Mulally says Ford races the clock, unsure about the turnaround

I would't want to be in his shoes for any amount of money. He has essentially pulled the pin on a grenade, dropped it, and is now trying to run before it goes off. How far away he gets in that short amount of time will determine if he gets killed or just injured.

My advice? Hit the dirt Mulally.

You're going to have to get your hands dirty in order to save the place, no doubt.

Yeah, it sure looks like this guy is going to go down fighting to his last breath. However, his brave efforts may not be enough to save Ford. My wife and I recently test drove a Lincoln MKX. It's worth the extra price over the Ford Edge on which it is based but the Cadillac SRX is way better in terms of more comfortable seats and mechanical excellence. At least I can get the SRX with a DOHC V8, RWD, and LSD. A base SRX with a V6 is available for only little more money that the MKX.

GM and the new Chrysler have shown a desire if nothing else to turn it around. Not a peep from Ford.

The only thing resembling a turn around at GM and Chrysler is their ability to copy Ford engineering and technology. The list of features developed by Ford and copied a year or two later by GM & Chrysler is very long.

I think the number one thing that Mulally NEEDS to do is change the perception of Ford here in the states and also introduce models that really fit for where customers want and need them. Also work on the quality of materials here in the states... Ford at least has begun to introduce models with pretty good customer appeal, (Edge, Fusion, and other various Lincoln products to be examples). While Lincoln has begun to show a little bit of a turnaround, with it doing fairly well in the recent past with sales yoy numbers, other brands are showing lag. Ford needs to capitalize on these recent statements about quality and reviews of their cars, and get people to realize that Ford's introducing new, and improved models which DON'T have the problems of the past. Until they change this perception of themselves, Ford's going to have an even harder time to succeed. Also, work on the product line... People are asking for certain models, which are left only for Europe and other markets but not in the US. Why aren't they being shipped over here? Emissions? ok. I understand the lack of diesel, but why not a gas engined mondeo / the euro 3rd generation focus? The focus has been a good success in the Euro markets, but not here due to an aging platform and questionable design direction. Ford's products still need a little work on the materials inside and design, but they do have a couple models that can serve as focusing points to start a turnaround, even a slow turnaround. If I were Mulally I would reach out and see what customers are looking for products wise and what Ford ISN'T doing that keeps customers away. Start asking your dealers to talk with consumers and ask them bluntly what things are holding them back from purchasing a Ford product?

i heard from someone working at Ford that there might be the possibility of an actual worldwide focus and that the current focus is just to bring in some extra money thats why it isnt a total overhaul. It' said whatever focus europe gets the us might also in a couple of years i hope it happens but this can't be confirmed so dont get too hyped up

Look, Mulally was given a $30 million bonus by Ford stockholders even though the company was in dire straits. For that, I sold by shares of Ford at a loss and frankly hope the Company goes down. GM and even Chrysler's new products are more innovative, look better, and they're bringing back RWD.

The best way for Ford to save itself would be to close down all North American operations and bring the European operations over here - but not with a single employee from the old North American operations. Sticking the ugly chrome grill on boring cars won't do it, renaming boring cars with tired old names won't do it, sticking Sync in boring cars won't do it, turning everything into a crossover won't do it, and celebrating every possible variant of the Mustang won't do it.