

Jim Hackett, president and chief executive officer at Ford Motor, discusses the automaker's focus on new technologies and the impact of the U.S.-China trade war. He speaks with Bloomberg's David Westin on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas" at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York on Sept. 26, 2018.

Video - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-09-26/ford-ceo-says-metals-tariffs-took-about-1-billion-from-profits-video

[kscarbel2]

Ford expands partnership talks with VW, Mahindra to cut costs

Ben Klayman, Reuters  /  September 26, 2018

DETROIT -- With its stock trading near a 6-year low late last month, Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Hackett gathered the automaker's top 300 executives near its headquarters in Michigan for a global leadership meeting.

Hackett's message: Ford must put in motion plans to restructure its business now in order to secure promised costs savings, Ford executives present at the meeting said.

"We have clarity of purpose and now it's time to take action," Hackett told Reuters in an interview.

A key part of that plan to save money calls for Ford to deepen partnerships with other automakers around the world to share factory floor capacity and develop vehicles together, Ford executives told Reuters.

Specifically, they said Ford is engaged in talks with Germany's Volkswagen AG and India's Mahindra about expanding product and technology alliances.

With Volkswagen, discussions are focused on how to expand a commercial vehicle tie-up they previously announced to include collaboration in South America and Europe -- where Ford is losing money -- and co-develop other types of vehicles, according to a Volkswagen executive and two sources familiar with Ford's thinking who asked not to be identified.

Pablo Di Si, CEO for Volkswagen in Latin America, told Reuters the companies are studying a partnership in Brazil and the talks are "advancing positively," although he did not expect an announcement until 2019.

A VW spokesman declined further comment on the alliance discussions.

An expanded alliance would give Volkswagen access to some of Ford's most profitable vehicles, including the Transit commercial vans and Ranger compact pickups, said the two sources. VW could also help Ford strengthen its money-losing South American and European operations by combining vehicle production in those markets, the sources said.

Separately, product sharing talks are underway with Mahindra & Mahindra, including using the Indian automaker as a benchmark to bring down supplier costs in the region, two other people familiar with Mahindra's plans said. The first vehicle from the platform they are jointly developing will likely be launched in 2020, they added.

A spokesman for Mahindra did not respond to a request for comment.

The twin efforts are meant to help remake Ford in conjunction with the $11 billion restructuring it outlined for the next three to five years. Ford needs to improve profitability because it is investing billions of dollars to develop electric and self-driving vehicles, and gearing up for a major roll out of products over the next two years.

Hackett, who recently spoke with the heads of Volkswagen and Mahindra, told Reuters the alliance talks are going well and hold a lot of promise for Ford. He declined to comment on specific deal structures being discussed or locations, however.

Broader product and cost-sharing deals with Volkswagen and Mahindra could allow the No. 2 U.S. automaker to reduce the number of different vehicles it builds and shrink engineering and purchasing costs, Ford executives said.

Fewer vehicle architectures, combined with increased numbers of electric vehicles, would also help Ford reduce the number of plants and employees it needs for that work over the next several years, according to the two sources familiar with Ford's thinking.

The moves are aimed to help Ford hit its goal of doubling global pretax profit margins to 8 percent by 2020, up from 4.3 percent in the second quarter of this year.

Hackett remains under pressure to show results. The stock is down about 24 percent this year.

"Hackett's job really is to cut the costs," said Edgar Wachenheim III, chairman of Greenhaven Associates, which is Ford's ninth largest investor with almost 33 million shares at the end of June. "You have this possibility that Hackett can eliminate the $4.5 billion of losses [in its weaker operations] that were there in 2017 and the earnings will shoot up."

The capital demands currently in the industry have never been greater, Ford executive vice president Joe Hinrichs told Reuters at the company's headquarters outside Detroit.

"A big opportunity is around leveraging other people's strengths," Hinrichs, who is president of global operations, said of the alliances. "There's a lot of opportunity to share capital, share engineering resources."

Ford and Volkswagen said in June they were discussing whether to jointly develop and build a range of commercial vehicles, including vans. The commercial vehicle deal is a "quick win" and more will follow with VW, said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's executive vice president in charge of Ford's product development.

