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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Mustang / October 2007Ford Catches One Of Toyota's Big Fish
Ford Motor Co. today said that James D. Farley, group vice president of Toyota Motor Co.'s Lexus Division, will be Ford's first chief marketing and communications officer. "We are thrilled to welcome one of the most successful and talented leaders in the industry to the Ford Motor Company team," CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement, confirming a story first reported in this column today. "Jim Farley is well known for innovative marketing strategies that connect great products to today's and tomorrow's customers. Ford's quality and vehicles are now on par with the best of the competition. We look forward to Jim's leadership to combine world- class marketing with our world-class products worldwide." The move is a signature appointment by Mulally, who has openly criticized Ford's marketing efforts and signaled his desire to install top marketing talent at the Glass House. Farley's arrival also will be yet another high-profile defection from vaunted Toyota to a Detroit automaker, suggesting that highly regarded industry pros see opportunity in their beleaguered rivals. "Farley is their superstar," a source familiar with the situation told me today, adding that Ford has been talking with Farley off and on for a year. "It's a done deal. This is a good move for us. This is the guy we wanted. He has an engineering background." The appointment of Farley, 45, was approved today by Ford's directors. As the first head of global marketing and communications for Ford, he would assume what is arguably the industry's most monumental marketing challenge. Ford has foundered amid weak campaigns, discarded and then revived brand names like Taurus, poor product definition and plunging market share. Under Mulally, an aerospace engineer and 37-year veteran of Boeing Co. before arriving at Ford last fall, key marketing decisions -- such as reviving the Taurus model name -- have been pushed by him, a engineer- cum-CEO who understands his limitations in the marketing world. It's hard to overstate the symbolism of Farley's appointment by Ford. That a rising Toyota star, the head of Lexus and a founder of its Scion youth brand would bolt the Japanese juggernaut for the struggling Blue Oval is a testament to Mulally's leadership, the strength of Ford's current lineup, the promise of its future products and the upside in it all. And unlike Chrysler LLC, which could use the opaque world of private equity to woo Farley's old boss, Jim Press, from Toyota North America to Auburn Hills, Ford is doing so in the more transparent world of public companies. These moves are not accidental, but instead telegraph a determination to land top talent at Detroit companies that have historically shunned outsiders. Not anymore. Both Ford and Chrysler now are headed by industry outsiders whose paths to the CEO offices here were paved by their success elsewhere and their willingness to look outside their new companies for the best marketing talent they can find. Mulally, for one, has long been an admirer of Toyota. While head of Boeing's commercial aviation unit, he studied its production methods and adapted them to aircraft assembly. Nor is he shy about conceding that the model he envisions for Ford -- "one Ford," built around the promise of a solid Blue Oval, not ancillary, money-losing luxury brands -- is the Toyota model. Before heading Lexus, the nation's top-selling luxury brand, Farley was group vice president of Toyota Division marketing. He was responsible for all Toyota Division market planning, advertising, merchandising, sales promotion, incentives and Internet activities. He also served as vice president of Scion, Toyota's youth-oriented brand. Farley, who earned a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and an MBA from UCLA, joined Toyota in 1990 in the strategic-planning department. ---end of article ---- Very interesting. First Chrysler lures Toyota's Jim Press away, and now Ford grabs Farley. Either Toyota has an over abundance of talent, is cleaning house after a string of recent recalls or maybe after climbing the mountain to the #1 spot (it's easier to get there than stay there) it's starting to come apart at the seams. We shall see... Patrick I read this the other day. I wonder if it will make a difference for Ford. > Ford Motor Co. today said that James D. Farley, group vice president > of Toyota Motor Co.'s Lexus Division, will be Ford's first chief [quoted text clipped - 78 lines] > > Patrick I sure hope so. I think most of their commercials suck big time. In some of them they