What They Need To Do.

This article is a long time coming. As a matter of fact, this is the article that made me want to create an automobile blog in the first place. This is a post about what I think the two leading American car companies need to do to compete with their foreign counterparts and remain supreme. As I mentioned in my Jeep Grand Cherokee article, we can’t keep playing catch-up, but if we do, we need to do it right. So let’s dive in.

Ford Motor Company

FORD

The division that carries the corporation’s namesake portfolios a nice and lengthy lineup of vehicles in various segments. Their current offerings, broken up by segment and in order of class, are as follows:

Cars: Fiesta, Focus, Fusion (also available in a Hybrid), Mustang and Taurus

Crossovers: Edge and Flex

Trucks: Ranger, Transit Connect, F-150, E-Series (it’s really a van, not a truck) and Super Duty

SUVs: Escape (also available in a Hybrid), [Explorer] Sports Trac, Explorer and Expedition

Seeing the Ford list arranged like this shows that they have something for everyone. Regardless of budget and interest, there’s a car or truck or something in between for each of you. What there isn’t is a high mpg automobile to get them the “cutting edge, driver-friendly” reputation that they so desperately desire. They had their chance to fill this need and take advantage of low-cost technology that would have paid off tremendously for them with the 2011 Fiesta, but they chose not to. An article found on Bloomberg Businessweek describes Ford’s fear to release the 65 mpg commuter car in the U.S. Instead, the otherwise genius company chose to release it in Europe only.

That’s what they didn’t do; here’s what they should… Ford should discontinue the Focus. Since its size is so close to that of the new Fiesta, get it out of here! The “we almost had one” diesel engine from the European Fiesta needs to go in the Transit Connect. The Transit is more of a commercial vehicle and mostly competes with the Dodge Sprinter, which does have a diesel engine pumping out approximately 30 miles per gallon. Finally, come out with the Ford Bronco concept. That thing is a beast and I want one. NOW!

LINCOLN

Lincoln’s list is short, but appropriate. Their MKZ is the smallest of the collection at almost 190 inches, which in my opinion is too close to the 204.1-inch MKS when you see it in person. The MKZ should use the Ford Focus platform to compete with automobiles such as the Audi A4, Audi’s no. 1 seller. The MKS, MKX and MKT are ideal in their current states. As a favorite amongst luxury SUV buyers, the Navigator is long overdue for a touch-up. The current grille is by far one of the most hideous Sport Utility fronts in history. Is it me or did this Navigator never fit in with the other automobile’s aesthetics? Now that all the others share a similar look, with the exception of the historic Town Car, time is of the essence for head designer Gordon Platto to make some much needed revisions. The Town Car has always been iconic and a necessity in every limo fleet. With that being said, the Town Car should receive some minor and  modern limousine updates: maybe a rear-seat laptop docking console with fold-out tables similar to that found on airplanes, refrigerated armrest storage, or simply a rear passenger climate control.

General Motors

CHEVROLET and GMC

My “If I were president” plans for Chevy isn’t always received well by others. By the way, I mean president of GM, not America. It starts and ends with them canceling their entire truck, SUV and crossover vehicles and branding any proprietary Chevrolet models under GMC. Since GMC has a Sierra, Canyon, Yukon, Savana and Acadia that share bodies with Chevy’s Silverado, Colorado, Tahoe, Express and Traverse respectively, the only models that need to consolidated are the Avalanche, Equinox and SSR (for commercial dealers only).

BUICK

Buick is a great brand. It’s the sophisticated luxury alternative to GM’s cutting edge luxury Cadillac. In LaCrosse vs Regal?, I purposed the idea of replacing the Lucerne with the LaCrosse, keeping its striking features and name, but adding some length to appropriately fit the spot and separate it from the very-close-in-size 2011 Regal. What I did not mention is possibly the best Buick recommendation yet… re-releasing the Reatta. This would be the perfect addition to Buick’s arsenal against Lexus. The Reatta would be the Lexus SC fighter as a hardtop convertible with factory 19-inch wheels. Oh, I can see it now and it is sweet.

