Ford CEO to work at dealership

What do you do when your company has just announced its largest loss ever? If the company is Ford and your name is Allan Mulally, you spend a day with the troopers in the showroom floors.

According to CNN, Ford chief Allan Mulally will work as a salesman for a day at a to-be-announced Ford dealership. The experience will give Mulally a better understanding of the company's sales problems.

The plans were apparently born during conversations with Ford dealers at a recent National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Las Vegas.

Ford boss wants James Bond's car

In the latest James Bond film, Casino Royale, Daniel Craig's 007 arrives at the Ocean Club in a silver Ford Mondeo. A pedestrian 5-door sedan may not seem like the type of car suited for a double-O agent, but it is apparently on the wish list for Ford's top executive.

When asked about the possibility of bringing the European-market Mondeo to the U.S., Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally responded: "When I went to see the James Bond movie and I saw that Mondeo, I wanted it." Mulally hinted at the possibility of the car appearing in the American market, saying that the Mondeo is "a neat vehicle for commerce in the United States."

Business plans aside, Does Mulally really want the Ford Mondeo? It is a handsome car and heads and shoulders above it's American counterpart - the Ford Fusion - in terms of design and sophistication. The Mondeo takes lots of design cues from the Iosis concept car revealed at the 2005 Frankfurt auto show and if it ever arrives at American shores it could only do good for Ford's troubled lineup.

On a related note, Ford reportedly paid Casino Royale producers $24 million in product placement fees to ensure Bond was seen behind the wheels of the Mondeo...

(Source: edmunds.com)
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Goodbye corporate jet for Ford exec

As Ford tries to stop bleeding red ink, a top executive will stop using the corporate jet and will begin flying commercial flights (paid by Ford) for his weekend trips home in South Florida.

Mark Fields, executive vice president and head of operations in the Americas, had arranged for the corporate flights as part of his employment contract. But the perk has now raised some eyebrows in light of Ford's current financial troubles.

It is estimated that the voluntary move will save Ford just over $800,000 - a drop in the bucket for Ford, but an important symbolic gesture as Ford tries to turn around by cutting jobs and closing plants.

(Source: CNNMoney)
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