Ford VP: 'Change or die'

LOS ANGELES -- The new head of Ford Motor Co.'s struggling American unit said Detroit's automakers must "change or die," and heralded the beginning of a new offensive to make Ford "America's car company."

Speaking at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford Executive Vice President Mark Fields said the automaker faces an urgent challenge and the solution lies in articulating a clear vision for each of the company's brands.

"It's time to play offense," he said. "It's time to take back our future. And the clock is ticking."

Fields, 44, took over as president of Ford's Americas unit Oct. 1 and has overseen planned job cuts and factory closings that Ford intends to announce Jan. 23. Fields declined to comment on details of that plan.

He said the company's research shows most Americans want to buy American cars, but only if they can get the same level of quality and style they can from a foreign make.

"It's interesting that Toyota is desperately trying to cast itself as an American brand. Toyota is trying to be American because they realize the market potential is huge," he said.

Toyota, which displaced Ford as the world's second-largest automaker in 2003, runs advertisements that emphasize the company's investments in U.S. factories.

Fields wants to bring customers back to Ford with American qualities.

"Of all the leading automakers, Ford has the strongest legacy claim to be America's car company," he said. "The challenge going forward is to give more customers in this country a reason to believe in us again."

Fields has distilled the strategy into a new internal rallying cry: "Red, White & Bold." He said the motto will be reflected in a new generation of bold designs from Ford and its brands.

The Ford Fusion sedan represents the first iteration of the new design strategy. The next installment will be the Ford Edge crossover vehicle, which will be unveiled Sunday at the Detroit auto show.

"(Crossover) growth is now outpacing the remarkable growth SUVs achieved in the 1990s," Fields said. Crossovers and sport wagons are on pace to exceed traditional sport utility vehicle sales in 2006.

Looking a little farther out, Fields said Ford's next big focus will be small cars. "Small is big in America, particularly among the under-30 set. And, like crossovers, small cars are ripe for bold design and innovation," he said.

On Sunday, Ford will unveil a new small car concept, the Ford Reflex, but Fields said it could be three or four years before Ford has a full-scale production entry in the segment. Speaking to a small group of reporters later Wednesday, he said Ford would rather be first into this segment, but said it could be successful with a solid later entry.

Though it may take years to realize, Fields said Ford's new small car strategy demonstrates how the company's new way of thinking is influencing product decisions.

"Before we had (this) clear vision of what the Ford brand should be, there was a very real risk that our product planners would simply try to out-Korean the Koreans," he said. "In my mind, that would be a recipe for customer confusion and failure. But with a bold, American small car, we will have more than just a fighting chance to win."

Fields also said it no longer made sense to refer to Detroit's Big Three, saying the Big Six global automakers now exist.

Jim Sanfilippo, senior industry analyst at AMCI Inc., said he liked what he heard Wednesday. "I think he's moving a lot of stuff around fast," said Sanfilippo. "I would not underestimate him."

While the American auto industry's woes are nothing new, Fields said it now is confronted with an unprecedented confluence of challenges. Global competition, domestic economic issues, the rising price of raw materials, mounting pension and health care costs and the consequences of past mistakes have combined to create a do-or-die situation for Michigan's automakers.

"It goes beyond economics," Fields said. "We lost our way. We lost touch with our customers, particularly our car customers."

Fields said it will take some time to turn the ship around. He predicted that 2006 auto sales "probably won't outshine last year's selling rate," but said he is confident that Ford "will stabilize in the near term and ultimately grow (its) market share by making customer values and attitudes central to our business model."

As part of developing the new brand strategy, Fields asked his team to take a hard look at Lincoln and Mercury and see if they still had a place in the Ford family. Ford will keep all three because each adds something unique to the marketplace. Mercury brings more female customers to Ford, while Fields' team fixed on a new vision for Lincoln in domestic luxury.

Whether or not Fields can pilot Ford's ship through rough waters remains to be seen, Sanfilippo said. But Fields' track record at Mazda, where he spearheaded that company's turnaround between 2000 and 2002, speaks for itself. "What he hasn't done," Sanfilippo said, "is fail."