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Ford projecting 50% sales growth by 2015

Jeff Glucker — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 22:28:00 +0000

Filed under: Car Buying, China, Ford, India

Alan Mulally has done a lot of good for the Blue Oval brand, but the Ford CEO still has big plans for the automaker. In fact, Mulally's goal is to see a 50 percent increase in global sales by the year 2015. An ambitious target, which would see Ford selling nearly eight million vehicles around the world.

How does Mulally expect to achieve this substantial growth? According to USA Today, Ford plans to increase its footprint in the growing markets in Africa and Asia, with a specific focus on the Chinese car-buying public. Small cars will be the key to increased sales in those markets. Ford hopes to make make money on these lower-margin vehicles through sheer volume thanks to the growth potential of these still-emerging markets.

Ford projecting 50% sales growth by 2015 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford to outsell GM in March?

Chris Shunk — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:35:00 +0000

Filed under: Car Buying, Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials

March sales don't end until Thursday evening, but an Edmunds sales forecast suggests that Ford could beat General Motors in sales for the first time since February, 2010. The Blue Oval is projected to sell 210,000 vehicles for the month, up 34 percent from February figures. Edmunds sees GM having a solid month as well, but the crystal ball sees 208,000 sales for The General, up less than one percent from February sales.

One reason for GM's sales slump is a reduction in incentives from February levels, as the Detroit, MI-based automaker slashed incentives by an average of $700 per vehicle. That sounds like a massive drop in rebates, but keep in mind that GM was the industry leader in incentive spending for the first two months of the year. Meanwhile, Ford bumped up spending by a reported $84 per vehicle, mostly due to an effort to clear last-generation Focus sales as the 2012 models begin heading into dealerships.

Edmunds also sees a big March for the rest of the industry, with Toyota expected to move 181,000 units, followed by 135,000 vehicles for Honda, 117,000 for Nissan and 112,000 for Chrysler. Don't forget that these are merely projections for March numbers, and anything can happen between now and Friday.

Edmunds also mentions that sales dropped off as March wore on, as the Japan disaster, international conflicts and high gas prices began to wear on sales. Stay tuned to Autoblog for our official By The Numbers post as the figures roll in.

[Source: Edmunds Auto Observer | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]

Ford to outsell GM in March? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Alan Mullaly, Bill Ford Jr. get huge bonuses from Blue Oval *Update

Aaron Richardson — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:32:00 +0000

Filed under: Etc., Ford, Earnings/Financials

Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford, Jr. and Chief Executive Alan Mulally have reportedly been given big-time bonuses by the Blue Oval for keeping things moving when General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy. Mulally received $56.5 million worth of Ford stock before taxes and Ford got stock worth $42.4 million.

Ford, Jr. hired Mulally from Boeing in 2006, before they went around to different banks to secure restructuring loans to stay solvent through the lending crisis and economic recession. In 2010, Ford saw its best year since 1999, clearing $6.6 billion in profits.

To add to their enormous bonuses, ~~the Los Angeles Times says that Ford, Jr. and Mulally opted to purchase Ford stock at $14.76 a share~~. *Update: Ford tells us that Ford, Jr. and Mulally do indeed have stock options but have not cashed them in at this time. Market value of Ford stock rose three percent today to $14.46 a share.

[Source: Los Angeles Times | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Report: Alan Mullaly, Bill Ford Jr. get huge bonuses from Blue Oval *Update originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Alan Mullaly, Bill Ford Jr. get huge bonuses from Blue Oval

Aaron Richardson — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:32:00 +0000

Filed under: Etc., Ford, Earnings/Financials

Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford, Jr. and Chief Executive Alan Mulally have reportedly been given big-time bonuses by the Blue Oval for keeping things moving when General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy. Mulally received $56.5 million worth of Ford stock before taxes and Ford got stock worth $42.4 million.

Ford, Jr. hired Mulally from Boeing in 2006, before they went around to different banks to secure restructuring loans to stay solvent through the lending crisis and economic recession. In 2010, Ford saw its best year since 1999, clearing $6.6 billion in profits.

To add to their enormous bonuses, the Los Angeles Times says that Ford, Jr. and Mulally opted to purchase Ford stock at $14.76 a share. Market value of Ford stock rose three percent today to $14.46 a share.

