FORD PROFITS THIS WEEK PRELUDE TO FORD REALIGNMENT.
FIRST AUTOMAKER TO FOCUS LINEUP ON ALL NEW SAFETY DEVICES AND SYSTEMS – HANDS FREE CALL, LANE ALERT, CRUISE CONTROL, CRASH AVOIDANCE AND BRAKING FOR ALL BRANDS OF LINCOLNS, FORD CARS AND TRUCKS. ALL CRASH AVOIDANCE, PARKING HITS, SAFETY OPERATION TESTS TO BE REQUIRED BY NHTSA.
17M U.S. SALES HIT RECORD.
WOODLAND HILLS, CA – The Stagnant U. S. Car and truck market is suddenly thawing out, what with the escalation of credit opportunities and the upbeat impact of consumer interest in cars with hands-free and jazzy styling features, plus diesel and 4-cylinder engines. This has led to raised marketing forecasts in the U.S. and Europe. Auto Show surveys have been uniformly upbeat at the NY, Detroit, Chicago and LA shows. From the 16M U.S. markets of recent years , it seems that the U.S. market could close the 2014 calendar year at a 17M annual rate for a new all time record!!
This reflects stepped-up demand for new safety features on all market segments combined with universal boosts in popular new-made styling and across-the-board availability of lower-cost loans and leases for pre-owned vehicles.
Electric models like Nissan’s Leaf or diesels like VW’s Jetta act as market boosters, say analysts.
RECALLS SNAG GM, RED INK BESETS FORD MARK FIELDS BOOST TO CEO PUT OFF
It was inevitable! Just as the NY Auto Show wraps up, Ford and Lincoln are stung again by an executive blow. Ford’s Global profits fell back in the first quarter and CEO Alan Mulally held off retirement till 12-31-14 at earliest. Executive chairman Bill Ford stands in as general manager. Mary Barra settles in as she adds 2 more group VPs to GM’s ex-executive list.
Barra’s technical expertise seeks to keep GM competitive as it struggles to rectify ignition-switch recall blitz. NADA Convention and NY Show fail to instill confidence that GM’s new team can speed up consumer concerns for speedy repairs on recalled Chevy Cobalts, Cruzes and Silverados.
