fordpartsman Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 *Assuming* Ford continues it's progress back from the brink... How did they do it? The past six months have been packed with the new and exciting vehicles and technology advances that seems impossible to imagine just a few short years ago. Ford cut tens of thousands of jobs, shut down research facilities, closed plants, etc. It seemed like every week there was another cut. I actually had visions of empty engineering labs with flicker lights with 3 people working... Was Ford that bloated that all of these jobs could be cut, that quality and innovation actually improved? Many of Fords current products could be considered industry leading, how and when did this happen?... Was it in motion during the 500 launch? (05ish) Was it the Bold Moves program?, Way forward plan? How close were Bill Ford jr. & M Fields to seeing the results themselves without Alan Mulally. Any polarizing events that stand out? FPM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 IMHO, the necessary changes and commitments were prior to 2005. First, Ford decided to work with the Volvo D2 platform for the 500, rather than work with the Taurus platform. They also worked with Mazda to develop the CD Fusion chassis. Because of Volvo and Haldex, AWD could be offered. Second, they decided that 6-speed automatics were necessary, and entered into a JV design with GM as well as Jatco. Their relationship with Jatco also probably helped their hybrid program pick up speed. Third, they started on the 3.5 V-6, and Eco-Boost, as they felt that diesel was not viable in NA. Fourth, they did a first-class overhaul on the Mustang. Fifth, they were able to turn around component quality, after the Focus problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 I actually had visions of empty engineering labs with flicker lightswith 3 people working... Not far from the truth. The original building that Henry The First built exclusively for engineering (last know as Powertrain Operation and Engine Engineering), which at one time housed well over 2,000 now sit empty and decaying. It will likely be taken over by Greenfield Village. Many other smaller (and almost all leased) engineering building have also been abandoned. Was Ford that bloated that all of these jobs could be cut, that quality and innovation actually improved? As other mentioned, several key components (6F transmission, EcoBoost) were engineered elsewhere or purchased or are part of a Joint Venture. Interesting footnote. Some engineering task that were outsourced by Ford EU, Mexico and brazil have been insourced by Ford US Engineering. Any polarizing events that stand out? The decision to mortgage everything and shrink the company. Billy gets credit for these. We should all understand, that Ford will never again build as many vehicles/year. They just no longer have the engineering or manufacturing resources to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinaw Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 We should all understand, that Ford will never again build as many vehicles/year. They just no longer have the engineering or manufacturing resources to do that. Do you mean North America, specifically the U.S., or world-wide? I got to believe that with China and India, the odds are good that Ford will greatly increase production as the years go by, maybe to all time high (for them) levels. Sidenote: I use to work in the old Powertrain and Engine Engineering building while I was going to college. Talk about history! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blksn8k2 Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 I think the biggest contribution that Mulally brought to the party was his ability to tear down the good old boy network and get everyone on the same mission to implement the plans already in place when he arrived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue II Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Not far from the truth. The original building that Henry The First built exclusively for engineering (last know as Powertrain Operation and Engine Engineering), which at one time housed well over 2,000 now sit empty and decaying. It will likely be taken over by Greenfield Village. Many other smaller (and almost all leased) engineering building have also been abandoned. As other mentioned, several key components (6F transmission, EcoBoost) were engineered elsewhere or purchased or are part of a Joint Venture. Interesting footnote. Some engineering task that were outsourced by Ford EU, Mexico and brazil have been insourced by Ford US Engineering. The decision to mortgage everything and shrink the company. Billy gets credit for these. We should all understand, that Ford will never again build as many vehicles/year. They just no longer have the engineering or manufacturing resources to do that. POEE is full of mold and would have been shut down anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blksn8k2 Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 We should all understand, that Ford will never again build as many vehicles/year. They just no longer have the engineering or manufacturing resources to do that. And for good reason. There is now a much larger field of competitors for the same market. We can argue forever about why this happened but the fact is none of the domestic manufacturers could have survived without drastically reducing their capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 We should all understand, that Ford will never again build as many vehicles/year. They just no longer have the engineering or manufacturing resources