What Would Ford's Future be Like?

Ford Motor Co. will be entertaining significant upgrades or replacements for its future vehicle lineup. Fresh Ford lineup is expected by 2010. Also, 70 percent of 2008 lineup will also showcase updates from previous projections.

"We're really excited about it," said Mulally, Ford CEO. "There's no reason why we can't really build cars and trucks that people really do prefer." Ford is obviously facing murky future due to its declining sales in the previous years. This is the very reason why the automaker is making all it can to assuage its ailing condition.

Ford celebrates its 104th year in the auto industry. However, the red date will not be celebrated pompously because of the dilemma and challenges that the automaker is facing. Ford lost $7 billion through September last year. Further, it is also expecting a decline in vehicle sales, worse financial results and negative cash flow this year.

To return to the right track, Ford is sticking with its Way Forward turnaround plan that will eliminate a total of 44,000 salaried and hourly jobs and will close 16 plants. Also, the automaker aims to freshen up its lineup. With said turnaround plan, Ford is expecting to gain small profit by 2009. To get through the hard times, the automaker ventures in a $25.45-billion financing deal that uses nearly all its assets. According to some critics, if the gamble won't pay off, Ford might eventually file for bankruptcy.

Mulally said Ford is making great progress toward integrating its engineering systems around the world, which are used to design and manufacture new products. He also suggested that Ford would have a deal to sell its ultra-luxury brand Aston Martin by the end of 2007.

When asked about the Ford-Toyota talk, Mullaly answered, "I've learned a lot from them." He added that the top executives have talked about a variety of mutual interests "especially advanced technologies." Mulally noted, "Despite the numbers, last year was a year of significant progress for us. It's like building a house. We built the foundation last year."

Ford is also stepping up incentives on top-selling vehicles to generate more momentum for this year. Ford is also busy promoting Edge, Mustang, Escape and the F-Series. The automaker is also absorbed in 0 percent financing on auto parts for Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner. Escape and Mariner are set to be replaced with a redesigned version in the future. In addition, Ford is offering low lease specials on certain F-150s. Owner-loyalty discounts, for one, offers discount range of $500 and $3,000 on certain models. Auto parts for 1992 Ford F-150 have established a well-defined reputation for decades now.