Ford turns to social media to develop its latest version of the Puma ST
According to a story emanating from within the portals of Ford Motor Company, highlights Iain Robertson, around 275,000 votes cast by twitter and Instagram users over the course of just 10 days has given rise to a Gold limited edition of its popular crossover.
Relying on social media participants to formulate a major manufacturer’s future model plans is tantamount to one, or more, of the following: 1. Ford’s once successful marketing department has finally lost its bottle; 2. Ford management no longer trusts its own personnel to develop a product plan; 3. Despite cries of ‘Fat chance!’, Ford is attempting to engender a humanist approach; 4. As it nurses the wounds of losing its major world status, Ford has turned to laziness, perhaps even couldn’t-care-less for its new models; and 5. Ford has turned to manufacturing large crocks of promotional garbage from a sense of desperation.
When you consider the apparent results of its reported exercise (to follow momentarily), its sometime ‘Driven By You’ tagline has been reversed carefully (and unofficially) into ‘Chosen By You’, which is sure to touch the hearts of its various social media users and lead to a massive explosion of positive sales. By heavens, Ford needs something to turn the tide in its pan-European market approach. I ask you to recall a doolally suggestion made by its former US boss Alan Mulally, engaged from aircraft giant, Boeing, to slash, burn and cut costs at loss-making Ford Motor Company. He was adamant that the company should cease producing cars to concentrate on SUVs, pickups and light vans…oops!
Ford’s history is littered with near senseless management decisions and feckless employment opportunities among its senior ranks. When it engaged the services of Jac Nasser in 1999 to run its show, it must have seemed like the ultimate prize role to a man, whom had commenced his career with the firm, in Australia, some 31 years previously. He did not last long as ‘top dog’. Just two years. While Henry Ford’s great grandson, William Clay Ford Jr, was installed as his replacement, in a company mired by lawsuits and out-of-court settlements, Jac’s own parting shots earned him several properties around the world, as Ford’s prospects sunk even lower.
Jac had employed Jermyn Street shirt and tie fan, Wolfgang Reitzle, as CEO of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG) and VP on the main board in Detroit. It was another fateful and costly engagement that lasted around three years. In both cases, Ford paid out huge settlement deals to its former executives. PAG had included Jaguar, Land-Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin in its portfolio, all of which were poorly managed, despite shovelling in immense resources, and were sold off subsequently, adding to Ford’s loss-making woes.
Naturally, Ford of Britain, as it was once, is now a subset of Ford of Europe, with neither cars (Dagenham), nor vans (Southampton) being produced in the UK. Mulally’s plan was to cut the company’s worldwide model production from over 90 types to around 22, hence his earlier statement of intent. It was brave but fate-sealing for him, while costing the company several millions of Dollars to retire his services in 2014. Ford is such a giving company…to its failed executives.
While the abortive Edsel model has been perceived as Ford USA’s personal albatross, it needs to be stated that its European RS branding and later ST nomenclature have been remarkably fruitful. Various XR models of the 1970s and 1980s set an enviable standard across the entire motor industry and all of them command huge collectability status and high modern classic values. Although the reuse of the Mustang brand name from US sporting coupe to all-electric SUV leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of Ford classicists, some buyers have been turned on to the relative newcomer, if not in the worldwide volumes anticipated. On the other hand, despite its lateness to the junior league SUV/crossover party, the Puma hatch made the Mustang equivalent of a European transition from a former sporting coupe, accompanied by a substantial marketing spend.
As promised earlier, social media tappers have apparently given Ford its latest sense of direction. Black was selected as its most favoured exterior paint finish with a narrow preference vote of 56% (grey was the poorest performer). Around 74% of respondents desired red brake callipers, which is just as well, as Ford had plenty of them in its stock cupboard. A remarkable 87% of punters wanted grey stitching on the seatbelts, with black being out of favour. Around 74% wanted lines, rather than stripes, as exterior decoration. While scuff plates (53%) and ST pride plates (55%) are incorporated in the new model’s specification, the ST badging (79%) took precedence over them. Although originally designated as Puma ST 24k Edition, it seems that 59% of social media exponents prefer the new Ford to be named the Puma ST Gold Edition.
According to Ford of Europe’s director of design, Amko Leenarts: “To create something truly special for our loyal performance fans, we’ve moved to a forward-looking approach in co-creating the Puma ST Gold Edition with them. The number of votes cast shows just how enthusiastic our customers are and that they have excellent taste. It’s all in the details and, with this special edition, our fans have configured a truly desirable product.” Well, he would, would he not?
Powered by the firm’s 197bhp, 1.5-litre, three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, Puma’s performance envelope delivers 0-60mph in 6.4s, before coursing up to a top whack of around 128mph. The package also includes selectable transmission drive modes (Sport, Track and Eco), as well as a unique-in-segment limited-slip differential option, patented force vectoring springs and unique suspension and steering specifications for enhanced dynamic responses. Ford states that first deliveries will commence towards the end of this year. It is clear that Ford has never lost its inventive streak. Whether its relationship with its online customers is imagined, or part of an engaging marketing strategy, is almost immaterial, as the strictly limited run of black but gold Puma STs is going to happen regardless.