Ford Death Watch

Ford death watch can the blue oval be saved before its demise

Ford to Offer Chinese Version of Mustang Mach-E

Ford announced that a Chinese version of the Mustang Mach-E, also known by some of us cynical scribes as the Mustang Mock-E, will be built in China by Changan Ford.

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Junkyard Find: 2011 Mercury Mariner, Last Gasp of the Mercury Brand Edition

Ever since I found one of the very last Oldsmobiles in a Denver car graveyard, I’ve been keeping my junkyard eye open for other final-year-of-marque Detroit machinery. We’ve got the 1998 Eagle, the 2001 Plymouth, and the 2010 Pontiac, and now it’s time for one of the very last vehicles to wear the Mercury badge: this 2011 Mariner Premier.

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Deliveries of Mach-E Stall

According to macheclub.com, the arrival of your Ford mock ‘Stang may be delayed, although no reason had been given until now, when the enthusiast site reached out to Ford for comment.

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Mach-E Delivers Everything but the Mustang

The first Mach-E delivery took place yesterday, according to macheclub.com. Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford in Dallas, Texas was the dealership, and the vehicle was a California Route 1 Mach-E in white.

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Ford Death Watch 49: Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

Will Ford go bankrupt? I doubt it. Not while the “bad” automakers that suckled on the federal teat go on and on and on and on. A FoMoCo C11 would expose the government’s Detroit bailout for what it was/is: unfair, ineffective, ill-conceived and unsustainable. Politically, Ford’s failure is not an option. If push comes to shove, Uncle Sam will send Ford more Department of Energy loans, some juicy subsidies and generous tax breaks; anything and everything up to and including cash money. This despite—I mean because of the fact that Ford is guilty of the same sin that sank GM and Chrysler: taking in less money than they spent. Political calculations aside, is it even possible that Dearborn’s darlings will be forced—forced I tell you—to prostrate themselves in front of federal taskmasters? Once again, to answer that question, feel the burn.

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Ford Death Watch 48: 'til the Cows Come Home

Speaking of barnyards, someone forgot to tell Ford watchers not to count their chickens until they hatch. The MSM is ready, willing and able to pronounce the Blue Oval Boyz’ turnaround plan for the ailing American automaker as good as done, and skip the “it worked!” part of CEO Big Al Mulally’s canonization. The Detroit News is down with this fait accompli meme. “As one fund manager who controls a sizable chunk of Ford’s stock and bonds put it: ‘The biggest threat to Ford’s future is that Mulally steps off the curb tomorrow and gets hit by a bus.’ Such sentiments, blunt as they may be, are a testament to the progress Ford has made since Mulally took over as CEO in September of 2006. He predicts the company should settle into profitability by late 2011.” So that’s it, then, save “Mulally is no stranger to success” and “He’s been an agent of change” and “For many Ford employees, he has rock-star status” and I think they ought to think it out again.

