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Report: Mulally urges Capitol Hill to adopt national fuel standard

Filed under: Government/Legal, Ford

ford ceo alan mulally

Will there be one fuel standard to rule them all? Ford CEO Alan Mulally certainly hopes so, and he’s letting Washington know. As manufacturers spend time and money pushing to reach established Corporate Average Fuel Economy goals, some states are looking to set their own rules. That could prove to be a tricky – and hugely expensive – proposition for the automakers.

We know we said “some states,” but you all know the one we’re talking about. California is (once again) considering the idea of setting its own average fuel economy rules starting in 2017, and the federal government is (once again) considering letting them. Currently, California and the federal government agree that fleet-wide fuel efficiency will be required to hit 34.1 miles per gallon starting in 2012, a figure that runs through 2016.

As part of a visit to D.C. this week, Mulally told House members and Bill Daley, White House Chief of Staff (among others), that he wants the government to step up and standardize fuel economy and emissions rules, which would prevent states from breaking out their own guidelines.

Mulally urges Capitol Hill to adopt national fuel standard originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford head honcho Mulally talks tech with The Engadget Show

Filed under: Hybrid, Videos, Ford, Electric

Ford CEO Alan Mulally

Alan Mulally on The Engadget Show – Click above to watch video after the jump

If you aren’t already an avid follower of The Engadget Show, we highly recommend checking out the video series. The editors of our favorite tech site (disclosure: Engadget and Autoblog are both owned by AOL) routinely sit down with the movers and shakers of the electronics and gadget world for a look into what’s new and what’s next. The latest episode delves into everything from a hybrid version of the Shredder to the BlackBerry PlayBook. Of course, we’re a little more interested in the show’s interview with Ford CEO Alan Mulally. Engadget caught up with Mulally while he was in New York for the 2011 New York Auto Show and picked his brain on the future of the electric car and Ford’s vision for the automobile moving forward.

Like most manufacturers, Ford is currently working to develop new battery technologies that will allow for quicker charge times, though Mulally says that his company also hopes to see the electric car become a more integral part of the electrical grid as a whole in the near future. As battery technology advances, Ford wants EVs to be able to charge on off-peak hours, store energy and feed it back to homes and businesses when not in use.

Pretty clever.

Hit the jump to see the full episode of The Engadget Show after the jump.

[Source: Engadget]

Continue reading Ford head honcho Mulally talks tech with The Engadget Show

Ford head honcho Mulally talks tech with The Engadget Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford discloses exec salaries, Mulally package worth over $26M

Filed under: Ford, Earnings/Financials, UAW/Unions

Alan Mulally

Ford had a very good financial year in 2010, with the company’s second consecutive year-over-year market share increase and a net profit of $6.6 billion. Those sparkling stats made Ford’s stock jump, with 68 percent in total gains for the year. And when stock prices soar, so do the executives’ compensation.

The Blue Oval filed its annual proxy with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the fine print reveals some very happy executives. At the top, CEO Alan Mulally scored $1.4 million in salary, as well as $9.45 million in cash bonuses. Not a bad take-home, but the big cash comes after adding in long-term stock options, which brings the total to $26,520,515. If ever an auto exec were worth $26 million, Mulally is it.

Ford Chairman Bill Ford, Jr., didn’t do so bad, either. Ford’s $1.4 million salary and $2.7 million bonus is overshadowed by long-term stock options that balloon the total to $26,460,998. Ford’s numbers are a bit misleading since the chairman opted not to take any compensation until the company was solidly profitable.

Mark Fields, President of Ford Americas, took in $8.8 million in total compensation, followed by CFO Lewis Booth at $8.2 million and manufacturing and labor boss John Fleming at a mere $5.9 million. If you’re counting at home, the top six reaped a total of $75 million in compensation in 2010. Now that’s a good year, folks. Hit the jump to read over Ford’s cash-stuffed press release.