flash the pictures of the car so fast that you don't get a long enough view to even tell what they look like. Maybe it's just my choice of TV shows but I never see any ads for the 500 and that should be one of their main profit centers. Come to think of it, I don't see a whole lot of ads for their pickups either. >I read this the other day. I wonder if it will make a difference for >Ford. [quoted text clipped - 81 lines] >> >> Patrick The pickup ads are possibly their one bright spot, IMO. They have Mike Rowe from the show "Dirty Jobs" as the spokesman and he is fairly entertaining in them. I see Ford truck commercials quite a bit but I watch The History Channel, Discovery Channel, Science Channel, HGTV, Food Network, National Geographic and reruns of CSI 90% of the time. I think you're not seeing Ford 500 commercials because they are getting ready to badge it as the new Taurus. I see way to many Mercury commercials with that chick. I know they are trying to sell them to women but they need another marketing approach. > I sure hope so. I think most of their commercials suck big time. In > some of them they flash the pictures of the car so fast that you don't [quoted text clipped - 88 lines] >>> >>> Patrick > The pickup ads are possibly their one bright spot, IMO. They have Mike > Rowe from the show "Dirty Jobs" as the spokesman and he is fairly [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > commercials with that chick. I know they are trying to sell them to > women but they need another marketing approach. Heh as that very Milan ad goes off on the H channel. I have those same TV habits. I always hated the Chevy truck ads where they always compare themselves to Ford by name. IMO that's a sign of someone who knows they are behind and disparate to catch up, knowing their product is inferior. Toyota is even worse making absolute false claims in their ads at times, I called a sales goob at a Toyota lot on it once.  Signature"Are you da poe-lice?" "No ma'am, we're musicians." "So round, so firm, so fully packed, so easy on the draw" - Daffy Duck Ahem. You're talking to someone who thinks that popping a sail atop a 3,000 pound motor vehicle is a viable alternative. - dwight > I always hated the Chevy truck ads where they always > compare themselves to Ford by name. IMO that's a sign of someone who > knows they are behind and disparate to catch up, knowing their product > is inferior. I could not agree more! To cite the competition in your ads by name is, IMO, affirming/reminding that THEY are the standard. Dumb, dumb, dumb... Patrick >> I always hated the Chevy truck ads where they always >> compare themselves to Ford by name. IMO that's a sign of someone who [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Patrick Although maybe they should try that now, I mean from head on the new GM truck looks like a Ford and from the a.s end it looks like a Dodge. Signature"Are you da poe-lice?" "No ma'am, we're musicians." "So round, so firm, so fully packed, so easy on the draw" - Daffy Duck Ahem. You're talking to someone who thinks that popping a sail atop a 3,000 pound motor vehicle is a viable alternative. - dwight The Taurus is already on sale, and there have already been commercials that advertise it as one of the safest fullsize cars - http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/15/ford-taurus-safety-ads-set-to-go-live/ However, there is still "fixing" to do because even with the name change, the sales are not where they were hoped to be - http://www.autoobserver.com/2007/10/ford-taurus-wha.html > The pickup ads are possibly their one bright spot, IMO. They have > Mike Rowe from the show "Dirty Jobs" as the spokesman and he is fairly [quoted text clipped - 98 lines] >>>> >>>> Patrick I have yet to see one Taurus commercial. They need a full on ad bliz for it, IMO. > The Taurus is already on sale, and there have already been commercials > that advertise it as one of the safest fullsize cars - [quoted text clipped - 106 lines] >>>>> >>>>> Patrick >I have yet to see one Taurus commercial. They need a full on ad bliz for >it, IMO. You never saw a commercial for it when it was the Ford 500 either... Ford needs to pull their head out of their a.s... >> The Taurus is already on sale, and there have already been commercials >> that advertise it as one of the safest fullsize cars - [quoted text clipped - 123 lines] >>>>>> >>>>>> Patrick >> I have yet to see one Taurus commercial. They need a full on ad bliz for >> it, IMO. > > You never saw a commercial for it when it was the Ford 500 either... Ford > needs to pull their head out of their a.s... Hopefully they will let this guy from Toyota do that for them. If they don't then their future looks