"The business model that sustained us for decades is no longer sufficient to sustain profitability," the memo said. "We must change to a new business model that requires greater bottom-line contributions from cars and crossovers, continued leadership in pickups in North America, healthier profits from all other business units, growth in Asia, greater integration of our global operations and an evaluation of strategic alliances."As I've posited in the past, the auto industry is fundamentally sound. There are a few aspects of the industry, here in the United States, that need addressing, but it's certainly very possible to make money in the business. Bill and his leadership team (as most of Detroit) are just mired in the past, and afraid of change.
I would love to see a private equity consortium buy Aston-Martin or Jaguar or Volvo. That would cause such an influx of capital & interest in the sector that it would likely see some quick changes (= results). A series of private equity firms would defintely address the following:
Regarding leadership, he [Bill Ford] wrote that he was now "even more determined to continue to develop leaders inside the company and to attract leaders from outside when we need additional skills to turnaround our business."