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Ford Death Watch 47: Taurus! Taurus! Taurus!
By all accounts, the refreshed Ford Taurus is an excellent car. Easy-to-drive, economical, well-built, comfortable, capacious and handsome. As a sign of its…
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Editorial: Ford Death Watch 46: Fauxcus
Editorial: Ford Death Watch 46: Fauxcus
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Ford Death Watch 45: Drive One. Act Two?
Ford Death Watch 45: Drive One. Act Two?
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Editorial: Ford Death Watch 44: A Time to Die
Chrysler Suicide Watch 44: A Time to Die
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Editorial: Ford Death Watch 48: Branding Isn't Everything
Ford Death Watch 48: Branding Isn't Everything
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Ford Death Watch 47: The Man With the Plan
In a recent article, The Economist wondered if Detroit's automakers would win their "race against time." In other words, will Ford, GM or Chrysler return to…
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Ford Death Watch 46: The Toyotafication of Ford
At one time, the nations of Europe took great pride in their cavalry divisions, horses and men numbering tens of thousands. Then Gatling gun made its debut,…
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Ford Death Watch 45: Last Man Standing Pt. 2
I recently bought a dishwasher. Investor Kirk Kerkorian (a.k.a. “The Lion of Las Vegas”) bought 20m shares of Ford Motor Company. As a percentage…
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Ford Death Watch 44: Captain Kirk Bets on The Last Man Standing
Ford is in play.
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Ford Death Watch 43: Drive One… What?
Ford's new marketing campaign is confused.
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Ford Death Watch 42: Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch
Automotive News recently published an interview with Ford's group vice president of human resources. Joe Laymon mentioned the names of six brass hats Ford co…
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Ford Death Watch 41: Time to Bail
TTAC's Matthew Neundorf analyzes Ford's '07 financial results.
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Ford Death Watch 40: Mercury R.I.P.
Ford is about to kill its Mercury division, and for good reason too.
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Ford Death Watch 39: Bah Humbug
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas; at least in Dearborn. Ford has reinstated merit raises for their white collar workers. Bonuses for its blu…
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Ford Death Watch 38: Wiggle Room
So Ford and the United Auto Workers (UAW) have hammered-out a new deal. Our fave sage Daniel Howes over at The Detroit News hailed the tentative agreement wi…
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Ford Death Watch 37: Is Mulally Making the Grade?
The House that Henry Built was close to ruin when Junior Bill fell on his sword to bounce Boeing’s best to The Blue Oval. One year later, BusinessWeek…
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Ford Death Watch 36: What Profit a Man?
Last week, Ford exceeded Wall Street’s expectations by reporting a profit. A profit! As in, the American automaker took in more money than they spent!…
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Ford's Death Watch 35: Everything Must Go
Desperate times, desperate measures. Ford Motor Company has retained the services of three investment banks to advise it on the sale of Jaguar, Land Rover an…
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Ford Death Watch 34: PAG Pegs Out. Who Will Buy Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo?
Adoption is a lengthy process. Prospective parents must submit to all kinds of scrutiny to prove themselves suitable child care providers. And for good reaso…
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Ford Death Watch 33: Good, Fast, Cheap or None of the Above?
Last year, the Ford Motor Co. lost $12.7b. The company is carrying $188b in debt. Its bonds are non-investment grade. It’s got to the point where less…
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Ford Death Watch 32: Taking Stock
At Thursday's annual Glass House Gang get-together, eight of ten shareholder proposals got the axe. The kyboshed suggestions include a mandate to disclose th…
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Ford Death Watch 31: David Mamet's Hair Splitting TV Ads Miss Their Mark
In 1997, Kiwi film director Lee Tamahori brought playwright David Mamet’s words to the silver screen in an Alec Baldwin/Anthony Hopkins vehicle called…
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Ford Death Watch 30: Executive Compensation
In the first three months of his employment, Ford CEO Alan Mulally earned himself a cool $28.2m. So how’s the high flying ex-Boeing exec doing in his c…
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Ford Death Watch 29: Funkmaster Flex Expedition? Shelby GT-500KR? Ford F-150 Foose Edition? Pimp My Nothing
"We are absolutely going to do what it takes to keep our product fresh and keep it relevant in the market.” Now THAT’S what I’m talking abo…
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Ford Death Watch 28: Alan Mulally Wants to Be Where the People Are
Back in ’98, the BBC aired a fly-on-the-wall documentary series called “Back to the Floor.” A camera crew followed five British bosses who…
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Ford Death Watch 27: Staking the Raises
