Bill Ford, great grandson of founder Henry Ford, has stepped down as the CEO of Ford Motor Company. Boeing top executive, Alan Mulally has been given the position in hopes of turning around the beleaguered automaker.
Just last month, Toyota announced that it had surpassed Ford for the first time in U. S. auto sales, based primarily upon the public’s demand for more fuel efficient cars such as hybrids. Bill Ford acknowledged that his company did not anticipate the quick shift of public sentiment away from pickup trucks and SUVs to the more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Though Bill Ford may have made the realization of the public’s demand late in the game, he did make efforts to try to steer the company in the direction of more environmentally friendly and fuel efficient cars by introducing more E85 and hybrid vehicles as of late.
Ford also advocated for hydrogen car technology, helping his company to introduce the Ford Focus FCV and Ford Super Chief tri-fuel vehicle to the public. It is anticipated that Mulally will cut as many as 30,000 more jobs over the next 6 years to help his new company remain solvent.
Many Ford auto enthusiasts are hoping Mulally will also retain the passion that Bill Ford possessed for innovation and keep the hydrogen car program alive and kicking so that new technology can lead Ford back to the reputation it once enjoyed as one of the U. S.’s top two automakers. Whether or not this is a realistic goal, given the competition, remains to be seen.