Jim Hackett "retires" from Ford CEO spot; Jim Farley takes over
Link for everyone's convenience.
Good riddance.
Ford needs another Mulally badly.
They caught him driving a Jeep.
*furiously watching Tommy Boy to see how this will go*
Not sure this was the right time to go with two Jims back-to-back. Seems like they'd have been better off going with a Marc or a Susan for this stretch.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:41 AM ^
Damn you. I only came to this thread to say, “does this mean Hackett will now be living in A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER”???
August 4th, 2020 at 12:05 PM ^
1. That's not from Tommy Boy
2. You did it anyway
August 4th, 2020 at 12:26 PM ^
1. I came to make a generic Farley reference, not a Tommy Boy reference. Chris Farley was in many movies, not just Tommy Boy.
2. Yes, I did. And while you say you didn't kill your wife...I DON'T CARE!!!
August 4th, 2020 at 10:51 AM ^
He could stick his head up a butcher’s ass, no wait...
August 4th, 2020 at 11:15 AM ^
It's gotta be your bull......
August 4th, 2020 at 11:55 AM ^
You have derailed...
He just beat out Rod Wood and Bob Quinn who where also on the short list of replacements.
Great AD for us, shitty CEO for Ford. Hopefully his replacement does better.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:33 AM ^
I wish there was an approval rating chart for Hackett in SE Michigan from like 2014 to present.
Ford continues to display why its ownership and leadership is absolutely the worst.
Have never seen an organization this dysfunctional. It is sad for Ford employees, metro Detroit, and the U.S. presence in the global Automotive space.
Not familiar with Ford's internal stuff at all. Are you down on the successor, too? Why?
August 4th, 2020 at 10:02 AM ^
Amazing that there is still Ford family scattered throughout management.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:17 AM ^
It is amazing - and worse than that, they are taking some of the younger Ford family members and "grooming them" (translation - giving them promotions that smack of nepotism) for future Ford leadership.
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/investors-angry-ford-family-is-running-and-ruining-ford/
Yeah, this is a really intelligent way to run a global corporation...
Yeah, there are some investors who want to convert the Ford family's Class B shares into Class A and basically take the company out of their hands. Which would, not coincidentally, put the company into the hands of those investors.
Ford stock is so cheaply priced that if the Class B shares were to go away, Ford would be snapped up by another automaker or investment group almost literally within seconds. And while family ownership may have led to some problems, does anyone really think Chrysler was better off under Cerberus? Hell no; Cerberus bought it hella cheap from Daimler, pillaged it, and pawned it off to Fiat. Which is owned by the Agnelli family and doing better with Chrysler's brands than either Daimler or Cerberus ever did.
Family ownership isn't perfect. But none of the bad decisions the company has made can really be traced to the Ford family. They can be traced to CEOs. I don't think family ownership is the problem at Ford. CEOs that don't get it are the problem. Fields cared more about appearances than costs and Hackett was too damn deliberate.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:17 AM ^
Why is that amazing? They still have controlling interest in the company.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:23 AM ^
I meant amazingly stupid. Family managed businesses rarely survive a change from one generation to the next. For a company like Ford, it's beyond ridiculous at a time when they are facing the most difficult investment decisions they have ever faced.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:54 AM ^
I work at a company with some pretty solid nepotism. They’re all twats. The original guy knew his shit though.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:55 AM ^
Not sure if I agree. There isn't another family on earth that knows more about making cars.
Having the family still involved is the reason I think they'll never go out of business. It would be unthinkable. Whereas a board made up of executives only concerned with maximizing short term profits would have killed the company years ago.
August 4th, 2020 at 11:40 AM ^
Two words:
Detroit Lions.
August 4th, 2020 at 11:14 AM ^
Have never seen an organization this dysfunctional.
The Trump Administration says, "Hi."
Was really impressed with him during his time at Steelcase, bummer that things didn't go better at Ford.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:05 AM ^
Really goes to show you why CEOs get paid big money and why most of them flame out. Personally, I think the new CEO should put a high focus on investing in quality with an emphasis, annually, on stamping out known design or component issues.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:17 AM ^
No idea how anyone can step into the CEO role in an industry where they have no experience. I've been around auto folks my whole life and it just sounds like an incredibly complex industry. There are general leadership traits that make for a good CEO, but no idea how you can make these massive decisions without decades of experience in this specific sector. I'm sure there is transferable knowledge from making cabinets and chairs to making cars, but one is much more complex than the other.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:36 AM ^
I'd argue this the time when there needs to be an exception. That's why Argo is run completely separate from Ford and GM is considering a spin off. Changes are big enough that they need different kinds of people to run the legacy business and the future business.
