Mark Fields Ford Quotations

I asked Bill Ford and Jim Padilla for not only the best and the brightest leaders in our company, but for the kind of people who can work as one team on one agenda. That agenda is to turn around our North American operation with a team that knows how to win, an innovative product line-up that wins in the marketplace and a brand that has strong emotional appeal. We now have in place an outstanding group of leaders in The Americas, and they already have hit the ground running to turn the business around.

is known for his marketing expertise, and his skills as a motivator, as he proved in leading the recovery of Mazda and as seen in the continuing progress in our Premier Automotive Group and Ford of Europe. His next challenge is to lead The Americas automotive operations back to a sustained level of profitability, while producing the best cars and trucks in the industry.

Who's most likely to buy our products, who's least likely to buy them and who's up for grabs. This has given us a much deeper insight than we've ever had before using traditional demographic or vehicle segment-based models. One of the most important findings from this research is that there remains a huge market for American cars in this country. And the potential is significantly larger than the roughly 55 percent market share than GM, Ford and Chrysler together command today.

With more focused brands, new product investment and innovation, Ford will slow the rate of loss and then stabilize our U.S. market share in the near term, even as competitors add new models. From there, we can set our sights on the future.

Edge underscores the bold, American design direction for all Ford vehicles going forward. Edge also is packed with Ford innovation from its panoramic glass roof and laptop-friendly center console to fuel-saving engine and advanced safety features. We expect Edge to make waves in the hot crossover market this year just like the Fusion did for midsize cars last year.

Maciel has made a significant contribution to the Ford Motor Company global business through innovations in product, business and marketing strategies. We wish Maciel well in his new role and thank him for his work at Ford Motor Company.

A decision to end production at a plant is not an easy one, and I'm deeply mindful of the impact this decision has on Ford employees, families and communities. Unfortunately, these are necessary steps we must take to move the business forward.

The hard but simple reality is that Ford has the costs, capacity and staffing of a company that is much larger than our sales and market share can support -- even under the best of conditions.