No biggie. A social call to one of our writers, thanking him for the infotainment. Needless to say, we tried to get Big Al to tell us something, anything newsworthy. Nada. Not a sausage. Still, I remember when I started this website. Back in the day, Peter DeLorenzo hyped his Autoextremist site with banners proclaiming “Bob Reads It,” “Rick reads it” and… what was it again? “Tom?” “Dieter?” I wondered if a) it was true and b) TTAC would ever gain sufficient prominence to catch the ear of the ultimate insiders. So, anyway, it’s another milestone for TTAC. Suffice it to say, talking to the industry swells will not give us swell heads. We will never forget that our first, indeed our only obligation is to you, our readers. In that spirit, when we hit the North American International Auto Show, we will do our level best to report the truth about cars. As always. Meanwhile, if Mr. Mulally could call us back re: an interview, I’d be most appreciative.
Find Reviews by Make:
Read all comments
Wow he called himself. What was he thanking you guys for? or just entertaining to read the website?
An interview with Al would be awesome even if he didn’t utter a single word about Ford and only gave his point of view on the merger from hell. I would love to know how he thinks it is going to effect the industry and whether it can even work in his professional opinion. We all know it’s a disaster waiting to happen but I sure would like to know what’s running through his head when he thinks of it.
We will never forget that our first, indeed our only obligation is to you, our readers.
And for that, we thank you!
Was it a collect call? I mean really, his firm’s stock slid below $2 bucks a share. Question, do you want a cup of Starbucks or two shares of Ford?
Just for entertaining factor you guys should ask what taste Bill Ford XXII leaves in his mouth.
Well that seems very cool.
I have high hopes that Mr. Mulally will be able to get Ford back onto a successful track and be able to offer some great products for us middle-classers…and not just through their Mazda outlet.
Cool, but was this a rub? Entertainment? It would have been nice if he had acknowledged the journo aspect of this site, it does happen to be one of the best (if not thee best). BTW, don’t sit by the phone waiting for either Bob to call you.
hltguy – A cup of Starbucks holds its value longer, even after you piss it out.
Hey Alan, if you’re reading…
SVT Fiesta! SVT Fiesta! SVT Fiesta!
Ecoboost 1.5 or larger w/ at least 170 hp please!
Perhaps Alan called in to suggest that TTAC use the name “ChryMotors” for his new “wholly synergistic” and only domestic competitor left in town.
Hey, awesome! I’m glad that this site, known for being harshly critical of automakers, is actually being read by any executives, much less the head of the company! He must come here to giggle at the horrible things we say about Wagoner and his posse of goonballs.
I’ve always thought that Mulally and Ford have the best chance of pulling out of this disaster, and actions like this only reinforce my positive opinion of the man and his different approach to Detroit business. Also, from the look of things, Detroit’s going to end up with a nice juicy bailout of some sort (they’re gonna strike while the iron is hot & scare people into ponying up tax $ lest the wobbly economy tumble altogether), so Al might be rolling in dough soon enough.
Now touch up the Fusion to make it competitive with the Malibu/Accord/Camry/Altima! (High MPG, quiet ride & comfy seats are all I ask)
Hey, Alan, if you’re reading this, give me a new Mustang GT with a 5.0, a six-speed manual and nav for less than the Camaro, no later than spring 2010, and you’ll have a new blue oval boy for life.
Congratulations RF and the whole crew of TTAC. Keep the editorials, reviews, and news coming!
Pretty cool. I’ll wager that all the domestics read here far more than you might expect, just to get a feel for what the great unwashed are doing/commenting on.
Scarily, it might also be that Robert will report before they know what’s going on, even in their own corp.
Ignorance is not bliss when you’re the head.
ferrarimanf355…which 5.0? An updated version of the Windsor or a new one? Just wondering which one you are referring to. Personally, I’d take a 5.4 Mustang at a price lower than the rip-off pricing of the Shelby.
Maybe QOTD should be what questions TTAC should ask Mr. Mulalley, should he consent to an interview.
NickR, I think ferrariman meant a 4.9 mislabeled as a 5.0.
It makes sense that Mulally would be the first Detroit 3 exec to publically read TTAC. That is because he is the only Detroit exec that doesn’t have his head in his ass, his hands over his ears, and is screaming “LALALALALALALA PROSPERITY IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!!”
ferrarimanf355…which 5.0? An updated version of the Windsor or a new one? Just wondering which one you are referring to. Personally, I’d take a 5.4 Mustang at a price lower than the rip-off pricing of the Shelby.