very bleak. >>> The Taurus is already on sale, and there have already been commercials >>> that advertise it as one of the safest fullsize cars - [quoted text clipped - 123 lines] >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Patrick Ah, see, you just have to sign up for Ford's newsletters. They're pushing the Taurus bigtime through their email campaign. dwight >>> I have yet to see one Taurus commercial. They need a full on ad bliz >>> for it, IMO. [quoted text clipped - 150 lines] >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Patrick Bah. We'll see how many ads Ford has in the next Superbowl. That'll tell the real story. > Ah, see, you just have to sign up for Ford's newsletters. They're > pushing the Taurus bigtime through their email campaign. [quoted text clipped - 159 lines] >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Patrick Ford will probably air commercials in the Super Bowl that is worthless for generating meaningful sales. Something like showing a GT500 or just flash concept cars that no one can buy. All I can say is this new guy from Toyota has his work cut out for him. > Bah. We'll see how many ads Ford has in the next Superbowl. That'll > tell the real story. [quoted text clipped - 161 lines] >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Patrick Read an article on him today in the paper. Apparently, he's a "good guy". He used to hobnob with the little people in Toyota. Took a doorman (I think) to a Lakers game once. Gazillion dollar seats. That's the kind of guy the article painted him out to be. If it's true, there's hope yet! Michael Johnson <cds@erols.com> wrote in news:MqWdnX3c9tIx- YranZ2dnUVZ_qygnZ2d@giganews.com: > Ford will probably air commercials in the Super Bowl that is worthless > for generating meaningful sales. Something like showing a GT500 or just [quoted text clipped - 166 lines] >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Patrick Sounds like he at least understands the common people. More than I can say for the Ford family. > Read an article on him today in the paper. Apparently, he's a "good > guy". He used to hobnob with the little people in Toyota. Took a [quoted text clipped - 201 lines] >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> Patrick I don't think Ford is going to turn things around through an email campaign but then I'm not a marketing guru. I would think they should play off the past popularity of the Taurus in the commercials. Show a lineage or history of the Taurus brand and remind us of why it was the best selling car for several years running and state this is by far the best Taurus ever made and is in the spirit of the original. Maybe take a few pages from the Mustang's marketing play book. The Taurus is one of the few cars it has left with any name recognition and, IMO, one of the few that has the potential to sell 300k-400k units a year. I should be seeing a Taurus commercial every hour for the next several weeks. I think it would give better results than playing a Mercury Milan commercial every hour. > Ah, see, you just have to sign up for Ford's newsletters. They're pushing > the Taurus bigtime through their email campaign. [quoted text clipped - 153 lines] >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Patrick > I don't think Ford is going to turn things around through an email > campaign but then I'm not a marketing guru. I would think they should [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > think it would give better results than playing a Mercury Milan > commercial every hour. Mike, I think it's too late for this approach. It would have worked if when the Ford 500 debuted it was called the Taurus. But now, everyone knows the "new Taurus", dispite it's latest improvements, is still just a rebadged Ford 500. Maybe when this marketing goof-up fades after a few years and an all-new Taurus is designed then they can play on the heritage. Patrick >> I don't think Ford is going to turn things around through an email >> campaign but then I'm not a marketing guru. I would think they should [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > after a few years and an all-new Taurus is designed then they can play > on the heritage. No doubt it would be a marketing ploy but letting the car sit on the lots is not going to help. I haven't seen one Taurus ad on television. I think you're giving the consumer too much intelligence regarding the matter. There are millions of Taurus' (Tauri?) on the road with drivers that just might check out a "new" one if they knew it existed. Right now I would wager hardly anyone knows the Taurus is back. >I don't think Ford is going to turn things around through an email campaign >but then I'm not a