"If you look on paper, we complement each other really well," he said of Ford and Volkswagen. "There's opportunities for some synergies without us stepping on each other."

Alliances also offer automakers the chance to share the costs, Hinrichs said.

"Everyone wants higher capacity utilization, but they want someone else to come to their capacity, and so we have to work through that," he said.

In Europe, Ford's Mondeo sedan and S-Max, C-Max and Galaxy minivans are set to be phased out when they reach the end of their product lives over the next several years, two other people close to the company said. That will ultimately lead to capacity cuts and job losses at assembly plants in Valencia, Spain and Saarlouis, Germany, the sources said.

The level of optimism at the annual leadership meeting last month about Ford's transformation was high, and now those executives want to get the message out more broadly to employees, according to Ford's Thai-Tang.

"We have the right plan," he said. "We now have to go execute and execute quickly."

[kscarbel2]

2020 Ford F-150 hybrid to be built at Dearborn Truck Plant

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  September 27, 2018

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. will build the upcoming hybrid version of its F-150 pickup at its truck plant in Dearborn, Mich., company officials said Thursday.

The vehicle, announced in 2015, will feature a gasoline-electric motor that can double as a mobile generator. Until now, it had been unclear whether the automaker would build the hybrid model in Dearborn or in Missouri at its Kansas City Assembly Plant, which also makes F-150s. The F-150 hybrid is due out as a 2020 model.

"It's going to be a truck that takes you farther, without sacrificing power, and a truck that lets you do more when you get there, with electricity for everything, from your tools to your camping gear," Executive Chairman Bill Ford said at an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of Ford's Rouge manufacturing complex in suburban Detroit, which includes the Dearborn Truck Plant. "When it comes to building the best trucks in the world, we never rest. Whether they're gas, diesel or hybrid — or, when the time comes, fully electric — they will power the world in a sustainable way and remain built Ford tough."

Workers in Dearborn produce one F-150 every 53 seconds on average. The pickup is one of 28 vehicle models that have been built at the Rouge, where Ford currently employs 7,500 workers on three shifts.

"To us, it's more than a factory," Bill Ford said. "It's a source of pride for generations of workers who have built the best cars and trucks in the world. It's an all-American symbol of strength, opportunity and hope; a place where we've always been creating tomorrow together."

In addition to the product news, Ford and the UAW announced Thursday that Ford has invested $35 million to upgrade a technical training center a few miles from the Rouge complex, expanding the site by 50 percent to 120,000 square feet.

The automaker had agreed to the investment as part of its 2015 contract with the union.

[kscarbel2]

What's behind Hackett's new strategy at Ford?

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  October 1, 2018

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co.'s stock price has tumbled into single digits, analysts have publicly questioned its communication strategies and grasp of today's industry, and its credit rating is back on the brink of junk status.

A decade after the automaker's brush with collapse, clouds of uncertainty have settled over Ford World Headquarters again. An abrupt CEO change 16 months ago — the second time Henry Ford's great-grandson has installed an automotive novice to protect his family's legacy — has done little to appease shareholders and analysts.

Outside Ford, and among some within it, there is mounting impatience with $9 shares and the vagueness of the vision that CEO Jim Hackett has articulated thus far. Up on the 12th floor, Hackett admits that some organizational changes have taken about four months longer than he would have liked. But he bristles at the notion that Ford isn't moving fast enough, the stated flaw that felled his predecessor.

"We're addressing some long-term issues, and we're going to do those in very thoughtful and orderly ways — not chaotic ways," he told Automotive News last week. "We're not in a crisis. The company's in great shape."

Interviews with a half-dozen senior executives last week revealed new details of how the company is implementing Hackett's transformation plan, which includes new vehicle architectures, redesigned product lineups, a shortened order-to-delivery process and revamped organizational structures around the globe.

"All those things are evidence of what you would do as you're trying to make a company better," Hackett said. "It's why I'm not at all reeling from the criticism, because I know what we're doing from behind the scenes."

Bill Ford, the executive chairman whose last name adorns the roof just above Hackett's office, continues to give the CEO his full-throated support.

