Fortune's Alex Taylor's Mea Culpa; Ford as Sacred Cow

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Inside baseball alert. If you’re more interested in Metamucil than meta memes, this post’s not for you (I recommend any of the 1,345,483 website dedicated to bowel health). Otherwise, check out Alex Taylor III’s “ Readers revolt over Ford.Fortune‘s carmudgeon apologizes for the grievous sin of suggesting that Ford’s product quality may be middling. “As I should have explained more fully in the [previous] column, the 2010 rankings averaged reports from CR readers on all the cars in a given company’s lineup. Ford’s results were pulled down by the poor performance of the F-250 pickup truck and the troubled all-wheel-drive systems on Ford passenger cars.” And that information should be excluded because . . . ? “While my column was technically accurate, it didn’t pass the smell test with readers who thought I showed bias against American cars.” Question: what the hell is going on here?

I reckon Taylor’s apologizing for doing his job properly. You might speculate that a rebuke from the Boys in Blue triggered this mea culpa, but I couldn’t possibly comment.

I promise to pay more attention to the appearance that my columns create as well as the content. Journalists shouldn’t be cheerleaders, but they shouldn’t be so consistently negative that they lose their audience, either.

Taylor’s summation—indeed, the existence of this column—suggests that Three Sticks believes the need for “balance” (and/or audience retention) relieves him of his obligation to serve as an industry watchdog. Wrong answer. Meanwhile, Taylor’s sword-falling routine reflects a wider trend: the digital deification of Alan Mulally and Ford.

While Ford is Detroit’s Last Man Standing, they’ve got a long way to go (cough Lincoln cough). Just as positive press did nothing for GM or Chrysler, showering Ford with hosannas is not going to help them repay their $10 billion Department of Energy loan. No matter what its camp followers want to believe. The press job is not to do or die; it’s to question why.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • PeteMoran PeteMoran on Nov 09, 2009

    @ Pch101 A news reporter is supposed to report news, not just pitch his own opinion. A news reporter is not a journalist. I don't think you're arguing that, BTW. I wasn't referring to such a person. When I think of news-analysis, opinion-editorial and journalism I think of Woodward/Bernstein, Christopher Hitchens, Clifford Levy, Paul Foot etc... Nick Davies has an excellent book about the deterioration of journalism into "news" of no valve, arguing no case. Roy Greenslade is an interesting thinker on the topic too. ... opinion may not permeate every article, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Agreed, but what I was meaning is that you get too many columns/shows on extremely important issues that work to this formula;

    Byline here. Some say that position/fact/theory 'A' is important, yet others say position/fact/theory 'B' is important. Balanced sign-off. It's garbage. There is no provocation to critical thought.
  • Jamie1 (of Ford) Jamie1 (of Ford) on Nov 09, 2009

    All, While I appreciate that many may chose to be cynical about this, I can only give you the truth from this end. We did not lean on/attack/'get to' or otherwise attempt to jump on Alex Taylor's remarks. In fact, we got an e-mail from an astonished colleague with his letter attached which was the first we knew about it. Anyone who knows Alex Taylor will know that he cannot be lent on by anyone - he is very much his own man as his previous articles on Ford, GM and others will attest. As I say, you may chose to not believe us, but this is the Truth About Cars so take that at face value. Kind regards, Jay Ward Ford Communications

  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
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