marketing guru. I would think they should play off the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >commercial every hour for the next several weeks. I think it would give >better results than playing a Mercury Milan commercial every hour. Saw a Taurus commercial last night. Got a $750 coupon on a new Ford truck in my email today. I'm still laughing about the entire Taurus debacle. They killed off a great moneymaker (although still building them for fleets and rental companies). Why would you make them for businesses but NOT offer them to the buying public, who probably believed that the car was gone entirely? So now they're stuck with a Ford Five Hundred that nobody wants, and some poor underpaid schlub at Ford says, why not rebadge 'em all as Taurae? Intuitive thinking, that. So they rebadge the 500's, and, lo and behold, they start selling. But, ever an entire selling season behind the curve, Ford is probably now trying to market the Taurus with the same marketing budget they had approved for the 500. Next year, I'm sure, based on the previous year's sales, the Taurus' marketing budget will increase slightly. It's kinda like... when your football team stunk the previous year, you don't get invited to play on Monday Night Football this year. dwight >> Ah, see, you just have to sign up for Ford's newsletters. They're pushing >> the Taurus bigtime through their email campaign. [quoted text clipped - 163 lines] >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Patrick >> I don't think Ford is going to turn things around through an email campaign >> but then I'm not a marketing guru. I would think they should play off the [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Saw a Taurus commercial last night. Got a $750 coupon on a new Ford truck in > my email today. I work from home and have the TV on all day and still haven't seen one commercial yet. > I'm still laughing about the entire Taurus debacle. They killed off a great > moneymaker (although still building them for fleets and rental companies). [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Intuitive thinking, that. So they rebadge the 500's, and, lo and behold, > they start selling. Ford has f*#cked up time and time again by killing off their long time models. Just a few that come to mind are the Taurus, Escort, Thunderbird, Cougar, Crown Vic, Sable etc. Then there were some shorter term vehicles that had good reputations like the Contour and Probe. Killing the Taurus though had to have the other automakers jumping for joy and shaking their collective heads in bewilderment. > But, ever an entire selling season behind the curve, Ford is probably now > trying to market the Taurus with the same marketing budget they had approved > for the 500. Next year, I'm sure, based on the previous year's sales, the > Taurus' marketing budget will increase slightly. IMO, they should have morphed the Taurus into a cross over vehicle and it would have been as radical a move as when the original Taurus hit the showrooms but that move is three years too late now. That Taurus could have been touted as redefining the family hauler. > It's kinda like... when your football team stunk the previous year, you > don't get invited to play on Monday Night Football this year. Either that or your favorite football team changed its name and relocated to a new stadium on the other side of town and didn't bother to tell their fans. Then they wonder why the seats are empty on game day. >>><snip> > > It's kinda like... when your football team stunk the previous year, you > > don't get invited to play on Monday Night Football this year. > Either that or your favorite football team changed its name and > relocated to a new stadium on the other side of town and didn't bother > to tell their fans. Then they wonder why the seats are empty on game day. lol EXACTLY! Patrick > IMO, they should have morphed the Taurus into a cross over vehicle and it > would have been as radical a move as when the original Taurus hit the > showrooms but that move is three years too late now. That Taurus could > have been touted as redefining the family hauler. Huh? Don't tell me you haven't heard of the Taurus X??? http://www.fordvehicles.com/crossovers/taurusx/ (Is that what used to be the Freestyle?) I guess Ford really should advertise more. dwight >> IMO, they should have morphed the Taurus into a cross over vehicle and it >> would have been as radical a move as when the original Taurus hit the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I guess Ford really should advertise more. The only way I know about the Taurus X is I visited their website to research a statement I made in this thread. Otherwise, I still wouldn't know