[Source: Los Angeles Times | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Report: Alan Mullaly, Bill Ford Jr. get huge bonuses from Blue Oval originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford to add 7,000 workers to U.S. manufacturing in next two years

Jeff Glucker — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:27:00 +0000

Filed under: Etc., Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Ford

Ford has announced plans to start a hiring onslaught and over the course of the next two years the automaker will add more than 7,000 employees to its ranks. Hiring both salaried and hourly employees, Ford is looking for a few good men and women in the States. In 2011, it plans to hire around 4,000 folks to fill positions at a number of plants including 1,800 positions opening up at the Louisville Assembly plant.

The Blue Oval is also on the hunt for a range of engineers to help further development of electric vehicles. Ford is looking for experts with a specialized knowledge of the various components required to make electric cars go. Those positions aren't Detroit-centric either, as Ford has openings in cities like Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati and San Jose.

Check out the full press-release after the jump for more information.

[Source: Ford]e

Continue reading Ford to add 7,000 workers to U.S. manufacturing in next two years

Ford to add 7,000 workers to U.S. manufacturing in next two years originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford’s Big Goal in 2011: Get out of junk status, lower loan rates

Chris Shunk — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Filed under: Ford, Earnings/Financials

2010 was a banner year for Ford Motor Company. Market share and profits were as good as they've been in years, and there is genuine buzz surrounding the Blue Oval's cars and trucks. Heck, even Ford's stock has been a monumental success. But not all that glitters is gold, as Ford is still mired in junk bond status, which in turn makes it more expensive to borrow money. That makes it more pricey for Ford to offer incentives to customers, and lease terms are less attractive than they would otherwise be.

K.R. Kent, Ford's new executive director of investor relations, is charged with getting Ford out of Junk status. Automotive News reports that Ford has been in junk status since 2005 and is currently four grades below junk status after being upgraded by two levels back in August. Ford CFO Lewis Booth admits that the company still has "a lot of steps to go before we get to investment grade." Making the matter more urgent for Ford is the fact that Ally Financial, the finance arm for General Motors and Chrysler, became a bank holding company in the second quarter of 2009. Since that time, AN says that it has been cheaper for Ally to secure loans than Ford Credit.

We're thinking that Ford has a big job in the year ahead, and getting out of junk status will likely take improved auto sales and continued quarterly profits. Booth says Ford will reach its junk-free goal by showing the investment community "authoritative and highly credible insight into our automotive business and Ford Credit."

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

Ford's Big Goal in 2011: Get out of junk status, lower loan rates originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Ford looking to divest nearly all of remaining Mazda stake

Noah Joseph — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:27:00 +0000

Filed under: Ford, Mazda, Earnings/Financials

2011 Mazda BT-50 - Click above for high-res image gallery

Any casual observer of the automotive industry today could tell you that American automakers have been shedding entangled divisions like a dog in the springtime. While Chrysler teamed up with Fiat, General Motors got rid of Hummer, Saab, Saturn and Pontiac, and over the past few years, Ford has all but entirely eliminated its overseas properties, selling Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Volvo to the highest bidders. So what's next? According to emerging reports, Mazda looks to be up on the butcher block in Dearborn.

As it is, Ford's current stake in Mazda is not anywhere as big as it was in JLR, AML or Volvo. But even its modest 11 percent interest in the Japanese automaker is set to drop to just a few lingering shares according to Reuters.

Word of the impending split has sent Mazda shares falling, but the outlook for the Zoom-Zoom carmaker could be a lot better going forward. Although Mazda may need a new partner at some point in the future in order to remain competitive in a rapidly centralizing industry, the Japanese automaker could wait it out for a while as an independent, capitalizing on its own technologies while fending off takeover bids from overseas.

From a product lineup standpoint, models developed using Ford components and technologies - like just-introduced Ford Ranger-based BT-50 compact pickup truck pictured above - will likely continue until they've outlived their life-cycles (if not long thereafter), but the future looks to be wide-open for new vehicles after that.

[Source: Reuters]

Report: Ford looking to divest nearly all of remaining Mazda stake originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford unhinges rest of its Explorer-filled, SEMA-bound toybox

Jeff Glucker — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:58:00 +0000

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA Show, Ford, Design/Style

Galpin Auto Sports Explorer - Click above for high-res image gallery of Ford customs to debut at SEMA

SEMA 2010 is just around the corner and Ford has supplied a number of vehicles to various aftermarket tuning companies ahead of the festivities. The 2011 Ford Explorer is just one of the vehicles receiving the tuner treatment, but it's getting a lot of attention. Ford has supplied three of them to different companies, to create three different styles: Urban, Luxury and Adventure.