August 4th, 2020 at 11:22 AM ^
I could see that, especially as we transition from making cars to a time where it's really about transportation more generally (where the technology is more important than the chassis). But Hackett isn't even a tech guy.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:21 AM ^
That is exactly what Farley did when Mulally hired him away from Toyota. He fixed Ford's advertising and helped drive the Toyota-like message about quality throughout Ford. Hopefully he can recreate the Mulally Magic that saved Ford years ago...
August 4th, 2020 at 11:51 AM ^
Sorry, but I missed that quality message from Ford, and so did Ford!
August 4th, 2020 at 10:37 AM ^
"I had a guaranteed military sale with ED209! Renovation program! Spare parts for 25 years! Who cares if it worked or not!"
-Ford executive Dick Jones
August 4th, 2020 at 10:06 AM ^
The Free Press article quotes the press release as "elected to retire from the company".
As someone who works at a place where people have "elected to retire from the company" rather out of the blue, I do love myself some corporate-speak for "this is not really working quite as we had hoped".
August 4th, 2020 at 10:18 AM ^
Just wanted to chime in on how good it is to see you around these parts again my friend.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:10 AM ^
Still consider his tenure as AD an unmitigated success.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:16 AM ^
Other than the taint of the family itself, what exactly is the problem with Ford?
They apparently only make one vehicle well (F-150), and I get that it would be difficult to maintain consistent revenue growth from such a narrow product line, but it's almost like the company is trying to fail.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:23 AM ^
I like my Fusion, but they've discontinued that line.
August 4th, 2020 at 11:59 AM ^
I had a 2008 Fusion, and I put 250k+ miles on it. It was a Manual (I know, right?) and the clutch was still in reasonable shape.
Everyone (mechanics included) always surprised at how well built that car was. Amazing what happens when there's attention and purpose given to quality.
My 2010 (have 2013 one now) was running great until some idiot in a big truck crashed into the back end and crushed the car. Traffic was completely stopped for a minute at least. I didn't see that coming at all. I had 110k on that one and would still be driving it today if the insurance company had not decided to write it off.
My 2013 now has 106k on it and I enjoy driving it.
And I starting getting this ad after mentioning my Fusion.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:27 AM ^
My opinion, based on some of the past 5 years quality issues & launch problems with SOME of their new vehicles, I think they've gone back to the default auto mindset of cheapening up on components and sub assemblies. Also think they've outsourced too much and have lost some expertise in looking at a vehicle as a "system" to insure everything works well together. Finally, based on documented issues with some of their powertrains I believe they don't have the bar set high enough on destructive and/or stress testing of key vehicle components. Many automakers have allowed Tier 1 suppliers to "self certify" their components resulting in costly warranty fixes. Costly to the Tier 1 suppliers and costly to Ford in customer perceptions and potentially lost future sales.
The auto industry has pretty much transitioned over to mainly SUV sales which are substantially more profitable but the risk is that the pendulum could shift back to sedans and they would face another round of re-tooling to meet that trend. If Ford would have been incessant in driving quality in their sedans they would see the higher volumes needed to insure the profitability that Honda and Toyota achieve.
August 4th, 2020 at 10:43 AM ^
They've basically turned over their entire lineup over the last two years.
- I think the Bronco has the potential to be hugely successful if they don't botch the launch like they did Explorer.
- Escape was underwhelming for me, but now they have a generic crossover that looks like the same product that every other OEM has.
- Mach E will have a niche market, but I'm not entirely sure they will be able to pull Tesla enthusiasts away. I also don't see traditional Mustang owners jumping over to an all electric crossover.
- I really like all of the new Lincoln vehicles, and I think they have been making significant inroads in the luxury segment.
- The move away from sedans was frustrating for people like me who have enjoyed driving a fusion, but predictable since there really isn't much margin in those cars. I think the idea was that the Escape can now exist as an entry level Ford vehicle.
- Death, taxes and the F-150 if all else fails.
August 4th, 2020 at 11:25 AM ^
The new Lincoln models are gorgeous.
Car makers need to be willing to sacrifice 2mpg and start making cars that are works of art again. This jellybean, every car looks like every other car, BS has to stop. Oh, and stop making them all in silver, white, and black. Put some effort into it ffs.
I'm a car guy and it's gotten to the point that I can't distinguish one make from another. Fucking Buick has a model that looks almost identical to my G37.
August 4th, 2020 at 11:31 AM ^
"sacrifice 2mpg"
That won't fly in the long run.
August 4th, 2020 at 11:56 AM ^
I take care of that by personally restyling my exterior with trash cans and fence posts, then not getting it fixed.
August 4th, 2020 at 12:44 PM ^
I dunno. This new ford mullet truck is pretty distinguishable.
El Camino et tu?
The regulatory atmosphere around MPG makes that totally impossible. Making the conscious decision to sacrifice MPG for looks is a nonstarter. I would love to see it, but the government of California has other ideas.