[Source: Ford | Image: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite]

Continue reading Ford discloses exec salaries, Mulally package worth over $26M

Ford discloses exec salaries, Mulally package worth over $26M originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: UAW boss calls Mulally’s salary “morally wrong”

Filed under: Ford, Earnings/Financials, UAW/Unions

UAW boss Bob King

After the miracle Ford CEO Alan Mulally and his One Ford team pulled off in turning around the company in the face of an industry meltdown, it might seem hard to argue about the amount of money the CEO makes. But that’s exactly what United Auto Workers President Bob King did in front of reporters at an event in Detroit, calling Mulally’s $54.5 million stock payment “morally wrong.”

CNN Money reports that King said that he liked Mulally, but added, “It creates problems for Ford in both the salaried work force and the hourly work force. It seems like one individual is getting all of the gain.”

So how and why would King bring up Mulally’s pay at a time when Ford just doled out $5,000 in profit sharing checks to the union? King’s statements come as the UAW prepares to negotiate with the Detroit 3 automakers on a new labor contract to replace the last deal that was ratified in 2007. Yeah, that may have something to do with it…

King wouldn’t go into specifics when asked what the UAW is looking for in the next contract, but did add that he’d like to get back some of the concessions the UAW agreed upon when the Detroit 3 were losing money by the bushel full. The UAW boss also said that he wasn’t looking for a contract that will make Detroit automakers uncompetitive.

[Source: CNN Money | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images]

Report: UAW boss calls Mulally’s salary “morally wrong” originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Mulally put the Ford Explorer on a crash diet

Filed under: SUV, Etc., Technology, Crossover, Ford

2011 Ford Explorer

2011 Ford Explorer – Click above for high-res image gallery

According to Bloomberg, the Ford Explorer can thank Alan Mulally for its stay of execution. When the former Boeing executive took the helm at FoMoCo, the powers that be urged him to make a decision on the then-ancient SUV. Mulally said that the nameplate could live on, but only if the company’s engineers could find a way to seriously cut weight and increase fuel economy at the same time. The new vehicle was not only able to meet those demands, but was able to offer a larger package with much of the same off-road ability as well.

That meant sacrificing the body-on-frame blue print for a unibody design and exploring alternative engine solutions – engines like the upcoming Ecoboost four-cylinder. In the end, the Blue Oval boys were able to shed 100 pounds off the platform.

Ford has since interpreted that same quest for svelteness into a company-wide strategy, and Bloomberg says that the Dearborn automaker is now on par with automakers like BMW when it comes down to aggressively stripping weight from a vehicle. You can read the full story on how Mulally’s obsession with reducing weight changed Ford for the better here. Thanks for the tip, Andrew!

Gallery: 2011 Ford Explorer: First Drive

2011 Ford Explorer

[Source: Bloomberg]

How Mulally put the Ford Explorer on a crash diet originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opinion: Obama should have tapped Ford’s Mulally for adviser role, not Immelt

Filed under: Government/Legal, Ford, Earnings/Financials

Immelt and Obama

When President Obama tapped General Electric chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt to be his top outside economic adviser, my first reaction was: Really?

Maybe I’m partial to the auto industry, the industry I follow the closest, but my next reaction was: Was Ford CEO Alan Mulally’s line busy? His email down?

Immelt took over for legendary CEO Jack Welch in 2001. And I’ve never been aware of a huge fan club for Immelt as a great CEO. According to published reports, though, he is very socially and politically connected, and has visited the White House some 16 times since Obama took office.

[Image: J. Scott Applewhite/AP]

Continue reading Opinion: Obama should have tapped Ford’s Mulally for adviser role, not Immelt

Opinion: Obama should have tapped Ford’s Mulally for adviser role, not Immelt originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mulally tops Motor Trend Power List for 2011

Filed under: Etc., Ford

Alan Mulally, Ford CEO

Motor Trend has compiled and released its annual Power List. This is the seventh year in which MT ranks the names of heaviest hitting personalities in the automotive industry. They’re all ranked in order of just how much juice they hold, and sitting at the top of this year’s list is Alan Mulally.

Ford’s CEO was previously ranked No. 10 in 2009 and rose to No. 2 last year, but this year, MT has him sitting in the pole position. Their argument? Mulally has moved Ford into a place of profitability as well as quality in both design and engineering. In the magazine’s words, “every Ford competitor needs a leader like Alan Mulally.”

