I’ve never noticed Poornima Gupta’s byline before. But I’ve sure noticed it now. The Reuters story “Ford says has no interest in Chrysler brands” could well be the most inane piece of non-journalism I’ve ever seen emerge from an auto show. This is news? C’mon. It’s not even grammatical (go get ’em, Jeff!). “Ford Motor Co (F.N) has no interest in acquiring any Chrysler assets or brands if the automaker is forced into bankruptcy, the president of Ford’s Americas unit said on Wednesday. ‘We’re focused right now on merging Ford around the world right now. We’re focusing on Ford, so no,’ Mark Fields said on the sidelines of the New York International Auto Show.” Seriously. She asked him that question? What ChryCo brands did she think Ford should pick-up? With what money? Still, I like this bit: “‘We do have a significant amount of liquidity and based on our assumptions … we have no plans to access any of the emergency taxpayer funds,’ Fields said.” Define “emergency.” And anyone who uses the phrase “slash cash” gets a mulligan. Or is that a mullet?
I was just thinking yesterday that Mark Fields had been unusually quiet lately. Good to hear he’s still around and giving the occasional sound bite.
C’mon Robert, you don’t think Ford needs a minivan? ;)
Re: Grammar
The person who writes the headline is usually NOT the person who writes the story.
As someone who has worked an auto show (dealing with normal people, not journos) and answered a metric-ton of basic and bizarre questions, I would have to agree.
But at least non-car folks have good reason: they have a life outside of this industry.
To be fair:
Jeep.
If Ford can buy the brand and platforms/models (without the labor/dealer liabilities), and the price is right, it would be a great acquisition. It’s not like they have to ramp up to rolling 5000 Grand Cherokees off the line every month right away. When the market for aspirational-utility vehicles recovers (and you know it will) Jeep will be a very valuable brand indeed.
Someone will bite. If not Ford, then who?
Ford should pick up the Hemi. Then they would have a V8 that is actually capable of doing something…other than being a perfect boat anchor.
Someone should buy Jeep and Hummer. Heep, anyone?
sounds like Reuters is outsourcing.
Let’s get to the real question here: Can Ford not ask the dude on the right (I’m assuming he’s an employee) to quit using the Flow-Bee for haircuts and pony up for a decent suit if he’s going to be onstage at an auto show? Not helping Lincoln’s brand image any…
MMH +1
I’m pretty sure the dude on the right is head of marketing, Jim Farley. The guy from Toyota who was in charge of launching Scion.
To explain the hair, the best I can come up with is that Jim is the cousin of the late, great Chris Farley. That is not a joke.
Just for the record, I have no interest in acquiring any Chrysler brands, either.
C’mon Robert, you don’t think Ford needs a minivan? ;)
Actually, yes, Ford does need a minivan. Desperately. And the Chryslers ones, screwed together by a company that isn’t squeezing pennies till they howl, might not be a bad choice.
Of course, it’d murder Flex sales. All six of them.
Axel
+1
But maybe thats just because I own both a Ford and Jeep and have been very happy with both.
I think the Jeep brand at its core of Grand Cherokee and Wrangler has shown remarkable market resilience and owner loyalty. If they continue to focus on the core attributes it should remain a profitable and valuable brand to whoever owns it. There is no way the Jeep name will go away completely. Weren’t there foreign investors(India), looking at Jeep?
Please Ford, drop Volvo, grab Jeep at the firesale…
This is off topic, but IMO, this shows how Ford better “gets it.” Unlike GM and Chrysler that seem to be focusing on fluff, Ford is adressing its core products and values.
And by that, compare their new products. Most of the products in Ford’s pipeline are Fords.
GM only has ONE new core product coming, the Cruize. (I don’t count the Volt, because I think the chances of it being produced are about the same as me scoring a date with Kylie Minogue) I think the new Equinox is dumb fluff because the SUV market is dead, the GMC Terrain screams turd from a mile away, the SRX and new LaCrosse look like excellent cars (especially the latter), but those aren’t market niches that a company weeks away from Chapter 11 should be focusing on. (Are there anymore new GM product launches I am forgetting about?)
As for Chrysler, I still give them the benefit of a doubt, since it has been known for pulling miracles out of its ass just about every time it is in financial ruin. (the Aries/Reliant, Intrepid and Caravan/Voyager are the first to pop into my mind) but I haven’t heard jack shit from them about how they are going to beef up Dodge’s rigorously shitty product line. Since Dodge is their core brand, it is the one that deserves the most attention. And right now it is getting none whatsoever.
The large and mid-size SUV market is dead. The new Equinox is a crossover, and a reasonably sized one, too. If it were sold by any other car maker, it would probably sell very well.
As for Ford getting the Chrysler minivans – the Flex is a better vehicle in almost every way. Better built, more comfortable, more reliable and better finished both inside and out.
Minivan sales have been on the slide for years, and the re-hash of the ChryCo minivans has resulted in abysmal sales. Right now Ford would have a better shot designing their own minivan from scratch (I say that VERY cautiously and well aware of Ford’s utter failures in the minivan world). But as many have pointed out, the last thing Ford needs is more clutter in the middle of their lineup of poor-selling nameplates.
Ford’s playing a clever game these days, not bad-mouthing GM/Chryco. Maybe this is more of the positive news they want out there. Did they want the question asked just to be able to give the right answer?
I thought the stupidest question was the one asked of booth babes on The Simpsons: “Do you come with the car?”
I’d think Jeep and Ford would go well together, but then I think about the fact that Jeep seems to be an albatross around the neck of whatever automaker that owns it. Sure, sure, coincidence, different situations, whatever. Jeep, destroyer of manufacturers…
C’mon Robert, you don’t think Ford needs a minivan?
According to Ford, the Flex is their minivan (replacement).
So…yes Ford needs a minivan. The Flex is selling about as well as a bowl full of bird flu.
@ P71_CrownVic: Totally kidding about the minivan. Ford needs a minivan like GM needs another compact CUV.
P71_CrownVic,
Actually, I think the Flex is a perfect minivan replacement. You can still fool your friends into thinking its a SUV, yet you still get the passanger comfort of a minivan. I think if Ford lowers the price, sales will pick up.