“Why can’t we make money on small cars?” Mr. Mulally said, according to two people in attendance. “Do you think Toyota can’t make money on small cars?”

At virtually every management meeting, Mr. Mulally would repeatedly refer to charts showing that smaller vehicles constituted 60 percent of the global automotive market.

Each time an executive suggested that Ford’s future lay in expanding its truck business, Mr. Mulally pulled the charts out.

I don’t disagree with your statement—just think it is a myopic view through the lens of the auto industry. This is SOP in corporate America when bad results are announced…rightly or wrongly.

Ford Focus, while different looking, is still just the same. Can you get a hybrid, diesel, or electric Focus? Just a fuel burning four banger model? Not even an “XFE” version?

And Ford thinks because they changed how the car looks or where it was built that it would suddenly be a hot seller? Same old car underneath!

I think the cheerleading article should become a series; maybe “Cheerleader of the Week,” or something…and not just for the pictures.

That said, however, I must extend my thanks to you for giving us a temporary reprieve from yet another picture of a wrinkly old man, large-headed woman, or boring old lithograph.

As for the Euro Fords coming out of Mazda and Volvo – so what, at least FOE had the sense to use them if that is the case. If true, Ford Europe had the sense (and humility?) to recognise superior product and adopt – finally getting rid of the “not invented here” attitude tha Alan is grappling with in the glass house ‘back home’.

BTW, I also like the Focus Cabrio, nice looking car, but did Pininfarina really engineer it, or just do the styling and assembly? Don’t see many around though.

We already have an assortment of Birth and Deathwatches running.

How ’bout a “2010 Watch”, intended to be a simple running list of things promised to us in that year?

A quick review of recent items here reminds of these topics, and there are certainly others…

For 2010, we’re promised:

- All new Ford products
- The Chevy Volt
- First M/yr for the new Camaro (out in ‘09)
- Chevy Cruze (maybe)
- New Porsche Cayman
- GM scheduled to make a profit. Or not.
- Entire Mercedes line is turbo’d
- A hybrid version of the next-gen Golf
- More electric vehicles than Amtrak
- A new Honda supercar

How ’bout it, Boss?

And I would start by bringing over any Ford that the guys at Top Gear love.

Mark Fields ran PAG not FoE. PAG still didn’t turn a profit (surprise surprise, Mr Fields). Ford Americas needs someone like Lewis Booth, not Mark Fields.

As for the “goodies” of the Mondeo and Focus, have them! Seriously, take them off our hands! I drove the Focus (twice) and hated it. There’s only one Ford car I like which is the Ford Focus Cabriolet and Ford didn’t engineer that, it was Pinifarina.

Out of all of the Detroiters, I wanted Chrysler to succeed.

I have a new slogan for Ford: Reborn From Jets :).

Bravo, Robert….Bravo!

I may actually get back to reading it…

This whole contention that Mazda and Volvo engineer all of Ford’s cars thing is not accurate. For example, the C1 platform is Ford derived. Mazda and Volvo use it for their vehicles. The C1-2 underpinning the Focus launching in 2010 is Ford-driven. The upcoming B platform is a Ford-Mazda partnership – not Mazda-sourced. Ford’s EUCD was a heavy Volvo-Ford partnership. The existing D3s in the U.S. are based on the old P2 that was Volvo-sourced, but has been significantly changed by Ford to meet evolving crash standards and vehicle dynamics and stretched significantly in size. The current D3-2 under the Flex and MKS is very different from the original P2 and is almost all Ford with some Volvo partnership.

I guess I am a Ford cheerleader, because I want to make sure that facts about Ford (and generally the Detroit 3 – although Chrysler I can’t describe as anything other than a disaster right now) are straightened up, like above.

I’m a big fan of RW and BL in general, but it’s hard to argue that GM is facing issues that call for some dramatic as opposed to gradual responses.

Mark Fields was in Europe, sent there to run FoE (or was it PAG?) after his stint with Mazda, but was recalled (no pun intended) to Ford North America.

As for the best cars deriving from Volvo/Mazda, aren’t you forgetting all of the goodies you Brits get to enjoy: Mondeo, Focus, etc? While maybe not engineered in Dearborn, they are ALL Ford products whether built in England, Sweden or Japan and all it takes is someone to kick butt (go Alan go!) to make it work in America.

I applaud a great hire by Bill Ford.

Mulally does seem to get it. Just a matter of if there is enough time and money to save the company. Expect a big dead cat bounce on the stock.

We still don’t have all the facts yet, though. I have to believe that there will be some ‘gems’ in the announcement tomorrow…