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Car Execs in the Hot Seat: A Sincere Response
By: Jennifer Brinkmann | 11/26/2008
William Ford, the executive chairman of Ford, gave an interview on NPR last night about the industry's request for a "bailout." It was one of the most refreshing, down-to-earth commentaries I have heard from this industry. President-elect Obama yesterday called the Big 3 "tone deaf." In Ford's NPR interview, he seemed to find a melody that could reposition the debate over the Big 3 "bailout."
Will GM or Chrysler find a voice, like Ford's, that people can respect and trust? Can any of the manufacturers recover from their mistakes at the congressional hearings?
Posted in Brand Positioning
comments
Jennifer says:
Thu, December 04, 2008 at 11:26:am
Maya, you’re right…there is a lot of humor in their response. When part of an SNL spoof becomes reality, you can’t help but laugh at them. It does seems like Ford, because of its cash position, has been able to separate itself from the other two.
It is interesting to watch the response this week to the criticism of executive compensation. Other industries should be watching and learning a lot from the mistakes of the auto industry.
Beth says:
Tue, December 09, 2008 at 8:17:am
Here’s a link to one of the big 3’s (GM) latest attempts to win back consumer trust. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97973461
Too little, too late?
Additional details can be found here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122869243877986475.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo
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Maya says:
Thu, December 04, 2008 at 9:52:am
A lot has happened since last week. It seems that, despite Ford’s authentic and sincere interview on NPR, consumers have lost trust in the “Big 3” because of irresponsible actions. It’s almost humorous that these execs were trying so hard to counter their actions during their first trip to D.C. (flying in on private jets, etc.) by traveling in a hybrid car and eating at Quiznos during their second trip.
I really think that beyond a sincere tone, these execs need to openly communicate their plans on how these companies are going to function more efficiently in order to restore the trust of their publics. You can have the most sincere tone, but it’s a waste if the content is weak.