"I don't think it's even close to a crisis," Ford told reporters last week at a 100th anniversary celebration of the automaker's storied Rouge manufacturing complex. "We're still making good profitability."

Those profits, which were absent the last time Ford needed to execute a turnaround plan, appear to be buying time for Hackett, who conceded that he needs to produce concrete results. Ford might have alleviated some of the concerns last week, at a long-anticipated investor day, but a few months ago, it canceled the event while signaling the need for an $11 billion global restructuring.

"We're worried Ford does not have a good handle on either the operational or strategic levers of the global business," Barclays analyst Brian Johnson wrote July 26 in a blunt note to clients. Last week, Johnson wrote that, even if Ford fixes or sheds the unprofitable parts of its business, "We see little earnings upside and limited potential" for the stock price to rise considerably.

Hackett said he doesn't believe the Wall Street angst is "as pervasive as represented," noting that one analyst who had been critical of him apologized in person during a visit to New York last week. He said Ford has spent the first 16 months of his tenure developing 19 "fitness projects" to improve every aspect of the business.

"There's no one I know anywhere within 12 months of a company that's this old that in that short time is giving some kind of detail that answers every single question I was facing," Hackett said.

"We're about action now," he said. "I've made it clear to my team we have to demonstrate results. CEOs' licenses are extended based on results. I'm not worried that they aren't there, because all [of] these things we've built."

Product focus

Many of those decisions center on revamping Ford's vehicle lineup by cutting failing nameplates, entering new segments and investing to redesign models that are at the end of their product life cycles.

"There's nothing in this business that great, new product can't help solve," Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of global operations, told Automotive News.

Some of the biggest product challenges have been overseas. Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets, said the company is focused on fixing its operations in China, where it's addressing stale product with a blitz of 50 new models by 2023, and in Europe, which has become a money loser again after briefly returning to profitability.

"The work we're doing in China and Europe are key to the company's financial performance," Farley said. "These launches and the growth opportunity of improving profit really come down to those products and how they land in the market."

And while North America continues to generate the bulk of Ford's global profits, the company is trying new ways of ensuring it's giving customers what they want.

After Kumar Galhotra was promoted to Ford's president of North America in March, he took over the 11th floor of Ford's headquarters, converting executive offices into makeshift "franchise rooms" for individual nameplates. He also created meeting rooms to bring together communication, manufacturing, purchasing and customer-service teams that previously worked in different buildings.

The idea is to treat each vehicle as its own business and focus on how to make it profitable as the company strives for 10 percent profit margins in the region.

"How do we truly, as a team, drive the business?" Galhotra asked during an exclusive tour of the franchise rooms. "After a lot of thought, we settled on driving it through product lines. We're going to move fast and be clear in our objectives."

Wednesday meetings

There are 13 rooms, one for each vehicle line. Galhotra and his team spend an hour in each room beginning every Wednesday, working their way through Ford's portfolio from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a one-hour break. The meetings routinely spill over into Thursday, and then the group starts each Friday with two hours at Ford's fledgling campus in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood, where work on electric and autonomous vehicles is being concentrated. Afterward, leadership team members meet back at headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., to review whether they reached their goals for the week.

Inside the franchise rooms, sheets of data cover the walls, detailing every aspect of a particular model with brightly colored charts and graphs. Each vehicle has a thermometer that's filled in to depict how close it is to annual profitability goals for each model year through 2020. (Ford provided the tour on the condition that more specific details not be shared publicly.) Some rooms have newspaper ads for competitive models tacked up.

And most rooms don't have chairs. The roughly 20-person team that meets each week prefers to discuss the issues standing around a center table.

"The thinking about what needs to be done and the action are happening at a much faster clock speed here in the same room," Galhotra said. "The objectives are clear."

The new format has helped deliver "very substantial progress" on vehicle profitability, Galhotra said, although he declined to elaborate.

"We've been able to overcome substantial headwinds like commodity prices and tariffs," he said. "We've improved margins versus where we thought we were going to be."

One recent Wednesday, the team was cooped up in the Expedition room trying to figure out why dealers were complaining about low inventory, even though the SUV's days-supply level was normal. After looking at the data, the team determined that Expeditions built with 8-inch touch screens were turning fast, while those with 4-inch screens stayed on dealer lots much longer.

