Innovation was what set us apart. Then they stopped trying and started recycling old ideas. That's when we lost our edge.
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It left with everyone decent.
It disappeared when they had mo--ns running FordX, then FordNext, then Integrated Services. THEY were supposed to be the innovators, but not one of them has ever produced anything of value. FLV, Stern, CM and Aragon were/are all pathetic paycheck colllectors.
When that bunny face entered this company with his stupid ideas itself this company was dead...
Ford has become a monument to bureaucracy. The company is so top-heavy that management layers seem to outnumber the people doing actual engineering. Many of the best engineers—the ones who lived and breathed problem-solving—have long since left. What remains is an army of title-holders more interested in PowerPoint presentations, meetings, and career advancement than engineering.
The result is predictable: a growing shortage of genuine technical expertise and an organization that often struggles with problems that competent engineers should be able to solve routinely. Too many of today's so-called engineers couldn't design a simple cardboard box without forming a committee, scheduling a dozen meetings, and asking management for approval.
Ford has been a “fast follower” since the days of Henry Ford II. They have a pathological aversion to in-house innovation. They let Chrysler or GM innovate then just hurry up and say, “Me too! Me too!!”
There was a time in the 1980s and 90s where Ford copied Toyota and they produced excellent products. But they have since lost their way and went back to copying GM, or maybe something worse.
The CCP demands uniformity.
Ever notice the sameness of products coming out of China? 10 different companies all making basically the same thing.
Well, that same mindset came over with the agents they embedded in U.S. industry.
Why would an autocratic communist country allow their best and brightest to leave?
They didn’t. They were sent on a mission.
@hy I think you meant "MCR", you know that good old "Material Cost Reduction" stupidity that PD upper management gets big bonuses from.
Innovation got TVM’d out by the team in Chennai
@e8 State Run Radio
exactly - we often here Model T moment this and Model T moment that, but the stuff that is going to come out from there is more like man discovers the wheel moment which is going to far exceed anything that the automotive world has seen for quite some time. I would expect the word innovation will need to be redefined once the new EV hits the streets......
Simple. Innovation got WOKED! Someone/ posted asked if Ford still made tractors. They should revisit that market. But then they would need to manufacture manure spreaders too. Sales and marketing would literally have the perfect "vehicle" to deliver a FORD quality car or truck.
Suppliers don’t trust Ford management so they share innovation with other vehicle manufacturers. ABF (Anybody But Ford).
I think it's pretty obvious.
Same thing happened to Boeing in the late 1990's when they mistakenly merged with McDonnell Douglas. Innovation went straight out the door once the McDonnell Douglas id--ts got themselves into higher positions in the merged companies. Now Boeing is just an assembler. They do very little engineering inside the company these. Everything was all outsourced years ago due to the McDonnell Douglas id--ts. Unlike the early 1990's, years before the stupid merger not many engineers graduating from college these days are interested in working at Boeing.
@OP When you have not-so-smart people leading Development work in Dearborn and in Chennai/Bengaluru, say bye bye to Innovation
Who needs innovation when you have PICKUP TRUCKS! Yeehaw!
Haven't you heard? All of the innovation happens at the skunkworks in Long Beach.
Lost the edge? Didnt't they stop building the Edge years ago?
Our management and executives happened.