February’s sales figures are in. Ford continues to sing the blues. While FoMoCo’s spinmeisters invite us to savor the consistency of their domest…
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Ford Death Watch 25: The Transmogrification of the Taurus
Sin City’s casinos are designed to create the illusion of chance. Vegas’ neon lights, chiming bells and piped-in oxygen keep hopefuls dazed, conf…
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Ford Death Watch 24: Jaguar: Momento Mori
Once upon a time, a dapper German auto exec named Wolfgang Rietzle dreamed of running BMW. When the Bavarians gave Wolfie the cold shoulder (twice), he left…
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Ford Death Watch 23: There Are 12k Parts in an Average Ford. This is a Story About Four of Them.
Enthusiasts don’t tend to wax eloquent about seat tracks. They’re the automotive equivalent of the sliding rails that support file cabinet drawer…
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Ford Death Watch 22: The Spin Starts Here
The Detroit News recently enlisted J.D. Power and Associates to help explain Detroit's pressure drop, and figure out how Ford and the other 1.5 can stop the…
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Ford Death Watch 21: We're Number Three!
The average American car buyer is completely unaware of Ford’s financial troubles. They don’t know Alan Mulally from Bertie Ahern. They don&rsquo…
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Ford Death Watch 19: Ford By Name, Four'd By Nature
November’s sales figures are out, and FoMoCo’s treading unfamiliar waters. For the first time since, well, ever, Dearborn’s darlings find t…
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Ford Death Watch 18: Betting the Farm
To combat the commonly held (if accurate) belief that FoMoCo’s product pipeline is drier than a Vermouth-free martini, FoMoCo recently unveiled the &ld…
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Ford Death Watch 17: Dealer or No Dealer?
As bad as Ford’s third quarter results (version 1.0) were for Dearborn’s darlings, the future doesn’t look much better. Ford’s Chief…
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Ford Death Watch 16: Bold Snooze
Last Friday, JWT invited me to the Big Apple to discuss their Bold Moves internet documentary series. The ad agency wanted to interview "one of Ford’s…
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Ford Death Watch 15: Those Who Do Not Learn From History
The new CEO of the company walked into the boardroom. The mood was grim. Recruited from another company in another industry just a few months previously, he…
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Ford Death Watch 14: The Race is On
Is there any doubt that that Ford is heading for Chapter 11? Sure. There are plenty of auto industry eggheads and company officials who continue to believe t…
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Ford Death Watch 13: Ford Feels Edgy
Star Trek based many of its best episodes on simple homilies. In “The Lights of Zetar” (Star date 5725.3), Memory Alpha is attacked. Creatures fr…
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Ford Death Watch 12: By the Numbers
First the good news. For the first time in eight long months, George Pipas, Ford's man in the crosshairs Manager of Sales Analysis, could deliver glad tidi…
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Ford Death Watch 10: Wielding the Culture Club
This morning, I met with a management consultant who works for The Big Two Point Five. Back before the recent “unpleasantness,” Ford’s top…
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Ford Death Watch 9: Capacity Utilization is Job One
Auto industry analysts have cast their beady eyes on The Blue Oval's third turnaround plan, and they don’t like what they see. Despite the fact that Bi…
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General Motors Death Watch 91 / Ford Death Watch 8: GM and Ford To Merge?
The idea that Ford and GM will merge or, as they say these days, “form an alliance” is yet another sign that we’re reaching the End of Days…
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Ford Death Watch 7: Jump Down Turnaround
Another day, another turnaround plan. For those of you keeping score, Ford’s “Way Forward 2.0” is actually the third version in four years.…
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Ford Death Watch 6: Is Alan Mulally Billy Ford's Human Shield?
Thirty-five million dollars, the keys to the corporate jet and a Detroit McMansion is a pretty good compensation package for any aspiring executive. Obviousl…
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Ford Death Watch 5: Can Mulally Get Ford to Straighten Up and Fly Right?
Was he pushed or did he jump? Either way, Billy Ford’s resignation as CEO of the family firm is yet more proof that The Blue Oval’s in big troubl…
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Ford Death Watch 3: With Friends Like These…
It’s been said that walking on quicksand with helium balloons will keep you from going under. Now that The Blue Oval has finally realized that the sand…
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Ford Death Watch 2: The Way Fordward
Last month, Toyota sold more vehicles in North America than Ford. Understandably, The Blue Oval Boys have refrained from public hand-wringing over their disp…
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Ford Death Watch 1: Desperate Times
Although GM’s woes are increasingly well known, the House of Ford is also in dire straits. The Blue Oval’s credit has been downgraded almost as o…
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