Q. What would you like to say to Ford employees who are working hard to help the company through such challenging times?

A. This company is amazing, and it's the people who are really amazing.  And thank you to each and every one of you for what you've done for this company because we've been through a lot – and we've been through a lot recently – but it has been all of you who pulled us through.  For me to just say thank you to all of you would be a huge, huge understatement.  You guys are the best, and I love being with you every single day.

Q. How has the company's reputation changed since you began your career at Ford?

A: I've never seen a time in my 30 years where Ford's reputation has ascended like it is now. I believe as we sit here today, we actually have an opportunity to put amazing distance between us and everybody else in the industry because there is an enormous amount of goodwill toward Ford.  And it is because of our products, the quality and everything that goes into our products, the way we're attacking the environmental issues, and our innovation.

Q. What caused you to become such a strong advocate for the environment?

A. It was really clear to me coming out of college that Ford – and frankly our entire industry and all industry – couldn't keep using natural resources at the rate we were using them.  They were not inexhaustible and if we didn't change our behavior, it was going to get ugly. 

Over the years, I was painted as sort of a green lunatic and a Bolshevik and all kinds of stuff.  It didn’t really bother me much.  But it bothered me that we weren't making much progress.  But boy are we now!

Q. What do you think of the company's current global products?

A. They're the best I've ever seen.  It’s because we've taken a bunch of disparate product development areas around the world and pushed them into one global powerhouse.  What Derrick Kuzak and his team have done to make that happen is amazing.  Now we're starting to see the power of that coming into the marketplace.  Our products are getting amazing reviews –the best I've ever seen – our quality is terrific, and our market share is going up all around the world.    

Q. How would you assess the company's progress on innovation?

A. One of the coolest things I do every year is to go over to Gerhard Schmidt's (chief technical officer, vice president Research and Advanced Engineering) open house in the Research and Innovation Center and see all the stuff we're working on.  It's so cool and so inspiring.   What's really neat is that it's not just test-lab stuff.  This is all going to hit our vehicles soon.  And what we're doing in safety is just breathtaking.  It used to be that that was reserved for Volvo.  Not any more.  It's now Ford and it’s mainstream.  And we're going to be the leader in the industry.  And then SYNC technology – that's one of the greatest bits of innovation this company has ever done.  So you gather it all up and its an age of innovation at Ford like I've never seen in my 30 years. 

Q. How has Ford been able to keep plants running at a time of such distress for the supply base?          

A. I've never seen such energy and strategic thinking go into action as Tony (Tony Brown, group vice president, Global Purchasing) put into action around this issue.  You don’t hear about it much. But the fact that we were able to go through this incredibly difficult time  -- and frankly we're still in it, it’s not over by any means – with no major disruptions to our operations -- is one of the great success stories of the company. 

Q. Are you pleased with the job that Alan Mulally is doing?

A: This guy is the greatest CEO I have ever seen.  When I hired Alan, there were a lot of raised eyebrows about bringing in a guy from outside the industry, bringing him to Ford. 

But it didn’t take long after being with Alan to know he had exactly the skill set and, importantly, the personality to fit in so well here.  The job he's done to put the plan together and to stick with the plan and deliver it has been really, really nothing short of remarkable.  But for me it's a blast because I love working with the guy.  Everything that you see in Alan is real.  He is upbeat, he's fun, he's positive.  But he's also a realist.  It's such a great fit for Ford because not only has he been a great fit from a technical standpoint, he completely gets this company and he gets all of you.  He understands what makes this company special.

Q. What is your favorite Ford car?

A. The Mustang will always be, for me, the iconic car of Ford Motor Company.  I think back and I can remember when there was great talk in the company of making the Probe the Mustang.  And I remember that was one of the early times in my corporate career when I stood up and said, 'No way!'  You're not going to have a 4-cylinder, front-wheel-drive (car as the Mustang).