to do that. We should all understand, that Ford's success in gaining market share in the future will be the determinant in whether Ford will ever again build as many vehicles/year. And of course, as sales grow, so will the engineering and manufacturing resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordpartsman Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) How much of a smaller company is Ford today from the 7 billion dollar heyday of 2001? FPM Edited November 19, 2009 by fordpartsman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 POEE is full of mold and would have been shut down anyway. So that was what was on my desk every Monday morning ! Did you work there during the asbestos abatement ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) Do you mean North America, specifically the U.S., or world-wide? I guess I meant North America. India and China future volumes are wild cards. Sidenote: I use to work in the old Powertrain and Engine Engineering building while I was going to college. Talk about history! Sigh. You are correct. Loved the "height" pillar ! Did you see Henry Ford (the First) restored office. Edited November 19, 2009 by theoldwizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) We should all understand, that Ford's success in gaining market share in the future will be the determinant in whether Ford will ever again build as many vehicles/year. And of course, as sales grow, so will the engineering and manufacturing resources. I can assure you, as of now, there are no plans in the foreseeable future, to build new factories in North America (or add significant NA volume be using overseas manufacturing). Even new work that has been insourced to North American Engineering this year must be contained in the same "headcount" as last year. It will take many, MANY years of maximum capacity in existing plants before Ford will consider such expansion. St Thomas and St. Paul are "dead men walking". Claycomo looks pretty "iffy" to me. I have lost count of how many other North American final assembly plants have shut down. (Wasn't there 5 F150 plants at one time ? Now there are 2 and it is still the best selling vehicle in the US !) A big part of "The Way Forward" is a smaller, leaner company, selling and building fewer vehicles in North America. Could this change ? Sure. But it might take a decade or more. Edited November 19, 2009 by theoldwizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Claycomo looks pretty "iffy" to me. I have lost count of how many other North American final assembly plants have shut down. (Wasn't there 5 F150 plants at one time ? Now there are 2 and it is still the best selling vehicle in the US !) Well aren't you contradicting yourself here? Claycomo won't go away since its the other plant building the F-150. I can see it possibly losing the Escape when the Kuga/Escape comes on line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Any polarizing events that stand out? FPM Ford was willing to change the way the company saw itself and how it operated. All the rest flowed from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Like everything else in life, they made deep and painful changes to adapt or die. They hired young and talented people and got rid of the old stagnant culture. Change=success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Like everything else in life, they made deep and painful changes to adapt or die. They hired young and talented people and got rid of the old stagnant culture. Change=success. Well maybe they did get rid of a lot of "old stagnant" people, but I can assure you, Ford NA Engineering has almost zero new hires in about 5 - 7 years. It is pretty scary when you look at the demographics of an engineering department (between 50 -100 people) and find no one younger than 32 and the largest number of engineers clustered around 50 years old and then truncated at about 55. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 How much of a smaller company is Ford today from the 7 billion dollar heyday of 2001?FPM Ford used to regularly sell close to 300,000 vehicles/month and now a good month is around 150,000 vehicles/month and some months are much lower than that. Ford once had five vehicles in the top 10. F-150 used to sell in 900,000/year range. Explorer around 450,000/year range. Taurus in 350,000/year range. Focus in 250,000/year range, and Ranger about the same. Ford dominated the top 10 in sales at one time. So one could say that Ford is now about half the size it once was in capacity and sales. However, Ford could easily make as much profit as before with lower incentives, higher residuals, and higher transaction prices. Ford is becoming like Toyota of old when they were successful and Toyota is becoming like Ford of old when you overproduced and then gave them away to maintain your sales lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 I can assure you, as of now, there are no plans in the foreseeable future, to build new factories in North America (or add significant NA volume be using overseas manufacturing). Even new work that has been insourced to North American Engineering this year must be contained in the same "headcount" as last year. It will take many, MANY years of maximum capacity in existing plants before Ford will consider such expansion. St Thomas and St. Paul are "dead men walking". Claycomo looks pretty "iffy" to me. I have lost count of how many other North American final assembly plants have shut down. (Wasn't there 5 F150 plants at one time ? Now there are 2 and it is still the best selling vehicle in the US !) A big part of "The Way Forward" is a smaller, leaner company, selling and building fewer vehicles in North America. Could this change ? Sure. But it might take a decade or more. Ford still doesn't have every plant in its present portfolio working at maximum capacity. Until that day happens, don't look for Ford to be building new plants. And when it does, I would bet it will not be in the rust belt after the latest UAW vote. Within next few years, Ford should have most of its remaining plants working at or near capacity. I could be wrong, but the only plants working close to capacity are KCAP, DTP, and Hermosillo and hopefully the Fiesta plant next year. Maybe OAP is close to capacity. I doubt if the KTP is along with the LAP that barely works. CAP is a one shift plant. WAP is a two shift plant, but nowhere near capacity. TCAP barely works along with STAP. Ford still has overcapacity, but slowly getting there. By early 2011, Ford should have three more plants at near capacity in CAP, Fiesta plant, and MAP hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Well maybe they did get rid of a lot of "old stagnant" people, but I can assure you, Ford NA Engineering has almost zero new hires in about 5 - 7 years. It is pretty scary when you look at the demographics of an engineering department (between 50 -100 people) and find no one younger than 32 and the largest number of engineers clustered around 50 years old and then truncated at about 55. Yeah, the only "old" people left at Ford are in managment. It's funny how Ford gets rid of you in your upper 50's as if you are now too old to be a Ford employee, but if you are in managment you are in your "prime." My father worked for Ford as an engineer until he was 65 and he still had a few good years left in him. Today he would have been bought out by the time he was 55. No wonder the middle class is in such terrible shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Well aren't you contradicting yourself here? Claycomo won't go away since its the other plant building the F-150. I can see it possibly losing the Escape when the Kuga/Escape comes on line. Production can always be moved. Unless numbers go way up, Ford will not keep one plant open for one shift for very long. If the numbers remain like today's, all F-series production could be consolidated to KTP and DTP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Production can always be moved. Unless numbers go way up, Ford will not keep one plant open for one shift for very long. If the numbers remain like today's, all F-series production could be consolidated to KTP and DTP. I would think that fuel prices going forward will dictate that decisions. But don't forget the F-100 which I think Ford will have to build with 35mpg fleet average around the corner. Ford knows it needs a smaller, more fuel efficient pickup after Ranger dies if it wants to remain leader in pickup sales. KCAP would make good candidate for a smaller pickup based on modified F-150 platform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) KCAP would make good candidate for a smaller pickup based on modified F-150 platform. So would the Expedition side of KTP. EDIT: Or even OHAP for that matter. Or AAI if Mazda follows through with threats of moving out. Edited November 19, 2009 by Pioneer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 So would the Expedition side of KTP. EDIT: Or even OHAP for that matter. Or AAI if Mazda follows through with threats of moving out. Well, I think we all hope that Ford starts growing soon as Ford seems set to get a bigger slice of a hopefully growing automotice pie next year and after. If that becomes true, Ford will need the capacity of KCAP considering that Ford will be closing STAP and TCAP soon. Ford still has other new vehicles to introduce over coming years. I assume the new Police Interceptor and Explorer are going to CAP making that place much busier. Yeah, KCAP and AAI are the wild cards here. Hopefully their capacity will be needed as auto sales improve. If economy improves, Ford will be under PR pressure to make more vehicles in states using UAW workers. Ford gets enough flack already about their "Mexican" Fords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Well, I think we all hope that Ford starts growing soon as Ford seems set to get a bigger slice of a hopefully growing automotice pie next year and after. If that becomes true, Ford will need the capacity of KCAP considering that Ford will be closing STAP and TCAP soon. Ford still has other new vehicles to introduce over coming years. I assume the new Police Interceptor and Explorer are going to CAP making that place much busier. Yeah, KCAP and AAI are the wild cards here. Hopefully their capacity will be needed as auto sales improve. If economy improves, Ford will be under PR pressure to make more vehicles in states using UAW workers. Ford gets enough flack already about their "Mexican" Fords. I like your optimism, but I am a realist. Ford will not grow that much, if at all. More than likely their marketshare will remain static. Hyundai and Kia are growing, and in a few years there will be more competition from India, China, and Fiat that will absorb marketshare from GM, Chrysler, and the rest of the fragmented market. Ford has too many assembly plants. One will close in 2011 contract negotiations. Bet on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Jellymoulds Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 They ditched dull design stopped making boring bland Fiesta's in Europe sales up +61.7% 41,371 sales in Europe in October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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