Galhotra's team immediately decided to stop installing 4-inch screens and build more Expeditions with the 8-inch screens.

"We were able to isolate the issue and get the right product to the customer," Galhotra said. "The whole thing happened in a one-hour period."

Dealer communication

Executives said Ford wants to take a more active role with its dealers. After an April announcement that Ford would stop selling sedans in North America, members of its dealer council were upset they weren't involved in the move sooner.

Hinrichs acknowledged the process could have been more transparent.

"We could have spent a little more time explaining why we made the decision, what the ramifications of that would be and the opportunity to allocate that capital into other segments and products, especially with our dealer network," Hinrichs said. "We've listened, and we've learned from that for other announcements that we make."

Ford will get a chance to show improvement this month, when roughly 5,000 members of Ford's retail network descend on Las Vegas for the company's national dealer meeting.

Over the course of 28 hours, dealers will hear directly from Hackett about the direction of the company. They'll get to see new products, including the next-generation Escape and Explorer; they'll preview accessories for Ford's upcoming off-road utilities; and they'll get to drive vehicles such as the new Ranger midsize pickup and the GT supercar on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The retail network will hear from Galhotra and Mark LaNeve, Ford's vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service, about the go-to-market strategy for the company's newest products. Ford also plans to give dealers the first glimpse of an advertising campaign debuting in the fourth quarter.

"Our dealers are solidly behind our leadership and the company," LaNeve said. "I feel like we have solid roots to grow the tree."

Work to do

Hackett, known as a big thinker who tackles problems from a high-level view, admitted his leadership style may take a while to catch on.

"My history has been that I can cause a confrontation of ideas — not necessarily people — and it takes time to work its way through," he said. "At the highest levels of the company, the temperature's much better. As you go down in the organization, there's still angst and lack of understanding, which is a test for how effective I can be in communicating and leading. I know that gestation period takes longer."

Bill Ford last week said he's pleased with his CEO's performance and decision-making speed. Asked to compare the company's current struggles with past rough periods, he said the automaker is still operating from a relatively strong financial position.

"Do we have work to do? Yes, we do," Ford said. "But we're investing heavily in the product, we're investing heavily in the future and there's really nothing we want to do that we can't do."

Hackett said he has a "quiet confidence" that every decision executives are making now eventually will help improve Ford's sagging stock price.

"There's a myth that says I'm only worried about the vision stuff," he said. "I was brought in because I know how to make the two work well — the current business and the evolving state.

"I would never make it in my last job if all I did was sit around and dream. It's about designing a business to win."

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[kscarbel2]

Would you like fries with that EcoSport?

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  October 1, 2018

A concept imagined 20 years ago is finally bearing fruit — and vegetables and cheese and meats — at Marcotte Ford in Holyoke, Mass.

The family-owned dealership recently underwent an $8 million renovation, nearly doubling its size to 40,000 square feet. But despite the glistening new showroom and well-equipped service center, the main attraction isn't an F-150 or Mustang — it's LugNutz Cafe. The full-fledged diner, which serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday, has increased sales and improved morale within the company, dealership leaders say. A version of the cafe existed in the old showroom but only served breakfast two days a week.

The idea was thought up 20 years ago by Bryan Marcotte, who trademarked the name in 2014, according to his son, Mike Marcotte, the dealership's president. He said his father, now treasurer at Marcotte Ford, got the idea after reading in Automotive News about a dealership that served breakfast.

"It's something that's kind of unique," Mike Filomeno, the general manager, said. "People who have to go to the dealership, it's like the dentist — you don't want to do it. Now, it's not a task or chore that they dread anymore. They enjoy coming down."

The dealership hired a consultant who owns a restaurant in the area to help design the diner. It's open to the public in addition to dealership customers and employees and is staffed by two full-time and two part-time workers.

The menu features Ford-themed food, such as the Galaxy Salad, Explorer Omelets and a number of pizzas labeled GT Specialties, Filomeno said. Everything is priced under $10.

"It's a bigger draw than the new dealership right now," Mike Marcotte said.

