Autos: Ford's German Woes

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When Henry Ford II recently took his company's new president, ex-General Motorsman Semon ("Bunkie") Knudsen, on an inspection tour of European operations, the worst was saved for last. Landing at Cologne, Ford and Knudsen needed only to look out the window of their private plane to see lots filled with Ford-made cars—part of the 45,000 that presently account for 56% of all West Germany's unsold autos. Ford sales for last January were off 35% and production schedules have been cut by one-third. Finally, arriving at the company's Cologne headquarters, Ford and Knudsen found half a dozen empty executive suites; they had been vacated by top-level managers of Ford who had jumped to other companies.

As recently as 1960, Ford was the sensation of West German autos; its various models offered roominess, style and economy. By 1965, Ford commanded an 18% share of the auto market in West Germany. But Ford officials vastly underestimated the extent and duration of the country's 1967 recession, kept on producing cars at breakneck speed. While sticking to the basic design that dated back to '60, Ford made some models a little longer, a little wider and considerably more expensive. Price tags on sedans, such as the 17M and 20M models, were boosted 6% to $1,907 and $2,207 respectively.

Result was that while Volkswagen and General Motors' Opel weathered the recession and are now prospering again, Fords have become a drag on the German market. Said the journal Auto, Motor Und Sport of the 1968 Ford models: "Never has a new line of cars attracted so little attention." But Ford hopes to hit the comeback trail in the fall with the introduction of its small, inexpensive "Escort" model.