RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Democrat Leaders Want Automaker Bailout

GARLAND — Alan Mulally makes one thing very clear: Ford Motor Co., unlike its Detroit neighbors General Motors and Chrysler, is not standing at the edge of a precipice.

"I don’t see any scenario where we wouldn’t be able to refinance, where we would have to take government money, where we would be in any danger" of being forced into bankruptcy, said Mulally, Ford’s perpetual-motion CEO.

Barring an unforeseen event that triggers an even more severe economic slump, Mulally said, Ford "has sufficient liquidity" to ride out the hard times.

Just as important, he added, the stage is set for a Ford renaissance, financially and in high-quality products that consumers will want.

"We’re going to make a profit in 2011," said Mulally, without a hint of hesitation. He said Ford’s vehicles "are going to be best in class, not only in quality, but fuel efficiency and value."

The former head of Boeing’s airliner division and mastermind behind the highly successful 777 jumbo jet was recruited in July 2006 by Chairman Bill Ford to take over management of the faltering automaker.

Mulally initially met with a lot of skepticism, within Ford and on the outside by longtime observers of the U.S. auto industry. But he’s now getting credit for shaking up Ford’s stagnant culture and beginning to reverse the company’s long decline.

Early on, Mulally took a bold gamble and, hocking everything Ford owned, borrowed $23.5 billion. The move has since looked prescient as Ford was the only U.S. automaker not to run out of cash.

"I knew things were going to slow down, were going to get worse, and we had to have cash to keep working on our plan," he said.

Now Ford, in the midst of the recession, will introduce nine new or upgraded products this year while the other U.S. manufacturers are scaling back new product development to save money.

Mulally was interviewed by the Star-Telegram on Friday, while he was in Garland for the opening of the expanded showroom complex at Randall Reed’s newly combined Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealership.

On a day when Detroit rival GM was notifying about 1,100 dealers nationwide that their contracts will not be renewed, Mulally insisted that no such drastic action is necessary at Ford.

Like Reed’s Garland outlet, Mulally said, many Ford dealers are responding to market forces by acquiring smaller Lincoln-Mercury franchises and combining the three brands into a single, stronger business.

"This is the future of Ford, right here, this opening," Mulally said. "Here is the new Ford going forward."

There will be further consolidation of dealers in metropolitan areas, Mulally said, but it will be dealers doing it, not Ford.

"We do have too many dealers in some areas too close to each other and competing with each other."

What’s ahead

Like their counterpart GM and Chrysler dealers, most Ford dealers in Dallas-Fort Worth have had steep sales declines over the last several years, in some cases as much as 65 or 75 percent. The sales trend lines plunged when the severe economic downturn hit last fall.

Mulally said he believes that the worst is over for Ford.

"We’ve gained market share six of the last seven months. Our products, in third-party evaluations, are getting great reviews."

He expects renewed consumer attention and sales as Ford’s new products come to the market. He calls the new 2010 Fusion Hybrid sedan, "a proof point of the new Ford. It gets 41 mpg, eight more than the Toyota Camry."

"That’s a Ford?" Mulally asked, mirroring consumer responses.

In the works

Asked what products Ford has coming that will excite younger, better-educated Americans, whose auto loyalties lie largely with import brands, Mulally said the Fiesta compact due in the U.S. market in 2010.

"It’s already No. 1 in Europe. It’s going to do great here, too."

Ford has placed European-built Fiestas with 100 U.S. bloggers, who competed to get and drive the cars for six months and blog about their experiences. Mulally said he has no doubt that the bloggers’ reviews will be highly favorable.

"I think within a year you will be able to ask people what their favorite car is and it will be the Fiesta," he said. "And it's not even going to be here yet."

Reed, who also owns Park Cities Ford-Lincoln-Mercury in Dallas and another Ford dealership in Houston, said the fortunes of Ford and his dealerships have gotten a shot in the arm because the automaker has not received any loans from the U.S. government.

"We’re hearing people say, 'I’m so proud Ford didn’t take the bailout money,’ " Reed said. "We’re seeing more Chevy and Dodge trade-ins than ever before. People are seeing that Ford has a lot to offer."