The rest of the dealership, which opened last month and has a grand opening planned for the fall, is worth talking about, too, he said.

Marcotte sells about 1,500 new, used and fleet vehicles per year and employs 114 workers, who needed more space. They had been in the same building since 1967, six years after it was founded by Mike Marcotte's grandfather, Al Marcotte.

"We just outgrew the facility based on what's going on in the marketplace," Filomeno said. "We knew we had to change to stay in business, survive and grow."

The team traveled to showrooms near Ford's headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., to see the latest facility improvements and design styles that Ford was implementing before it embarked on the 14-month project.

Marcotte tore down its 25,000-square-foot showroom to make way for the new building.

During construction, the team moved into a former Hyundai dealership building across the street that Marcotte purchased. That space will be used for its commercial sales department, and the showroom will feature F-series trucks and Transit vans.

"That enabled us to have a home and keep business going," Filomeno said. "It was a struggle in service, but we didn't miss a beat in sales."

Marcotte now has 48 service bays across the campus, which includes the commercial truck center, a car wash and a separate

Quick Lane

facility. It also has a 120-vehicle rental fleet with 2016 to 2018 model-year vehicles.

The renovated dealership features a drive-in service area with new lifts, equipment, flooring and exhaust systems. It also has a computer room for technicians to take Ford's online certification classes.

"They're upbeat, really excited to have a new workplace," Filomeno said of the workers. "They're proud of where they're working. We see an uptick in their attitude."

The new showroom is opening as Ford prepares for a product blitz in North America. The automaker is dropping all of its cars except for the Mustang and reinvesting in its SUVs, crossovers, pickups and vans as it attempts to offer the industry's freshest lineup by 2020.

Over the next two years, Ford will redesign its Escape and Explorer crossovers and introduce off-road utilities to better compete with brands such as Jeep. That should help Marcotte, Filomeno said, because it sells a large number of four-wheel-drive vehicles, which are popular during East Coast winters.

The EcoSport, launched this year, has also been a big seller, Filomeno said. And officials expect high demand for the upcoming Ranger midsize pickup and Bronco off-road SUV.

"We're excited about what's coming down the pike," he said. "We're making a huge investment, and we're totally committed to Ford and all the products."

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[kscarbel2]

They copied the idea from Galpin Ford, who does it best.

https://www.galpinford.com/horselesscarriage/

[Red Horse]

Let's face-Hackett is a genius..meetings that last 10+ hours and..."most meeting rooms don't have chairs".   good way to weed out the older staff with arthritic knees!

[james j neiweem]

If Ford wants to get back into the heavy truck business in the US- buy Mack from Volvo.

[Maxidyne]

Volvo Trucks will run Mack into the ground before they'll sell it.

[bulldogboy]

110 years ago today, October 1, 1908 - the introduction of the Ford Model T. How did that work out for them?

bulldogboy

[kscarbel2]

Ford to end Focus output in Argentina

Paul Lienert, Automotive News  /  October 1, 2018

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. plans to stop building the Focus compact car in Argentina in May 2019 as it seeks to stem losses from its operations in South America.

Ford said it will continue to build Ranger compact pickups at its Pacheco plant in Argentina, which employs about 3,440 people. A spokesman said it was "too early" to say if there would be layoffs at Pacheco once the Focus ceases production, but the company was in talks with the union that represents workers at the plant.

Once one of Ford's most popular models, the Focus will no longer be built in the Americas after 2019, although it is expected to continue in production in China and Europe, where redesigned versions were just introduced.

Ford said South American customers, like their counterparts in North America, are increasingly choosing SUVs and crossovers over traditional passenger cars like the Focus.

The U.S. automaker, meanwhile, is discussing joint vehicle development with Germany's Volkswagen Group in Europe and South America.

Last week, Pablo Di Si, chief executive for Volkswagen in Latin America, told Reuters the companies are studying a partnership in Brazil and the talks are "advancing positively."

In a statement on Monday, Ford said it is evaluating "multiple alternative investment projects" in South America, where "a significant redesign of our business model is required to determine where and how we should participate" in the market.

VW currently builds a Ranger-size pickup called the Amarok at its own plant in Pacheco and said last year that it plans to add a new SUV, the Tarek, in 2019.

