Ford To Get Greener: "We Really Have Lost A Generation" (VIDEO)

Ford CEO Alan Mulally says that his company is going to turn it all around to get with the times -- but will it be soon enough? A humbled Mulally spoke at the Wall Street Journal's ECO:nomics conference.

"We really have lost a generation," he said, turning back to the issue at hand. In the past, Ford "did not have a consistency of purpose," he said, but is now committed to producing vehicles that are "best in class."

He reiterated that Ford's mix of vehicles will do a 180 in coming years, with light cars--rather than trucks and SUVs--representing two-thirds of the automaker's lineup, as rising energy prices make fuel-efficient cars a priority for consumers.

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Comments

[ridah1o1]

With today's news on GM we need to go ahead and cut the aid the all automakers and allow them to sink or swim on their own. I make a similar argument on a post in my blog at the link below:

http://www.ricoexplainsitall.com/politcs-economy/2009/2/27/the-blind-can-do-without-hdtv.html

[hulagirrrl]

The car industry was dead two years ago, things got dragged, books got fixed, and now all the mess is coming out. I feel for every car worker that is out of work. The good thing out of all this mess hopefully will be a more alert and present public, that will hold their elected officials accountable, maybe things should have been done a few years ago to help them.

[spitar1]

They can make all the cars they want. Make'em green, fuel efficient, nice looking, but if they're in the shop every 5,000 g@d d@mn miles no one is still going to buy them.

Here you go big 3. Make a friggin car that doesn't break down all the time. Start there. Work your way back into buyers hearts with RELIABILITY! Because the cars you make now are cheap toys that break constantly.

"Why don't you wake up and smell what you been shovelin'.­"

[MattInVA]

According to Consumer Reports, Ford cars are on par with the best Japanese automakers in terms of reliability.

[AAKAlan]

Bought my Ford 500 limited two years ago. It has NEVER been back to the dealership. Nothing has gone wrong, not one thing.

I wish I could say the same for the 5 Toyotas I've owned.

[rdiaz921]

wait another 3 years.

I drove a dodge, then a toyota, and then 2 hondas..

[Dystopic]

the "Big" 3's main problem is decades of short term strategy

[elizaconnors]

Ford tried to create and sell cleaner cars fifteen years ago and its shareholders went beserk.

[Teckwreck]

How are the shareholders feeling about that now? I was at a Honda dealer recently and asked about the hybrid and was actively discouraged saying I would never get my money back in gas savings. These folks just don't get it.

[KillTheMessenger]

The dealer wants to sell the car that is most profitable for him, not the car that is right for you. You might as well ask the goat to be your gardener. He will tell you that none of the plants are healthy and that he will get rid of them for you.

If you want to know which car is right for you, YOU have to do the math yourself. I did and my hybrid works out very well for me. Yesterday I put gas in for $19 and that will last me for two weeks. So right now I am spending less than $10 a week on gas. When it was over $4, I had to spend a little over $20. Even that's less than my monthly train and bus pass which is around $120...

[KillTheMessenger]

Ford is selling efficient cars in Europe every day. You don't hear the shareholders complain about that, do you? This is a BS argument. Shareholders only care about the bottom line. Bottom line is: Ford messed up and they are paying the price.

[gjohntheterrible]

That is because trying to sell these massive SUV's in Europe will not fly what with the price of gas and the sales taxes they have on vehicles.