The one that Ford is going to put in the Mustang one year after the refresh. It’s a new one…
NickR, I think ferrariman meant a 4.9 mislabeled as a 5.0.
Wev. I round up… as long as it sounds great and accelerates like a bat of hell, does it really matter?
Rick Wagoner hasn’t called yet — maybe he doesn’t have the phone number, but the rumor is that he’s hired a Haitian voodoo queen and what he really wants is a lock of Farago’s hair.
BTW, Mullaly’s call is a small thing but it tends to reinforce my perception that he’s not the typical behind-the-barricades Detroit auto industry zombie. (Zombie…voodoo… it’s a themed comment!) Ford did a smart thing picking him; I only hope that the rotten market he’s been handed isn’t insurmountable.
“No biggie. A social call to one of our writers, thanking him for the infotainment. ”
He does stuff like that. A coworker emailed him and told him how much her aunt loved her Focus. That was over a year ago, and he still calls the aunt every couple of month to make sure she is still happy with her car.
I read on this blog I think that Ford makes its executives call customers at least twice a year to see how their purchase was? Or something like that.
QOTD: What’s the one question would you ask Alan if you got a chance?
My remark to Alan—– Until your company takes full responsibilty for its mistakes,and fix the problems sooner, you will never regain public trust. The 4.6 V-8 has 4 aluminum threads holding the sparkplug, when they come loose and blow out its a $2500 repair. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford_spark.html
A terrible thought: Could it be that Mullaley is just as bored as a lot of the cubicle Dilberts who seem to visit this site six times daily, and that he has nothing better to do right now than cruise Internet car blogs? Say it isn’t so. Or that it is.
“Could it be that Mullaley is just as bored as a lot of the cubicle Dilberts who seem to visit this site six times daily, and that he has nothing better to do right now than cruise Internet car blogs?”
TTAC is just one of those sites that insiders says they never read, but nonetheless browse at least six times daily to find the town hall gossip. If you want the bare boned truth, this is where you get it, like it or not. Therefore, I would think a lot of insiders are at least “TTAC-aware”, as Mr Farago put it, but they won’t publicly acknowledge it for a million bucks. I would also think that TTAC would be a great place and opportunity for a lot of people whose hands are tied to express their opinions sub rosa. With so much bullshit going around these days, there has to be some sort of discourse somewhere, where the facts are put on the table. Well, it’s a thought anyway…
Rick Wagoner hasn’t called yet — maybe he doesn’t have the phone number, but the rumor is that he’s hired a Haitian voodoo queen and what he really wants is a lock of Farago’s hair.
I always imagined a Roger & Me scenario, with Farago as Michael Moore and Red Ink Rick as Roger Smith. In other words, Red Ink Rick is dodging any attempts to be seen in the same room as Farago…
mfgreen40, that issue was resolved by a cylinder head redesign five years ago.
Yeah…and now you have Mustangs with spark plugs cemented into the head and the only way to get them out is to break them.
And that car only had 38K on it.
Big Al, call me when Ford can figure out how to do spark plugs right.
Quasimondo—– The 4.6 came out 1991, so it only took them 13 years to ( resolve) the problem. And like CrownVic says the 3 valve head has its own problems. Those thousands of customers that got screwed tell friends, relatives and co workers and that is why Ford, GM and Crysler are now paying the price.
Also, Al, if you’re reading this, you should know that there was a strong “why can’t we get this?” reaction over the Econotec Fiesta. Bring that over, license the Blutec tech from Mercedes if need be, and offer a clean diesel hatch for us Yanks. $$$ awaits…
Oh, and don’t forget to add about 1000 lbs of lightness to the new Mustang.
RF, Any chance of a redacted/anonymous report of your IP logs? Nothing special—just some data on automakers’ domains that consistently visit would be interesting.
Yeah…and now you have Mustangs with spark plugs cemented into the head and the only way to get them out is to break them.
But they’re not blowing out anymore, are they?
Al:
Put the 3.5 in the Fusion!! Build the best sedan you can–damn the concept of cannibalization! Put the 3.5 in the Fusion!!
I guess we should all appreciate Big Al for publicly acknowledging this site.