Ford may add one or two new crossovers to its Pacheco plant in 2021-2021, according to a supplier source familiar with the automaker's plans.

The two companies previously shared vehicle development and assembly in South America in a joint venture called Autolatina, that was dissolved in 1995.

General Motors said earlier this year it was planning for long-term profitability in South America, built on the back of draconian cost cutting and the introduction in 2019 of the same low-cost vehicles it is developing for Chinese consumers.

Ford earlier this year stopped building the Focus in Michigan, blaming declining U.S. demand for passenger cars. In late August, it also scrapped a plan to import a version of the next-generation Focus from China because of the prospect of higher U.S. tariffs.

[kscarbel2]

Ford's Stock Slump Sends Dividend Yield to Highest Since 2001

Bloomberg  /  October 2, 2018

Ford Motor Co.’s plummeting share price has sent its dividend yield to the highest in 17 years, an indication of just how rich a disbursement the company is paying during troubled times.

The automaker’s stock fell to $9.20 on Tuesday, the lowest close since August 2012. That means Ford’s 15 cents a share quarterly dividend currently has an annualized yield of 7.93 percent, a level last seen in September 2001.

Wall Street has warned that Ford may have to pare back its dividend -- the most generous among its automotive peers -- as earnings evaporate overseas and the company initiates a restructuring that it’s said may cost $11 billion and take as much as five years. The company has insisted it’ll maintain the payout.

[kscarbel2]

Ford's 2019 Transit Connect Wagon gets 29 mpg on highway

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  October 3, 2018

Ford Motor Co.'s freshened Transit Connect Wagon gets best-in-class highway and combined EPA fuel economy ratings, but the automaker said it is aiming even higher for its new, yet-to-be-rated diesel offering.

The passenger wagon, on sale now, comes standard with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine mated to an eight-speed transmission. The long wheelbase, front-wheel-drive model gets an EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings of 24 mpg city, 29 mpg highway and 26 mpg combined. That is an improvement over the previous generation's 19 mpg city, 27 mpg highway and 22 mpg combined.

The 2019 Transit Connect beats the Nissan NV200 Cargo Van's 24 mpg city, 26 mpg highway and 25 mpg combined rating, and also leads the 2018 Ram ProMaster City's ratings of 21 mpg city, 28 mpg highway and 24 mpg combined.

But Ford is expecting to crack the 30 mpg barrier with its upcoming 1.5-liter EcoBlue diesel engine. Ford says it expects "at least" 30 mpg when the engine earns its EPA rating sometime early next year.

Ford unveiled freshened passenger wagon and cargo van versions of its Transit Connect small van earlier this year. The cargo wagon has not yet been rated.

Officials say the wagon accounts for about 15 percent of Transit Connect volume, but Ford hopes to grow that to 20 to 25 percent.

It will offer a class-leading towing capacity of 2,000 pounds when equipped with an available trailer tow package, Ford says. The vehicle also comes with a host of new driver-assistance features.

The refresh is meant to further grow Ford's dominant share of the commercial vehicle segment.

Last year, Ford sold 34,473 Transit Connects in the U.S., down 20 percent but nearly double the sales of the second-place NV200. Ford owned about a 45 percent share of the compact van segment in 2017 and hopes to grow that number by targeting active baby boomers who might not be able to afford a traditional minivan or large crossover.

The Transit Connect's U.S. sales fell 9.3 percent to 23,218 units through September of this year, Ford's monthly sales report said on Tuesday.

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[Jamaican Bulldog]

For the first time since the 70s Ford will not have a small car to sell in NA. Meanwhile you can't turn around without seeing a Honda Civic or similar cars on the road which those manufacturers figured out some how to sell profitably even if they crossed the Pacific. 

Today it was announced to us  by  Ford that due to poor demand it will drop 8 more configurations of the Fusion that was available for the 2019 model year after already (wisely) reducing the number significantly. What is striking to us as dealers in the NE is that one of those configurations will be mid level leather equipped SEL model with AWD. Orders for that package before 9/28 will still be built but Ford didn't warn that they may drop it at all. The SEL replaced the SE luxury package which had leather and that model with AWD was one of our best selling models. To get leather and AWD now customers have to go up to the more expensive Titanium model.

