Ford Frees Up Design

Ford Motor Co. is taking off the kid gloves and giving its designers carte blanche to create what they see fit for the North American market.

The auto maker recently shook up its design ranks by appointing Moray Callum, formerly Mazda Motor Corp.'s manager-design division, to director-North American car design. It also moved Patrick Schiavone to design director-trucks from design director-cars.

Peter Horbury, executive director of design for Ford's North American marques, tells Ward's the company now has the right design team to revitalize its slumping North American lineup.

Horbury, who spearheaded a design turnaround at Ford's Swedish Volvo Cars before being appointed to his current post in December 2003, says adding Callum to the mix will prove beneficial.

“He's a very experienced product designer. He's not from North America, like I'm not, but he's widely experienced in a number of brands and brings experience to the table,” Horbury, who is British, says of the Scottish Callum.

“We'll be doing cars and trucks of all shapes and sizes, and his experience at Mazda will be tremendous for Moray to bring to the North American table,” he says.

A key element of Ford's ongoing “Way Forward” North American restructuring plan is to differentiate the style, or brand DNA, of the auto maker's Ford, Lincoln and Mercury divisions.

Ford long has been criticized for not distinguishing its brands. Such is the case with the recently introduced Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan midsize sedans.

But Horbury says his designers have mapped out distinct directions for the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands going forward. For Lincoln, the team will look at what distinguished Lincolns of the past.

“When Lincoln was at its best, it always had strong differentiation from other American luxury brands, and we're working seriously to retrieve that,” Horbury says. “Zephyr (midsize sedan, which beginning with '07 models will be called the MKZ) already has a distinct look. That's a starting point we'll move on from and create a different look for Lincoln.”

Of all the brands in the company's North American lineup, the Ford marque is both the highest-volume seller and the most criticized for lackluster design. Horbury plans to change that by utilizing the auto maker's recently adopted internal slogan “Red, White and Bold.”

“This country was built on it (optimism), and its entire history is built on obtaining a better life in the future,” Horbury says. “If we can capture that (in Ford brand designs), we have something quite new and different.”

Mercury, meanwhile, is designated as the brand for the “metro cool” consumer, which Horbury says is a “growing market.”

“(Mercury's styling) is in line with the growing popularity of modern designs in homes. Modern furnishings are becoming very popular in this country and bought by younger people (at) stores, like Ikea, that are more affordable,” he says. “The Mercury brand is poised to represent customers with that type of lifestyle.”

Ford designers have individual vehicle segments to address, as well, including minivans. Sales of the Ford Freestar and Monterey minivans continued their sales slide in April, dropping 38.4% and 49.2%, respectively, according to Ward's data.

Chrysler Group, the longtime leader in the minivan market, is expected to go heavy on style for its next-generation minivans. Despite Chrysler's dominance in the sector and Ford's poor showing, Horbury says “whatever we do will be different from Chrysler.”

Horbury declines to discuss future products, particularly whether the edgy Fairlane concept unveiled at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit will replace the auto maker's traditional minivans.

“We have the crossovers (Ford) Edge and (Lincoln) MKX, which I think are our statement,” he says. Not every design needs fixing at Ford. Some vehicles are holding their own, including the Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid.

When Ford launched the Escape Hybrid for '04, it was adamant the hybrid-electric vehicle look as close as possible to the standard midsize Escape cross/utility vehicle. The plan appears to be paying off. April sales of the Escape Hybrid jumped 85.1%, according to Ward's data.

However, Escape Hybrid sales fell short of its main HEV competitor. The Toyota Prius recorded sales of 8,234 units in April, compared with the Escape Hybrid's 3,309, according to Ward's data.

Some critics have argued Escape Hybrid sales have been hampered due to the lack of distinguishing features that identify it as an HEV. The Prius, in comparison, has an unorthodox look that makes it stand out. But Horbury says Ford has no plans to adopt Toyota's strategy.

“If we had to do different products that all looked different, we couldn't afford it,” he says. “It's not a policy we would follow. I won't discount products in the future, but for now our emphasis is getting the most hybrid versions we know people want on the road.”

As part of its Way Forward plan, Ford has said it plans to reduce its workforce by 30,000 people and shut 14 facilities over the next two years. Although the auto maker has said cuts will occur in nearly every aspect of its business, Horbury says he “hasn't lost any talent.”

One of the reasons his division is being spared the ax, Horbury says, is because both Ford Chairman and CEO Bill Ford and Mark Fields, executive vice president and president-The Americas, understand the importance of design.

“I think everybody realizes that it's important for a company like ours to have a very creative design department,” Horbury says. “The realization is that we have an opportunity through design to encourage a fresh approach, and I'm getting all the help I need.

“Mark (Fields) is regularly around the studio for reviews. He's the sort of guy that leads from inside, not on top, so we see a lot of him.”

Horbury says he is a not a big proponent of retro designs. Rather than repeat the past, he likes to “pick out cars that were memorable and get the essence of the car and portray it in a modern way.”

The days of vehicles selling hundreds of thousands of units while remaining virtually unchanged year after year are gone. Despite the increased pressure and time constraints, Horbury says his team is well prepared and up to the challenge.

“We're ahead of the game,” he says. “We look into all the alternatives for a particular program quite early on. When the massive engineering starts to take place, we already have an idea of what we're going to do.”

And Ford's new design team has another advantage. Members consider themselves not just coworkers but friends, which gives them a distinct advantage.

“When you're with your friends, you can tell the truth,” he says. “That's a huge benefit.”