PONTIAC

Man do I miss Pontiac. Being from Michigan, this brand screams Detroit to me. Every time I see a Pontiac, I hear “Shuttin’ Detroit Down” by John Rich playing loudly in my head. Pontiac needs to come back and with a vengeance. By vengeance, I mean DIESEL. Imagine a strong, forceful, turbo-injected motor causing one of their rides to tear up the streets while getting 40+ mpg. Three rides are all they need. Here goes:

G5: Take the Vibe, give it a more aggressive stance with more pronounced wheel wells, add 18-inch rims and keep the sleek lines of the latest model. This could easily compete with the Volkswagen GTI.

S5: This is the revised Solstice — available in both the Roadster and Coupe with 20-inch wheels.

T5: The Torrent brought back with the vengeance I spoke of earlier. Running against the Volkswagen Touareg TDI, this hostile-made sports SUV would also carry 20-inch wheels.

To conclude, we need to polish up Detroit and show the world what America is all about. Quit spending so much money on hydrogen cell technology and use what we know now — just make it better: full-electric motors, biodiesel engines and electric/biodiesel hybrid technology. I’ve seen semi-trucks with electric/biodiesel hybrid engines. Let’s get this stuff in family cars. No more throwing money at unprogressive research hoping to get “first man on the moon” type of accolades. Toyota didn’t develop unheard of technology with their hybrids. They used what they already knew and made it better — and they keep making it better. We can do better than that. We are more than smart enough. We are America.

Ford. The Smart American Motor Company.

First things first, this post is in no way bashing other automobile manufacturers. My father [and mother-in-law] worked for General Motors for over 30 years and honorably retired without being forced out or slighted due to poor management. I will forever be greatful to him and his great work ethic and the company that provided the best of benefits to our family. This post is, however, celebrating the smart decisions that Ford and its president, Alan Mulally, have made since 2006 when Mulally was hired as CEO.

I have never lead a Fortune 500 company, but I have been in leadership positions. I know for a fact that in order to lead a team, you first want to get them all on the same page, on your page. If you have too many people to do so, you influence the decision-makers — they’ll take care of the rest. Alan Mulally did just that. He wrote a new corporate mission statement, placed it on plastic cards, and passed it out to the necessary employees. Moreover, he gets to work earlier and works longer than most CEOs of his stature. And the most newsworthy thing is that, unlike the other American motor companies, Ford has enough economic stability to withstand the economic downturn, because of Mulally’s decisions, and chose not take the government bailout money that the others have taken.

Mulally seems to know what it takes to build strong brands and an even stronger company to back them. Before General Motors terminated some of its divisions, Mulally decided to sale Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo (pending, I believe) and let Mercury dissolve so that he and the rest of the company could focus on the more important Ford and Lincoln brands. My favorite thing he ever said, after finding out that the Taurus had been phased out, was, “Well, you’ve got until tomorrow to find a vehicle to put the Taurus name on because that’s why I’m here. Then you have two years to make the coolest vehicle that you can possibly make.” On top of that, he has moved to consolidate many of Ford’s global automotive platforms and eliminate unnecessary available options offered to the car buyer. That’s what I call a decision-maker! Now only if they could just capitalized on this and get America on their side.

This is the time for Ford to make known to the public that they didn’t take the bailout, that they will strongly compete with foreign car companies, mainly Toyota, and that they plan on being around for a long time. Ford should change their US slogan from “Ford. Bold moves.” or “Built for the road ahead.” or even “Built Ford Tough” to something that communicates that they are the American motor company with Americans in mind. In concordance, to send the message that they do actually build “Ford Tough” products, Ford should offer its car buyers a better “America’s Best Warranty” than Hyundai — one that has unlimited miles and 15 years worth of powertrain protection. CEO Mulally is a obviously wise man and I am sure that given the time he will instill in America trust in his company. Whether it’s with a new slogan or CEO-focused, Sprint-like commercials, Ford’s image will be revamped and the company will prevail.