By Tim Chappell, Lincoln-Mercury Public Affairs

Originally published in the Third Quarter 1994 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 199).

Ford Motor Company Thinks Global and Acts Local

Detroit, July 29—The business world today finds itself in a global marketplace in which information can travel the globe in a matter of seconds, and the actions of a person in Australia can immediately influence the decisions of a person in Texas.

So how do businesses adapt to these global changes? According to Ed Hagenlocker, newly appointed president of Ford Automotive Operations, “businesses must adapt by thinking global, but acting local.”

For the past year and a half, Ford has had a series of study teams evaluating the operation of the company’s worldwide automotive business as a single profit center using common engineering, design and manufacturing processes. This movement to a global operation, which internally is called “Ford 2000”, will be implemented starting January 1, 1995.”

One of the principal goals of ‘Ford 2000’ is to eliminate duplication of design and engineering efforts and product investments in our operations,” said Hagenlocker. “We also want to become quicker in our response time to customers, our concept-to-market cycle times and in all our decision making processes.”

Initially, “Ford 2000” will merge the company’s American and European operations with the eventual goal of incorporating the company’s Asian, Latin American and Australian operations as well.

The movement to global operations will create five Vehicle Centers that will have cradle to grave responsibility for the design, manufacture and sales of vehicle lines assigned to the centers. Four Vehicle Centers will be located in Dearborn, Michigan and one will be located in Europe.

The Vehicle Centers located in Dearborn will be responsible for 1) large front wheel drive (FWD) vehicles, 2) rear wheel drive cars, 3) light trucks and 4) commercial trucks. The European Vehicle Center will be responsible for small to medium size FWD vehicles. Through the use of satellites, teleconferencing, computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing and other state of the art technology, any Vehicle Center will be able to share information, design and processes with any other Vehicle Center.

Simply put, “Ford 2000” will ensure that Ford’s worldwide resources and inputs are fully capitalized in the product development process and will build on the lessons learned from the global development of the Mercury Mystique, Ford Contour and the European Ford Mondeo.

Although the structure of Lincoln-Mercury generally will not change as a result of “Ford 2000,” from a customer’s perspective there will be differences. “Ford 2000” will result in faster response times to changes in customers’ preferences and demands as well as the production of more high quality, world-class vehicles—which will be good for the customer, the dealer organization and Lincoln-Mercury.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  For those of you who may not know, Wixom, Michigan has been the Lincoln assembly plant since 1958.

ABOVE:  Brad Griffin and his 1978 Continental Mark V

By John D. Griffin, Auburn, Maine

Originally published in the Third Quarter 1994 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 199).

When my son first obtained his driver’s license, his next thoughts were of a car, initially, what every teen-aged American boy wanted—a Firebird or a Camaro. When dad pointed out that insurance companies view the combination of teenage male drivers and Firebirds as highly combustible and rate them accordingly, he was crushed. Was he doomed to cruise in a four-cylinder, four-door sedan? Oh, the shame! Even the promised occasional use of dad’s Lincoln Town Car was not the solution. But the world of Lincoln did provide a solution, in the form of a sleek, black 1978 Continental Mark V. It was a beauty—turbine wheels, silver landau roof, and best of all, electric moon roof. The car had high mileage, but was well cared for, having been traded following a minor rear-end collision. This was not a Firebird or Camaro—it was far more—it was  truly a “gentleman’s hot rod”, with its 460 cid. four-barrel carb V-8 and dual exhaust system. With a near mint interior and a silky, smooth drive train, all it needed was the minor collision repair and a proud new owner. It got both and more! With an upgraded sound system and the necessary body work, it was off to school on a daily basis.

Pride of ownership was soon evident and it was never again to face the harsh Maine winters but was allowed to rest peacefully in indoor storage under a car cover until spring returned. Cars of lesser stature became winter transportation. Pride of ownership and the fact that the car was unique among his peer group led to the formation of the Mark V Club—five friends who remain friends to this day— complete with their own distinctive logo, carried out on T-shirts and jackets.

The sleek beauty is still just that, even with nearly 140,000 miles on the odometer. Pride of ownership leads to proper upkeep and breeds responsibility. What could have been just another car has become a permanent and treasured possession, giving to its owner superb Lincoln performance in return for a modest investment in loving care. Now the teen-ager is an adult, out in the work-a-day world, driving other Mark V automobiles, but as surely as the season comes, the original Mark V emerges in the spring, to be once again a thing of beauty and a real driving experience. Hopefully, this enjoyable cycle will continue indefinitely as its owner has now come of age, yet always remained true to his first automobile love.