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Bradford Wernle
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In the Land of Many Buicks, one in particular stood out
SHANGHAI -- If you were an alien from another world and your spaceship landed in Shanghai, you would immediately conclude that Buick is a planetary titan among automotive brands. Buick is the third-leading brand in China behind Volkswagen and Hyundai through March with 5.3 percent of the market, ...
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China is a learning lab for Lincoln
SHANGHAI -- For Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln luxury brand, what happens in China won't necessarily stay in China. The brand is studying the habits of luxury shoppers here at Shanghai's luxury malls for new ideas in customer service that eventually could find their way back to U.S. Lincoln dealerships.
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Marketer uses customers' voices to tell the Ford story
… new Ford models before they hit the showroom floor. Barlow, 47, discussed Ford advertising with Staff Reporter Bradford Wernle . Q: How did the EcoBoost Challenge come about? A: We've had a pretty good track record telling our story through …
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Ford must switch gears, tout trucks, Mustang
DETROIT -- Ford-brand marketers face an interesting challenge. After spending millions of dollars over the last several years promoting a lineup of fuel-efficient small- and mid-sized cars and crossovers, two historic launches loom on Ford's near-term horizon: the next-generation F-series pickup ...
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Ford's latest high-tech twist: Granddad's old-school knobs
DETROIT -- Joe Hinrichs, Ford Motor Co.'s president of the Americas, won't say directly how the company plans to fix its troubled MyFord Touch control system, which has hurt Ford's ratings in quality surveys. But here's a hint: knobs. MyFord Touch includes hardware on the center stack and ...
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Ford takes long look at launches
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. is modifying its vehicle-launch procedures to catch problems earlier, said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas. The changes come after quality problems hobbled several important launches of Ford vehicles, including the Ford Escape and Lincoln MKZ. "We've done a ...
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In China, car deliveries are reasons to celebrate
HONGQING, China -- When Xiu He Ping and his family took delivery of their shiny blue Ford Focus last month at An Fu Ford in this sprawling central Chinese city, they walked into a special courtyard where a half-dozen new cars sat, each with a shiny, red bow draped across its hood. Each car also had
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Ford boosts F-150 capacity in Kansas City
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. will add workers and capacity at its Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri to build more F-150 pickups, its best-selling vehicle. But the company remains parts-constrained on the Ford Explorer crossover, the Ford vehicle with tightest inventories, said Joe Hinrichs, ...
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First-time car buyers are driving China market growth
SHANGHAI -- Issa Wu, 28, can scarcely find words to describe the thrill of buying his first car. "It's more than exciting," says Wu of his purchase of a new Volvo earlier this year. "My decision was very quick." The thrill of new-car ownership may be largely gone in the United States, where young
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Ford to add 2,000 jobs, raise F-150 capacity at Kansas City plant
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. today said it will hire an additional 2,000 workers at its Kansas City Assembly Plant to meet increased demand for F-150 pickups and for the upcoming production of the new Transit family of commercial vehicles. The increases will come in two phases. Ford will add 900 jobs
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Lincoln shoots for a happier ending after troubled MKZ launch
… a plant in Flat Rock, Mich., where it lined them up in a parking lot and checked them one by one. My colleague Bradford Wernle chronicled the MKZ's "difficult birth," as our headline put it, in an excellent story featuring what has to …
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Lincoln to hike MKZ Hybrid mix; Ford volume up 18%
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. will increase the production mix of Lincoln MKZ Hybrids to 30 percent for the 2014 model year, from 20 percent now, to meet increased demand. After a problem-plagued launch that delayed the car's arrival in showrooms, the MKZ sedan recovered in April with the biggest sales
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Ford weighs compact for China
SHANGHAI -- With an eye to growth in China's booming compact car market, Ford has revived an old nameplate for a new concept car. The Ford Escort Concept, introduced at the auto show here, is an extended-wheelbase version of the Focus compact, Ford's best-selling vehicle in China. The Escort ...
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Suppliers follow automakers to inland cities
… This year TRW will invest $200 million in its Chinese plants. "It's as if everybody in China is saying, 'Hey, let's go west,'" Royce said. "I think everybody is doing the same thing." Bradford Wernle contributed to this report
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Ford profit rises 15% on N.A. record
… India. Ford is in the midst of a Chinese product offensive, with 15 new products planned by 2015. The company introduced the Mondeo, Fiesta ST and Focus ST last week at the Shanghai auto show. Bradford Wernle contributed to this report.
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After late start, Ford goes full tilt on China growth
SHANGHAI -- Dave Schoch, Ford Motor Co.'s recently appointed Asia Pacific chief, shrugs off critics who say the automaker is a latecomer to China. The market's sheer size and rosy growth prospects should ensure soaring sales for Ford even as it plays catch-up, he says. And Ford has tailwinds aiding
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Ford targets Chinese buyers with Focus-based concept
SHANGHAI -- Ford Motor Co. was to have unveiled a Focus-based concept car last week at the Shanghai auto show that targets local tastes with a stretched wheelbase and larger rear doors. The car, which Ford calls a C-segment concept, is designed for China's rapidly growing middle class and is built
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It's hard to see where China's love affair with cars will lead
SHANGHAI -- If you hang around anyone connected with the Chinese auto industry for any length of time, you'll hear mind-boggling numbers about the industry's rosy future. Dave Schoch, the no-nonsense president of Ford's Asia-Pacific region, told journalists this week that analysts say by 2020 the
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Ford's top execs devote much more time to China
During a recent visit to China, Ford Motor Co. COO Mark Fields ran the company's global business-plan review meeting -- a weekly gathering that includes all of the company's senior leaders -- from Ford's China headquarters in Shanghai. The meeting ran until 1 p.m. Detroit time, or 1 in the morning
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Ford: New EcoBoost to fuel China sales
DETROIT -- China gets part of the credit for Ford Motor Co.'s newest EcoBoost engine, a 1.5-liter powerplant. Why that size? China gives car buyers a roughly $300 tax break for buying a vehicle with an engine of 1.5 liters or less, says Joe Bakaj, vice president of powertrain engineering. That's an
