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Ford is asking for less hybrid engineers then they asked for back in 2005? (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070818/BUSINESS01/708180331/1014)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Fusion_Hybrid_Logo.jpgSarah Webster - Detroit Free Press - Aug. 18, 2007

With Toyota, Honda and GM pushing the limits of Hybrid technology, Ford needs to move forward with the Fusion Hybrid next and the rest of their lineup afterwards.

One of Ford Motor Co.'s top executives responsible for hybrid-powered vehicles said Friday that the company is looking to hire 70 engineers and scientists to support its growing programs for alternative-fuel vehicles, such as those powered by gasoline-electric engines or those that can be plugged into an outlet.
Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of sustainable mobility technologies and hybrid vehicle programs, told the Free Press on Friday that the company is taking out full-page ads in local and national newspapers in its effort to find qualified candidates.

It's the kind of job that you can shape the world of the future," said Gioia, who met Friday morning with a team of engineers from Southern California Edison for a project on plug-in vehicles.

Ford and that utility company are starting a multimillion-dollar partnership to make plug-in hybrid vehicles more accessible to consumers.

After losing a record $12.6 billion last year, Ford is still in the thick of cutting about 45,000 salaried and hourly jobs as part of a broad restructuring that also will close plants and revamp the Ford, Mercury and Lincoln lineups.

But offering vehicles that are fuel efficient and tap into the growing green movement nationwide is key to turning the automaker around. So Ford still needs engineers who can help the company accomplish its goals.

Gioia said Ford needs engineers with highly specialized experience in batteries, controls and electrical systems, as well as noise, vibration and harshness.

Proven engineers with that kind of expertise are in high demand and short supply in the auto industry as automakers -- and their potential battery suppliers -- try to develop vehicles that reduce dependence on foreign oil … http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070818/BUSINESS01/708180331/1014

I think they're pretty late in the game if they're just now starting to look for engineers with "highly specialized experience in batteries, controls and electrical systems" because these people probably already work somewhere else.

They should just bring over that Euro Ford Focus diesel in the mean time till they can make hybrids. :D

Ford will probably be out of business in 2-3 years. Any vehicle they announce that has a launch date beyond 2010 can't possibly happen because the company won't exist. They REALLY screwed up when they backed out on their hybrid promise of 250,000 vehicles by 2010. Nobody cares about flex-fuel because it doesn't actually save fuel and there are only about a dozen gas stations nationwide that sell e85.

Ford will probably be out of business in 2-3 years....... Nobody cares about flex-fuel because it doesn't actually save fuel and there are only about a dozen gas stations nationwide that sell e85.


I am also skeptical about E85's prospects, but apparently you've been misinformed. Many people care about it. I see E85 all the time. I can think of a dozen stations off the top of my head.

This website currently indicates 681 stations nationwide with good coverage in the upper midwest (IIRC where production is concentrated) and spotty coverage elsewhere. http:/mapmuse.com/re1/find./interest.php?brandID=ETHANOL85.

There is a whopping FOUR (4) e85 stations in Maryland, and none of them are in Baltimore. Two of the four are at actual gas stations, whereas one is on a military base and the fourth is at some corporate fleet refueling center where civilians CAN gas up from 9-5. And yet, I see Ford LandYachts all over the place in Baltimore, bearing the FlexFuel tags, and I know darned well that these trucks have never had a drop of e85.

Flexfuel is and ever shall be nothing but a corporate loophole that lets carmakers sidestep CAFE standards.

for Ford, I really do fear they've arrived too late. They sunk their future in low-FE, low-quality, high-margin guzzlers and the world has moved on.

Sounds like a cool job. Where do I sign up? ;)

Sounds like a cool job. Where do I sign up? ;)

Funny Or Ridiculous Device
Flabby Oversize Really Dumb
Future Overconsuming Rapidly Driven
Fabricated Out of Redundant Detritus
Found On Road Dead
Fix Or Repair Daily

(couldn't help myself :Banane35: )

for Ford, I really do fear they've arrived too late. They sunk their future in low-FE, low-quality, high-margin guzzlers and the world has moved on.


And Chrysler hasn't?

And GM hasn't?

My money is on Ford to survive and turn things around. I'll take Mullaly over Lutz any day. Chrysler is the one who won't be around in a few years. Ford will survive.

Harry

They're hiring 70 MORE engineers. It's not like they're starting from scratch. Jeez guys.

They're hiring 70 MORE engineers. .... Jeez guys.

And not just transferring guys from discontinued projects...

I don't know. I visited Ford's research facilities as an undergrad and spoke with one of their lead engineers. F'ing brilliant guy, and I'm ashamed that I don't remember his name. But I can tell you with absolute certainty that the engineers aren't the problem at Ford. The problem is that they have been told to focus on high-output V6 and V8 power plants with the occasional foray into the hydrogen ICE realm rather than trying to compete with the likes of Honda, which doesn't even produce a V8 and yet does all kinds of business with high-quality, high-efficiency 4- and 6-cylinder drive trains.

Ford could have been leading the charge if they chose to do so 5 years ago. Their management chose not to.