Harley Lover Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 (edited) According to the Wall Street Journal, anyway. Some interesting quotes: Ford Motor Co.’s board of directors is extending its scheduled meetings this week so it can press Chief Executive Mark Fields to clarify his strategy as the company’s stock price languishes and its U.S. market share recedes, according to people familiar with the situation. and While Chairman Bill Ford and other directors support Mr. Fields, they are urging him to heighten his focus on growth opportunities, the people said. This one is questionable: Ford’s closest rival, General Motors Co., also is investing in technology and is far ahead on electric cars. Ford doesn’t plan to launch a long-range battery-powered vehicle until 2020. Interesting fodder for conversation, the entire article is here: http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/fords-board-turns-up-heat-on-ceo/ar-BBAWOkk?li=BBnbfcN&OCID=HPDHP Edited May 10, 2017 by Harley Lover 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Hopefully his days are numbered. He isn't good long term for Ford in a head leadership roll. MBA's always run an auto company into the ground when given the highest position. All they care about is the highest short term profitably, future investment and product development be damned. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coupe3w Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 (edited) Ford shares have fallen 35 percent since Fields became CEO July 1, 2014. Time for a phone call to Alan Mulally I think. Edited May 9, 2017 by coupe3w 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Ford shares have fallen 35 percent since Fields became CEO July 1, 2014. Time for a phone call to Alan Mulally I think. I don't disagree. He should still be involved in some capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Being first isn't always ahead of everyone...GM has had several electric vehicles over the years and that still hasn't kept them from bankrupt. Not sure what the deal is with stock prices. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danglin Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Hopefully his days are numbered. He isn't good long term for Ford in a head leadership roll. MBA's always run an auto company into the ground when given the highest position. All they care about is the highest short term profitably, future investment and product development be damned. Time to focus (no pun intended) on the core business. Building great vehicles!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcartwright99 Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 In the meantime, Tesla keeps getting valued higher and higher. For what, niche rich people play toys, never making a profit, continue to miss product dates.....??? I don't get wallstreet. For every Amazon, that didn't make money for a long time, there were about 100 pets.com's out there. I still see Tesla being bought within 3 years after the model 3 trickles out with loads of problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snooter Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Everybody thinks they can become a car company and unseat detroit..reality is 180 opposite though...so who gives a crap what silicone valley us up to..no cares on lectric auto at this time..sure spend some bucks but with gas this cheap nobody is activly pushing lectric development much..... Im not sure what to make of fields....what has he exactly screwed up...fields is looking pretty good to me as he has not fricked much up..if you want stock price up close plants down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinaw Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Ford’s closest rival, General Motors Co., also is investing in technology and is far ahead on electric cars. Ford doesn’t plan to launch a long-range battery-powered vehicle until 2020. We all know how successful electric vehicles have been in the marketplace. Tesla is minting money selling the Model S and X. And yes, I'm being sarcastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 All they care about is the highest short term profitably, future investment and product development be damned. Which is why Ford has been dramatically cutting back on incentives and production and choosing to carry lower short term profit margins than GM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Ford shares have fallen 35 percent since Fields became CEO July 1, 2014. Time for a phone call to Alan Mulally I think. Yes sir! As I mentioned before on this site, when Alan left Ford Motor Company, the discipline that he established left too. Fields seems to be trying to do a lot of things at Ford. Many of those things aren't well thought out or too late. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Many of those things aren't well thought out or too late. Name five and provide external citations for each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consult1 Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Fields, or Ford lunder pressure? I thought vision and strategy were the domain of his boss, and that Field's primary role was one of execution of the vision/strategy. Investment in the core business is clearly affected by BoD approved changes in future direction of the business and vehicle offering (electric, autonomous, et.al). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Alan had the guts to tell the company that "enhancing investor value" was not the end all to the business. The problem with Ford stock is the "Family Class" of shares that prevents it from doing any better than it is currently doing on Wall Street. The "Family Class" of shares is what prevents takeovers, but it also hampers the rest of the shares in the process. I am glad that "Family Shares" are there, but in that respect, I also expect my investment to just putt along like a Model T.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coupe3w Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 At least the stock does pay dividends. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Alan had the guts to tell the company that "enhancing investor value" was not the end all to the business. The problem with Ford stock is the "Family Class" of shares that prevents it from doing any better than it is currently doing on Wall Street. The "Family Class" of shares is what prevents takeovers, but it also hampers the rest of the shares in the process. I am glad that "Family Shares" are there, but in that respect, I also expect my investment to just putt along like a Model T.... That 'family class' of shares is what makes Ford a lower risk. They aren't going to let the company go bankrupt if there is any way they can stop it. At least the stock does pay dividends. Exactly! Where else can you get 5.4% with very little risk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 That 'family class' of shares is what makes Ford a lower risk. They aren't going to let the company go bankrupt if there is any way they can stop it. . Agreed, but with lower risk comes lower return on investment which is why Ford common stock has always lagged. