Are you kidding me? You have to hire an expensive outsider to tell you that you have no fuel efficient vehicles to sell? Well I just did, now you owe me &1,000,000!

It's good to see Ford reach outside the auto industry. Tunnel vision in a large company with a culture ingrained over a century can be hard to overcome. Boeing's push towards efficiency as shown in the 787 while Mulally was at the helm is promising. Hopefully a similar mindset can be transplanted to Ford. Too bad real changes in the product lineup probably won't be seen until the next design cycle (2-3 years?).

It seems that an air pumped regenerative breaking design should be achievable even by Ford.

They should lay off their lobbyists, since Ford managements were confused by their own smokes & mirrors.

Hate to say it, but I doubt the efficiency of the 787 was motivated by environmental concerns, but rather for the economic gains airlines would see because of reduced fuel use. I doubt many airlines choose planes based on their "greenness" (when is the last time you saw an airline advertise their environmental leanings).

Then again, maybe this guy will see that to save ford, there needs to be a push for efficiency. Who knows, maybe this guy can do some good.

CEOs of large corporations, while typically vastly overpaid, *can* make a difference. Witness Apple Computer after the return of Steve Jobs. It remains to be seen if this guy is in that league.

Ford is on the ropes. It has nothing to lose by embracing a completely new strategy, so who knows what good things might happen if its leadership has the vision to build the cars and trucks demanded by the new realities of the twenty-first century.

Boeing bet their future that the airlines would do more regional and less 500 person long haul like Airbus. It looks like Boeing's bet is going to pay off well. In an industry where they bet the company on the 747 and won, maybe these are the kinds of people Ford needs now.

Aircraft manufacturers pay about 5000$ for 3-seat assembly for their passenger aircraft. I hope Mr. Mulally will not introduce this part of corporate culture into Ford product lines.

Boeing is working at removing halon from their fire-suppression systems and replacing it with dry chemicals and water.  This is ozone-friendly and quite "green".

The general mood of these posts seem to want to indicate that this guy, and Ford, needs to fail. Yet the mood also indicates that Mulally has helped Boeing succeed. For that, lets give this guy some credit to see what he can do. Maybe a bright future for Ford.

As much as I love to hate the US auto companies, I would like to change my stance over the next few years. Let's hope Ford, with the new leadership, can move forward and be very successful.

Maybe he is going to start use one of those big GE turbine engines in the mustang. We can only hope. :-)

Energex42,
"It seems that an air pumped regenerative breaking design should be achievable even by Ford."
You are underestimating them. They have hydraulic hybrids, and clean more efficient diesels in the pipe. It will take someone like Mulally to push it through to the finished product, and quickly.

Ford spent too much time hanging on to truck-based designs, hoping against hope that prices at the pump would go down again. The new CEO's success will depend largely on what Ford has in the pipeline in terms of fuel-efficient cars that customers actually want to buy. There is little he can do to address that in the short term, but he can focus on where each of the brands is heading. Moreover, he could re-name the corporation, making Ford merely one of the brands.

Ford spent too much time hanging on to truck-based designs, hoping against hope that prices at the pump would go down again. The new CEO's success will depend largely on what Ford has in the pipeline in terms of fuel-efficient cars that customers actually want to buy. There is little he can do to address that in the short term, but he can focus on where each of the brands is heading. Moreover, he could re-name the corporation, making Ford merely one of the brands.

Raf: Henry Ford rolled over in his grave at your last suggestion.

My suggestion would be to look more closely at the Focus WRX and incorperate a hybridization. This could be a Subbie beater that had the cool factor plus economy. I do agree that there needs to be some consolidation or liquidation. The dilution of Land Rover is apparent... look at the Expedition and the Range Rover.