Ford didn’t just see a win with Mulally earning the top honor. The automaker saw 10 of its employees in total make the 2011 Power List. General Motors is right behind them with nine folks earning recognition. After those two, the nearest competitor is Volkswagen with six people spread out across VW, Audi and Porsche.

The last few years have seen a flip-flopping trend between domestic and import bosses rising to the top spot on the power list. The 2010 edition saw VW’s Ferdinand Piëch as the numero uno automotive player and he’s still strong for 2011 with a fall of just one spot to claim the number two position. In 2009, Rick Wagoner was number one before free-falling off the list, and in 2008, Takeo Fukui of Honda sat at the Power List peak.

It’s not just team leaders like Mulally and Piëch who make the annual Power List. Well-regarded Hyundai USA CEO John Krafcik checks in at No. 10, five spots down from his boss, Chung Mong Koo, Hyundai’s global chairman. Peter Schreyer, head of design for Kia is ranked 13th overall and climbed way up from last year’s rank of 44th. Doug Parks is GM’s vehicle line executive for the Chevrolet Volt, and making sure that car arrived on time and in impressive fashion has landed him in the No. 20 spot.

You don’t even need to work for an automaker to make the list because Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson is ranked the 49th most powerful automotive figure… in the world.

The top 10 are as follows:
1. Alan Mulally (CEO, Ford)
2. Ferdinand Piëch (Chairman of Supervisory Board, Volkswagen AG)
3. Carlos Ghosn (President/CEO, Nissan/Renault)
4. Martin Winterkorn (Chairman of the Board of Management, Volkswagen AG)
5. Chung Mong Koo (Chairman, Hyundai)
6. Mark Reuss (President, GM North America & Vice President, GM)
7. Lewis Booth (CFO, Ford)
8. Derrick Kuzak (Group VP Product Development, Ford)
9. Sergio Marchionne (CEO, Fiat/Chrysler)
10. John Krafcik (Hyundai USA, CEO)

Head on over to Motor Trend to read about all 50 players on their 2011 Power List, and then stop by the comments to leave your two-cents about what you think of the list.

[Source: Motor Trend]

Mulally tops Motor Trend Power List for 2011 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mulally says Ford may pare global lineup to just 20 models

Filed under: Ford

Ford Mondeo

When Alan Mulally took charge of Ford four years ago, the Blue Oval had nearly 100 models. There are fewer than half that now, and the CEO wants to trim the number down to “less than 30, on our way to 20 to 25.” His goal of simplification appears to be driven by the desire to cut costs for everyone – distributors, suppliers, dealerships, as well as Ford itself. That will not only help the brand in the present as it makes do in lean times, but can compound the rewards when markets – especially in Asia – go nuts again.

Mulally says the returns can be put into research and development, along with engineering for the remaining models. To put this in perspective, on Ford’s U.S. site alone, there are 18 vehicles, not including the soon-to-die Explorer Sport Trac, which of course leaves out cars like the Falcon, Territory, Kuga and S-Max, among others. So the natural question is: Which vehicles would or should get the axe?

[Source: Bloomberg]

Report: Mulally says Ford may pare global lineup to just 20 models originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford’s Mulally: “We cannot make a business case” for composites

Filed under: Technology, Ford

Mike Rowe and Alan Mulally in New York

There’s been plenty of talk about carmakers moving to lighter materials like carbon fiber to reduce weight, improve fuel economy and enhance the driving experience. Two years ago, Honda and Nissan formed a consortium to research the mass-market implementation of carbon fiber. Last year, BMW launched its own joint venture to do the same. Lamborghini joined the party when it opened its own CF research center earlier this year. In practice, though, use of composites for large panels is still limited to spendier offerings like the BMW M3, Audi R8 V10 Spyder and the exotic classes.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally gives a reason for that. “We cannot make a business case for composites in the auto industry,” he says, citing the work left to be done on producing better steel and alloys. Mulally adds that getting enough composites to meet a volume maker’s needs and the sheer cost of production nixes the prospect for now. Instead, thermosetting plastics – different than thermoplastics – are a solution more near-at-hand.

Photo Copyright (C)2010 Alex Núñez /AOL
[Source: Dow Jones]

Ford’s Mulally: “We cannot make a business case” for composites originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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