WJR Auto Report: iosis and the Cure

While iosis might sound like something you need to cure, it could be the fix for a variety of Ford Motor Company's ills, starting with the automaker's seeming addiction to boring design. During an interview at the Frankfurt Motor Show, last week, Ford’s design director, J Mays, admitted the company has made some serious mistakes. We’d venture to guess one of them is the bland Five Hundred sedan. It scores high in terms of driveability, but just doesn’t got much notice. It’s not just Ford’s designers who deserve blame. Top management, including Chairman Bill Ford, have taken a timid approach, hoping not to scare off buyers. They’ve had the opposite effect. And so, with management’s strong support, Mays now promises there’ll be no boring cars from Ford. If the iosis is any indication, he means it. The prototype was one of the hits of the German auto show, and company insiders hint that many of its striking design cues will soon show up on production models.