CNBC TV Special - "Ford: Rebuilding an American Icon"

[TrainTrac]

Set your DVR's for tomorrow night. This looks like a really good special on Ford Motor Company's amazing comeback from the brink of devastation.:supercool:

CNBC goes behind the scenes at the Ford Motor Company to tell the inside story of its astonishing comeback just a few short years after nearly collapsing. Youll meet the tireless and steel-nerved CEO, Alan Mulally, who bet nearly everything the company had in his quest to steer it back from the brink. More astoundingly, Ford rescued itself without a government bailout, unlike rivals General Motors and Chrysler. Today, Ford appears to be a company with a bright future, but one shadowed by a mountain of debt.



CNBCs Phil LeBeau was granted remarkable access to the companys inner workings, introducing viewers to an unlikely pair of engineers charged with breathing new life into a legendary but tarnished Ford nameplate, the Explorer. The program also profiles the Ford family, who unlike many other famous American business clans, have never given up their hold on the family firm.



Well also take you to the front lines of the brutally competitive automotive industry, the rapidly expanding car markets of South Asia. Fords toehold in India, where it is investing heavily, is small, but tenacious, and the blue Ford oval is becoming increasingly commonplace on the crowded and exotic streets of the worlds fastest growing auto market.

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[scott degroot]

I'll have to give it a watch. On a side note anyone watching the stock price lately...I couldn't be happier, just wish I had bought more than 1200 shares when they were giving it away.

 

[gary s]

imo, a very good doc.

i learned a few things that i was impressed with.

ford was able to rebound from bad times (economy,recalls,poor quality,etc.) and be successfull to move back as a major player.



a must see doc, a good job by ford.



i didn't notice of the escort. imo as the taurus, the escort was a great econobox hatch.



i wonder how some feel about the new figo being mfg by ford in india. almost all employees are native from india.

is that the same as toyota building vehicles in the USA, employing US citizens?





.

 

[EddieS'04]

The video keeps locking up my computer. I have to shut it down with task manager. Then restart my browser.....:banghead:

 

[Tom Schindler]

The new Explorer is like 8 MPG better than the Camry?



Seriously? I find that hard to believe. Not that the Camry is better gas mileage than most vehicles out there, but an SUV/CUV better than a car is hard to swallow.



I know my 354,000 mile Escort gets better gas mileage than a Camry, just about any Toyota really, I find it hard to believe that an SUV/CUV does better than a car.



Of course, a Camry is a TURD, so maybe Alan is right.



On a side note, very interesting. I know Mulaly did a great job, but seriously, he only pointed out the obvious. Build vehicles people want. Build it as best as you can. Make it the most affordable.



It doesn't take a college education to point out the obvious. :angry:



Being in Quality Control for the past 15 years, I have learned that the truth hurts. If it isn't great, it is bad. It is never "good enough" or "it will do". If it isn't they way it should be, it isn't acceptable. If it doesn't work right, it doesn't work. Those salary employees should have been fired on the spot for not doing their jobs like they were paid to do. Don't BS me. If you lie to make it look good, you should pay the price.



As Donald Trump would say... "You're Fired!".





Topm

 

[gary s]

"i wonder how some feel about the new figo being mfg by ford in india. almost all employees are native from india.

is that the same as toyota building vehicles in the USA, employing US citizens?"



"I know my 354,000 mile Escort gets better gas mileage than a Camry, just about any Toyota really,"

2010 camry 4cyl mpg est 22/32.

how can your escort get better gas mileage if it is running a 12 second 1/4 :bwahaha:



"Of course, a Camry is a TURD, so maybe Alan is right."

geeee, then why is it the best selling midsize family sedan the past 11 out of 12 years? :cheeky:



"It doesn't take a college education to point out the obvious" :grin:

 

[Kevin Lang]

Well also take you to the front lines of the brutally competitive automotive industry, the rapidly expanding car markets of South Asia. Fords toehold in India, where it is investing heavily, is small, but tenacious, and the blue Ford oval is becoming increasingly commonplace on the crowded and exotic streets of the worlds fastest growing auto market.

Kudos to Ford, considering that they have to compete with that 5,000 USD car which seats three and only comes with one mirror standard...that TaTa motors piece of $%T! that has been posted here before.

"i wonder how some feel about the new figo being mfg by ford in india. almost all employees are native from india.

is that the same as toyota building vehicles in the USA, employing US citizens?"

It's not the same. In the Toyota scenario, America gets a tiny portion of the money raked in (salaries, property tax..oh wait, nm on that one), and Japan rakes in the Mother Lode.



In this Ford scenario, we toss In-Jah a few rupees, but America gets the bulk of the profits, and that's the ideal scenario

"It doesn't take a college education to point out the obvious"

But it does take one to actually implement the obvious...not because of the learning that you receive (read as "teach yourself") in college, but because without that degree to qualify you, no one will take you seriously. Colleges hit the jackpot when they made their product essential.

.I couldn't be happier, just wish I had bought more than 1200 shares when they were giving it away.

And I'm still kicking myself as I bought 0 shares. :sad: