It took a team of 60 Ford insiders, working virtually without break for 100 days, to pull together the Way Forward turnaround plan. Yet several sources familiar with the project tell TheCarConnection.com that the project is far from complete.
Of seven assembly plants expected to close, only three were specifically named on Monday. Two others will follow shortly, TheCarConnection has learned, including the Ranger plant in St. Paul, Minn., and another sorely underutilized assembly line in Cuautitlan, Mexico.
Work on the various speeches given on Monday continued almost to the moment before senior Ford managers, led by CEO Bill Ford, took to the stage. That reflected, in part, an ongoing debate over just how much information to reveal to the world. In the end, a number of key details were omitted, in part for the sake of time, in part to maintain certain proprietary decisions.
But "a lot will be coming out over the coming weeks and months," confided one high-level source, immediately after the announcement was completed. Others confirmed that comment.
On Wednesday, for example, Ford will unveil a "research concept vehicle" at the Washington, D.C. auto show designed to underscore the automaker's commitment to cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The hybrid-electric powertrain will be able to run on both ethanol and gasoline, and could be put into production quite quickly, should it be well received.
Ford managers are continuing to debate when to make an announcement about the Fairlane "people-mover." First shown in concept form at the January 2005 Detroit Auto Show, it is a stylish alternative to a conventional minivan - a segment of the market where Ford has never been able to gain a serious foothold. A production version will appear no later than the January 2007 Detroit show, though a prototype could be revealed even sooner, if some factions within Ford get their way.
During his presentation on Monday, Ford's President of the Americas, Mark Fields, was surrounded by a clay model of the Fairlane and another of the Reflex, a sporty minicar that was shown in Detroit earlier this month. Fields made it clear that Ford firmly intends to enter what industry insiders call the "B-car segment."
That won't be easy, as U.S. makers have traditionally lost money on their low-priced econoboxes. But import offerings have shown that Americans will pay a premium for the right small car, and that's what the Reflex was intended to represent. Though the show car is unlikely to make it to production - at least as shown - alternatives are under development.
The list of premium small cars will likely include the European Ford Focus. Though it shares the same name as Ford's current North American entry model, the European version is based on a newer platform and is both more sporty and well-equipped.
Sources also tell TheCarConnection to expect to see a variety of concepts and production models meant to reveal future plans for the troubled Mercury and Lincoln divisions. Though Fields admitted considering whether to kill off the two slow-selling brands, he said he committed the necessary resources to their revival. Potential buyers could get an idea of what's in store soon.
As part of the Way Forward plan, CEO Ford announced a 12 percent reduction in the automaker's officer-level staff. Little detail was provided Monday, but considering that most of the staff cuts will come during the first quarter of this year, that's another area where specifics are likely to come to light in relatively short order.