What Ford did not explain is how they came to the 'poor take rate' reason to drop this model. For months Ford was not scheduling orders for AWD Fusions told dealers their was a shortage of the 2.0 ecoboost engine which is needed for the AWD models (except the high performance Sport model which uses the 2.7 ecoboost). Thus customers got pissed and bought something else.

Then they said for the 2019 models they would only schedule slow selling hybrids in August and would divert lease support to the same slow selling hybrids and plug ins away from the better selling gas models. Plus they would stop advertising sedans! Not to mention the bad publicity that they will drop sedans.

So they restricted the availability of the car, took away sales support and they blame it on slow demand?

This is why Ford is so screwed because they have people in charge including Bill Ford who should be doing something else. Like I have said before, if a car company of this size and resources can't figure out how to sell fine vehicles and make a profit while others can it says something about the people in charge and not he car or the market. 

[Red Horse]

37 minutes ago, Jamaican Bulldog said:

For the first time since the 70s Ford will not have a small car to sell in NA. Meanwhile you can't turn around without seeing a Honda Civic or similar cars on the road which those manufacturers figured out some how to sell profitably even if they crossed the Pacific. 

Today it was announced to us  by  Ford that due to poor demand it will drop 8 more configurations of the Fusion that was available for the 2019 model year after already (wisely) reducing the number significantly. What is striking to us as dealers in the NE is that one of those configurations will be mid level leather equipped SEL model with AWD. Orders for that package before 9/28 will still be built but Ford didn't warn that they may drop it at all. The SEL replaced the SE luxury package which had leather and that model with AWD was one of our best selling models. To get leather and AWD now customers have to go up to the more expensive Titanium model.

What Ford did not explain is how they came to the 'poor take rate' reason to drop this model. For months Ford was not scheduling orders for AWD Fusions told dealers their was a shortage of the 2.0 ecoboost engine which is needed for the AWD models (except the high performance Sport model which uses the 2.7 ecoboost). Thus customers got pissed and bought something else.

Then they said for the 2019 models they would only schedule slow selling hybrids in August and would divert lease support to the same slow selling hybrids and plug ins away from the better selling gas models. Plus they would stop advertising sedans! Not to mention the bad publicity that they will drop sedans.

So they restricted the availability of the car, took away sales support and they blame it on slow demand?

This is why Ford is so screwed because they have people in charge including Bill Ford who should be doing something else. Like I have said before, if a car company of this size and resources can't figure out how to sell fine vehicles and make a profit while others can it says something about the people in charge and not he car or the market. 

Excellent post coming from someone who is on the frontline dealing with the customer.  GE sacked their CEO after one year- Time for Ford's board to take a look at the "cerebral thinker" that is running the show.  And while many blame Fields for lack of new models, seems to me the decisions being made now about what choices the customer has have nothing to do with Fields.

[kscarbel2]

Ford to idle Transit van output for 2 weeks

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  October 4, 2018

Ford Motor Co. will suspend output of the [full-size] Transit van at a Kansas City assembly plant for two weeks this month because of a slump in commercial orders for the top-selling large van.

Roughly 2,000 workers on two shifts at the factory will be temporarily laid off.

In a note to employees Wednesday, the plant's labor relations office said workers will be laid off for two weeks starting Oct. 22. Workers on temporary layoff receive roughly 80 percent of their take-home pay.

"We are matching production with demand, as we always do," Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said in a statement.

U.S. sales of the Transit rose 14 percent to 106,463 through the first nine months of the year, outpacing the overall large van segment, but deliveries fell 15 percent in September. A majority of Transit sales are to commercial fleets, and order timing varies throughout the year, Felker said.

Workers who also build the F-150 pickup at Ford's Kansas City Assembly Plant are unaffected by the plans to suspend Transit output. The plant's F-150 production lines were idled earlier this year after a fire at a Michigan supplier halted output.

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[kscarbel2]

Meanwhile, Ford-Otosan, Sollers-Ford and JMC (Ford minority owned) keep cranking out Transits.