The Urban style was handled by Funkmaster Flex and the Team Baurtwell shop. The crew from GAS, or Galpin Auto Sports, turned its Explorer into a high-end machine for Luxury. CGS Motorsports handled Adventure and added lifestyle touches to the 'ute while still providing an upscale, custom feel.

Other vehicles wearing a Blue Oval at SEMA include;

2011 Lincoln MKX by ID Agency
2011 Ford Taurus SHO by Rick Bottom Designs
2011 Ford Taurus SHO by H&R Springs
2011 Ford Edge by K-Daddy Kustomz
2011 Ford Fusion Sport by Steeda Autosports

You can view each vehicle in the gallery below, and a full press release is available after the jump.

Gallery: Ford's lineup for SEMA 2010

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford unhinges rest of its Explorer-filled, SEMA-bound toybox

Ford unhinges rest of its Explorer-filled, SEMA-bound toybox originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford settles $131m Explorer rollover case

Dan Roth — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:29:00 +0000

Filed under: SUV, Government/Legal, Safety, Ford

Ford's second-generation Explorer has just cost the company $131 million. Despite the popularity of the seminal SUV, it's had more than its fair share of legal scrapes regarding its rollover resistance. And while the Explorer/Firestone tire kerfuffle has long since exited the headlines, the Blue Oval continues to get its pocketbook dinged by the SUV. According to Autoblog sister site AOL Autos, this week, a jury in Jackson, Mississippi was to decide on possible punitive damages in the lawsuit over the death of Brian Cole, a promising baseball player headed for the New York Mets. Ford settled with the family over the matter of the 2001 rollover accident after a jury awarded $131 million in damages. Punitive damages were the next decision the jury was to consider before Ford settled.

Ford apparently disagrees with the blame placed on its vehicle, saying that the 22-year-old Cole was speeding and not wearing a seatbelt. Cole died from injuries sustained after being ejected from his Explorer during a rollover accident on a Florida highway. His cousin, Ryan Cole, survived the accident, which Ford attributes to the use of a seatbelt and the Explorer's crash performance. While a settlement can be taken as a de facto acknowledgement of the Cole family's claims that the Explorer is inherently unstable and its safety belts can fail in rollovers, the automaker maintains that it didn't receive a fair trial, and settled to bring closure to the issue.

[Source: AOL Autos]

Ford settles $131m Explorer rollover case originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES promises the democratization of fun

Chris Paukert — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:57:00 +0000

Filed under: Budget, Hatchback, Ford, Reviews

2011 Ford Fiesta SES - Click above for high-res image gallery

Remember when economy cars offered few concessions beyond roll-your-own windows, rear window defrosters and AM radios? It was only a handful of years ago that features on our 2011 Ford Fiesta SES tester would've qualified it for premium car status - if indeed items like Bluetooth, SYNC, a capless fuel fill and knee airbags were even available.

There's no denying the steady trickledown of luxury goods into workaday iron, and the Fiesta is rolling proof.

As you might also recall, back about 10 years ago, Ford executives and those charged with its British outpost, Jaguar, worked themselves into a froth over the possibilities offered by 'The Democratization of Luxury' - boldly and conveniently overlooking that when a premium feature becomes affordable to everyone, it ceases to be a luxury at all. And while this sort of marketing doublespeak was the undoing of the ill-conceived Jaguar X-Type - and perhaps the undoing of Ford's ownership of Coventry's favorite feline altogether - there's no denying the steady trickledown of luxury goods into workaday iron, and the Fiesta is rolling proof.

Of course, any automaker can lash a bunch of features onto a car and call it a day, but it's not a real value unless all of those baubles and braze-ons are bungeed to a platform and drivetrain whose creators have that whole engineering 'special sauce' thing figured out. In other words, the democratization of luxury is one thing - but does the Fiesta deliver the democratization of fun? Click through to the jump to find out.

Gallery: Review: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES

Continue reading Review: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES promises the democratization of fun

Review: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES promises the democratization of fun originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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