We just heard MIT grad William Clay Ford Jr. tell us (in a TV spot) that the company born in his great-grandfather's barn will, heretofore, be known as the carmaker of innovation. We tend to snicker at all corporate rebranding efforts, so we've had to recuse ourselves from passing judgment over Ford's attempt to become reborn in the eyes of potential customers. However, we're not too young to remember the "Quality is Job One" fiasco of 1981, when most people thought that ambiguous construction meant the company actually made quality products, and went out and bought Fairmonts by the score. As it turned out, "Job One" was just code for "we're working on it." Maybe that's what they mean by the new Innovation campaign. Farago, turning from GM for a brief moment, lays it out planer than a Model T.
Ford's New Slogan: Built for the Brand Ahead? [The Truth About Cars]