Tue, 04/27/2010 - 07:55 by harsheeb
Dearbon-- Ford Motor Co. said it would launch the subcompact Fiesta in the U.S. this summer as a small car produced to challenge Japanese brands.
"Fiesta really gives us an opportunity to go directly after the Japanese. Small cars have been the stronghold for them ... This is an opportunity for us to pick up some share," said Frank Davis, Ford's executive director of product development, the Detroit Free Press reported Monday.
Excluding destination charges, the Fiesta would be priced at $13,320 for a four-door version and $15,120 for a hatchback, the newspaper said.
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Sat, 04/24/2010 - 09:07 by harsheeb
Beijing -- Ford Motor Co., saying it would produce a three-cylinder car for the Chinese market, displayed a prototype model at the Beijing Auto Show.
The concept car is called the Ford Start, the Detroit Free Press reported Friday.
The Start features a 1.0-liter, direct-injection, turbocharged engine and "delivers a dynamic, personality-driven design that stays true to the global Ford brand," said J Mays, Ford's vice president of design and chief creative officer, the newspaper said.
Ford spokesman Mark Schirmer said the engine would eventually show up in cars in all of Ford's major markets.
Copyright 2010 United Press International
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Tue, 03/30/2010 - 22:37 by Inderjit Singh
Deaborn -- U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. said it had reinstated a bonus plan for salaried employees, a sign the company is returning to financial health.
"This new plan is designed to pay out if the objectives are met for the full year," company spokeswoman Marcey Evans said,
The bonuses apply to 21,300 salaried employees and are based on the same system as the one in effect for upper management, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.
The bonuses kick in if individual and company-wide goals are met.
Bonus pay can run up to $15,000 or more for salaried workers. Earlier this year, salaried workers were told merit raises for 2010 would average about 3 percent.
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Mon, 03/29/2010 - 09:05 by harsheeb
Gothenburg -- Ford Motor Co. said Sunday it has agreed to sell Volvo Cars to Chinese automaker Geely for $1.8 billion.
The Detroit Free Press reported Geely Chairman Li Shufu, Volvo Cars President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Odell and Ford Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth made the announcement.
The news came at an event at Volvo's headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, the newspaper said.
Booth said Ford expects the sale will close before Sept. 30, and after the sale Ford will continue to cooperate with Volvo Cars in several areas for a smooth transition, but will not retain any ownership in the business.
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Tue, 03/23/2010 - 00:38 by Shruti Sharma
Dearborn, Mich. -- Top executives at Ford Motor Co. earned hefty compensation packages in 2009, despite announced pay cuts, a company filing said.
Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally was awarded $17.9 million in 2009, about $900,000 more than 2008, despite taking a 30 percent cut in his base salary, which dropped from $2 million to $1.4 million, The Detroit News reported Monday.
His total pay includes stock options -- worth about $5.05 million -- and $10 million in stock awards.
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Fri, 01/29/2010 - 03:38 by harsheeb
Dearborn -- Ford Motor Co. broke the profit barrier in 2009, making a $2.7 billion while U.S. rivals were restructuring in bankruptcy, the company said Thursday.
While General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group turned to the government for billions of dollars in aid, Ford ended the year with $25.5 billion in cash reserves, nearly twice the cash it had on hand at the end of 2008, The New York Times reported.
Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally called the year "pivotal and historic."
In a conference call, Mulally said the company's accomplishments were made "during the worst economic recession in 30 or 40 years, because of the strength of the plan we put in place a few years ago."
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Wed, 01/27/2010 - 08:00 by harsheeb
Chicago -- U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. Tuesday confirmed it would hire 1,200 workers to make smaller Explorers in Chicago with a chance to break in a lower hourly wage.
Workers new to the company could be hired at $14.20 per hour, a wage allowed in a 2007 contract with the United Auto Workers union, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.
Ford also said it would expand its staff at the Chicago Stamping Plant.
At the Washington Auto Show, Ford President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said he did not know how many lower-tiered new workers would be hired and how many laid off Ford workers would be re-hired.
The lower wage is about 50 percent of the wage earned by established UAW workers, the Free Press said.
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Tue, 01/26/2010 - 03:53 by harsheeb
Chicago -- Ford Motor Co. has plans to hire 1,200 workers this year when a Chicago plant begins producing Explorer sports utility vehicles, a city business journal said.
The official announcement is likely Tuesday morning with Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn attending a press event along with Ford Executives, Crain's Chicago Business reported Monday.
Ford is shifting production of the Explorer from a plant in Louisville, Ky., which will add a second shift to the Chicago factory that currently employees 1,400 workers.
The automaker plans to produce an Explorer that is smaller and more fuel-efficient than past models, a step that is compatible with Chicago's Torrence Avenue factory, which also produces the Ford Taurus, Crain's reported.
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Fri, 01/22/2010 - 09:53 by Rakhi Kaptiyal
Dearborn, Mich. -- A United Auto Workers local president said few Ford Motor Co. workers have accepted the Dearborn, Mich., company's latest job buyout offer.
"They've offered it so many times, the ones that wanted them already took them," Rocky Comito told the Detroit Free Press.
The company's latest offer, announced Dec. 17, included payments of $20,000 to $50,000 and either $25,000 toward a new car or $20,000 cash.
Ford survived the year without falling into bankruptcy or taking a handout from the government, as Chrysler Group and General Motors Co. did. But it has still undertaken a massive restructuring to gear up for production of greener more fuel-efficient cars and gear down for the recession.
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Tue, 01/19/2010 - 03:16 by harsheeb
Dearborn -- Ford Motor Co. said it would reconfigure a three-party agreement with Japanese and Chinese partners as it adjusts to the potential sale of the Volvo brand.
Ford said in early December it was reevaluating its holdings in Asia as it moved toward closing a deal with Chinese automaker Geely, which had agreed to purchase Volvo, the Detroit Free Press reported Monday.
During the weekend, Ford said it was splitting up a joint agreement with Japanese automaker Mazda and China's Chongqing Changan by shifting joint ownership of two factories to create a 50-50 Mazda-Chongqing Changan project in one factory and a Ford-Chongqing Changan partnership in the other.
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Tue, 12/29/2009 - 07:05 by harsheeb
Dearbon -- U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. said Monday its 2011 Mustang GT would include a competitive 5.0 liter, 412 horsepower V8 engine.
The iconic American sports car will have a six-speed transmission, available as an automatic or a manual.
In addition, it will add features, such as integrated blind spot mirrors and a universal garage door opener, The Detroit News reported.
But the increased power under the hood is likely to draw the most attention from muscle-car enthusiasts.
"I've been waiting 48 years for this. When I joined Ford, as soon as I heard about this engine, I knew we had something special," said Jim Farley, Ford's vice president of marketing.
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Wed, 12/23/2009 - 17:06 by Jaspreet Virk
New York, December 23 -- In a move towards cutting losses, Ford Motor Co. has announced that it is selling its Swedish business, Volvo Cars, to China's Geely.
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