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Which is why Ford has been dramatically cutting back on incentives and production and choosing to carry lower short term profit margins than GM? From the looks they are not cutting back incentives, they are currently trying to save/buy share as their products (besides F-series and even that is showing signs of plateauing) are not resonating in the market. Focus has $5000 cash back, Fusion up to $4650, Escape $3900. While everyone is down, Ford is losing share. The bright spot on paper is that it looks like Ford's ATP are sky rocking but in reality it is for the fact that people are just buying F-150 and nothing else. On the Company side worker moral is plummeting, vehicle configuration options are back to Hundred of Million combinations which makes it very hard for dealers, consumers feel nickel and dimed and they can't find a good configuration on a dealer lot. If Ford wants to make Lincoln relevant they need to be launching a new or updated vehicle every 6 months not every 15months. The MCE have done nothing to vastly improve features, safety, or content and year over year we are seeing models decontented. I see the exact same thing going on today as the late 90's early 2000's. The only difference was PAG was going to save them then, today it is autonomous vehicles. They are so deeply concerned on what is going to happen in 12-15years they are forgetting about the next 5-10. Yes you need to focus on the future but also need to focus on the next 2 product cycles as well. On the investor side the family also doesn't care about the stock price, they only care about dividend. Which is why you wont see a large stock repurchase program or massive changes. Honestly, If the right buyer came I could see them going private again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 The bright spot on paper is that it looks like Ford's ATP are sky rocking but in reality it is for the fact that people are just buying F-150 and nothing else. F-150 was barely 1/3 of total sales. In my area Fusion rebates are only $2K - $2500 and Escape is only $2K. Incentives vary by Region. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 F-150 was barely 1/3 of total sales. But in terms of Ford branded share it held 3% more this year than last year in Aug sales, So you have taken out 3% of lower margin small car sales out the equation leading to higher ATP's. I do think Ford is doing okay, and you do have to compete. My issue is a huge rebates hurts the brand more than just offering more std equipment or special lease editions. Large cash rebates kill resale, which hurts your finance side on lease turn ins, and hurts buyers as they have lost more equity on the vehicle they currently own. On a whole other note on Auto Finance side, Ford is being way more disciplined than others in the industry. FCA is offering an Additional $1500 off if you have a credit score UNDER 620! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fordowner Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Is the Board upset? Or does Ford see a window of opportunity to better define its vision of the future and thus the point of its acquisitions? Instead of the focus of the board meeting being the down cycle the industry is facing perhaps this will shift the focus on how Ford is preparing for the long term? I maybe be off the mark here but I think Ford's recent ads about the accidents avoided via the new technology is very effective. Especially for parents who these days seem to be very concerned about their children driving. The announcement of pedestrian avoidance features for the 2018 Mustang is something that could make me finally get rid of my 2007, or maybe trade in the spouse's 2014 mustang. I can't think of anything worse than hitting a pedestrian or a bicyclist or getting into a car accident that results in severe injury or death. The Ford ads seem to play on that. So if the case can be made that this Driverless Car technology is paving the way for Ford to be a leader in adding accident avoidance technology to its cars we could see a payoff before Driverless technology comes into play. Is this extra day of meetings a way to drive home the point that there are near term as well as long term benefits for Ford making these investments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 It seems obvious that Ford is sacrificing some near term sales and market share in favor of new platforms with more electrification and more performance. If I was on the board my first question would be is this the right long term strategy. Without knowing the details I think we would all agree that electrification is vital but the devil is in the details. My second question would be this: Is it wise to sacrifice market share and owner loyalty by leaving Focus and Taurus to rot on the vine and only doing minor updates to other products or would it be wiser to sacrifice some of that estimated $9B profit to keep the current products more appealing and to fix quality issues until new products arrive? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 I maybe be off the mark here but I think Ford's recent ads about the accidents avoided via the new technology is very effective. Especially for parents who these days seem to be very concerned about their children driving. The announcement of pedestrian avoidance features for the 2018 Mustang is something that could make me finally get rid of my 2007, or maybe trade in the spouse's 2014 mustang. I can't think of anything worse than hitting a pedestrian or a bicyclist or getting into a car accident that results in severe injury or death. The Ford ads seem to play on that. So if the case can be made that this Driverless Car technology is paving the way for Ford to be a leader in adding accident avoidance technology to its cars we could see a payoff before Driverless technology comes into play. Except they aren't -- those mitigation systems will be standard on most Toyota's by the end of the year along with availability on most middle line Honda, Kia and Hyundai. (It already is std on a 16K Corolla) and standard equipment on Top of the line models. Where with Ford they will be optional on only the most expensive model with many options required -- if you can even get it. The Focus, Fiesta, Edge, and Escape all offer those CMB systems in the rest of the world but are not offered in the US/Canada market. Other manufactures now have reverse automatic stopping systems, where in the commercial the kid in the Escape was backing into traffic and the mother told him to stop... Had it been in other vehicles from FCA, Subaru or Volvo the vehicle would have automatically applied the brakes. Drive a Honda with their lane keep system, then drive a Ford. The Honda will stay in the Center of the lane, where the Ford will let you get pretty far out of the lane before it takes abrupt action. Ford marketing implies it has safety equipment and crash scores that the competition has though very careful wording and images. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 I wonder what exactly is meant by "heighten his focus on growth opportunities". That seems to be the opposite of sacrificing near term sales and market share in favor of new platforms with more electrification and more performance. Does anyone recall that a few years back Fields stated that Ford would grow its global sales to some larger number by late this decade? I can't find the remark when I search, but I'm pretty sure I remember such a statement. Or am I remembering it incorrectly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 Another article on the same topic: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2017/05/09/pressure-mounts-ford-ceo-fields/101488338/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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