it is for sale. BTW, the "X" version looks like a Volvo wagon knockoff to me. >> IMO, they should have morphed the Taurus into a cross over vehicle and it >> would have been as radical a move as when the original Taurus hit the [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > dwight Yes they should. Looks like they have some Toyota people already on the design team, that new and upcoming Flex looks like that horrible little shoebox Scion with a Lincoln grill shoved in the front. Signature"Are you da poe-lice?" "No ma'am, we're musicians." "So round, so firm, so fully packed, so easy on the draw" - Daffy Duck Ahem. You're talking to someone who thinks that popping a sail atop a 3,000 pound motor vehicle is a viable alternative. - dwight Ford reported 250 billion dollars profit this year. Take a drive in to your local town and look at how many f series trucks, mustangs,and ford suvs are on the highway. I know in the area of s.c that I live in you cant even keep count.GM had to make up some b.s employee discount just to keep with Ford. The worse they say they are doing the more we as brand lovers want to help bring them back up. If Ford or GM are broke with all the 07 and 08 models they are selling, someone has a bad crack smoking problem. Dont believe the media thats what they want you to do. > Ford reported 250 billion dollars profit this year. Take a drive in to > your local town and look at how many f series trucks, mustangs,and ford [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > with all the 07 and 08 models they are selling, someone has a bad crack > smoking problem. Dont believe the media thats what they want you to do. Why is Ford's stock so low if they are doing so well? On Oct 11, 6:41 pm, NoOptio...@aol.com wrote: > Ford Motor Co. today said that James D. Farley, group vice president > of Toyota Motor Co.'s Lexus Division, will be Ford's first chief [quoted text clipped - 78 lines] > > Patrick Hey Patrick, I know you suggested long ago how great it would be if Toyota or Nissan would throw a V8 into a rear drive coupe and enter the ponycar wars. I think you were posting about this before Chevy came up with the Camaro concept or Dodge with the Challenger. Well the latest Road & Track mentions that an Asian automaker is going to do this for 2009 or 2010, can't remember which. But it's a Korean, not a Japanese make. The next Hyundai Tiburon will be rear drive and have an available V8. Being Hyundai, I would expect them to undercut the Mustang GT by a few thousand, and the Dodge and the Chevy by even more (since it's unlikely the V8 versions of either of these two will price out within $5000 of a Mustang). 180 Out > On Oct 11, 6:41 pm, NoOptio...@aol.com wrote: >> Ford Motor Co. today said that James D. Farley, group vice president [quoted text clipped - 93 lines] > > 180 Out I read some talk about that not long ago, it may have been here. I wouldn't mind seeing a stretched out 350Z/G35 with the 5.6 or the 4.5 V8 from Nissan. One thing is sure, it would eat up any Hemi in the 1/4 mile in both speed and fuel consumption :oP Signature"Are you da poe-lice?" "No ma'am, we're musicians." "So round, so firm, so fully packed, so easy on the draw" - Daffy Duck Ahem. You're talking to someone who thinks that popping a sail atop a 3,000 pound motor vehicle is a viable alternative. - dwight On Oct 15, 7:22 pm, one80...@hotmail.com wrote: > Hey Patrick, Hello, 180. Good to see you around again! > I know you suggested long ago how great it would be if > Toyota or Nissan would throw a V8 into a rear drive coupe and enter > the ponycar wars. I think you were posting about this before Chevy > came up with the Camaro concept or Dodge with the Challenger. Yes I was. > Well > the latest Road & Track mentions that an Asian automaker is going to > do this for 2009 or 2010, can't remember which. It's Hyundai. > But it's a Korean, > not a Japanese make. The next Hyundai Tiburon will be rear drive and > have an available V8. That's the one. It's being referred to as the "Korean Mustang". I posted the news in here a while back. You can search the NG if you want the details/link. > Being Hyundai, I would expect them to undercut > the Mustang GT by a few thousand, and the Dodge and the Chevy by even > more (since it's unlikely the V8 versions of either of these two will > price out within $5000 of a Mustang). The Detroit Three, while trying to keep a competitive price, will have to sell/infuse their legacy in much the same way Harley Davidson has. While it's inevitable they'll lose some sales with the added competition, if market their heritage well they'll beat the Koreans in the pony car market. Patrick |
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