Somebody at Ford Had Better Look Into This
Please note that I am NOT taking sides on the issue involved, except to note that:
- I’m not a big fan of boycotts, and I would rather that Don Wildmon and the American Family Association had not initiated one against The Ford Motor Company.
- If we are to believe Wildmon’s group, Ford broke a promise it made to them, triggering the boycott.
- For personal and professional reasons, I would like to see The Ford Motor Company stay with us.
The big point is that, if I were running Ford, I would do everything I could to find out how much of the company’s unexpected $123 million loss (a profit was expected) is due to the boycott.
The company blames its dependence on SUVs.
Hmm — Toyota’s “light truck” sales, which includes SUVs, were up 7.6% (not as much as for cars, but up nonetheless; and yes, I know that GM’s light truck sales probably dropped even more than Ford’s during the quarter).
So …. what kind of organized human entity tends to buy SUVs (see middle word of Wildmon’s organization’s name if you’re not sure)? Ford should be asking itself if it has, in its clumsiness, managed to alienate too many of them, and if so, figure out what it needs to do to get them back.
