Mulally Joins In At Ford's 'Colorful Festival'

Anthony Fontanelle
May 15, 2007

The Ford Motor Co.'s annual shareholder meeting has always been something of a colorful festival that showcases a colorful collection of activists, displeased investors and other nuisance. Same people, same resolutions. But the latter have virtually no chances of passing because of the voting privilege of the Ford family.

This year was nothing unusual, save for the presence of Alan Mulally, the Ford CEO. It was his first time, and he was pushed at times to control his hilarity at the proceedings. One shareholder took the podium for the third time to tackle the company’s board on the perils of Islamofascism and recommended Ford to do more to end Iran's nuclear weapons program. For this reason, Mulally hard-pressed his hands to his face to hold his laughter like a clutch kit controls vehicular noise.

"This sounds like one for Alan," Chairman Bill Ford Jr., Ford Executive, quipped, prompting more clear chortles. Afterward, another shareholder took the podium to hold forth the merits of the groundbreaking light bulbs and window coatings he had invented just as he does annually.

"I'm an inventor, too!" Mulally said. "I would love to hear about your invention." The scientist was thrilled. Someone in the meeting had finally paid attention. And he uttered his delight at the belief that all of the automaker’s product lines would soon be flaunting his technologies. Mulally suggested that might be a bit too optimistic, but he promised to have his engineers take a look at them.

"It was pretty much what I expected," Mulally told reporters anon, though he has admitted his staff had shown him a video of last year's session so he would not be entirely astonished. "I thought it was a terrific conversation."

Magna leaders reckon time… The Magna International Inc. Chairman Frank Stronach and his longtime business associate Manfred Gingl reckoned fondly on the past five decades. Gingl talked about the factories they built together, the models they supplied, up to how much hair they had in those old grainy photos.

"You speak for yourself," Stronach said. "I still have a lot of hair," he said, caressing it defensively. Gingl said the hair was white. "This is baby fuzz," countered Stronach. "It's baby blond hair." Gingl, clearly the beta-male here, smoothed things over by remarking that Stronach, was better looking. As the slide show continued, a mollified Stronach said Gingl looked more handsome in one picture.

Reckoning the 50-year retrospective, Belinda Stronach, 74, took the floor to say a few words about her father. "She's a little younger than me," Stronach quipped, "although when we go out, I say she's my older sister." As for the Chrysler bid Magna's shareholders hoped to hear about at the annual meeting, Stronach did not say a word.

Know thy market Detroit's automakers consist of the General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and the Chrysler Group is currently struggling with sluggish sales, but one local dealership has discovered a technique to keep the cash register buzzing. And the secret is knowing your market…. and knowing it well.

Southfield Chrysler Jeep's new Arabic-language ad campaign targets southeast Michigan's substantial Arab-American population. The ads feature Toni Anttwan, Southfield Chrysler Jeep's top salesperson, and his family. Anttwan urges consumers in Arabic to "Talk to Toni." The ads air on local radio, the Internet and MBN, a 24-hour cable network for Americans of Middle Eastern descent.

"We are excited with the positive response to the 'Talk To Toni' ad campaign," said Paul Steel, the dealership's general manager. Affirmative, indeed! Anttwan has sold more than thirty cars per month since the launch of the campaign, which he attributes to the new sales approach.

With the intensifying auto competition, it is expected that automakers would lay their aces one after another to win over more customers.

Source:  Amazines.com