09-22-06: After a recent ride and drive event for the new 2007 Shelby GT and GT-500, I was sharing the details of the day with my 11 year old son who was excited to hear all about it. A big-time Grand Tourismo 4 player, he asked if I drove the cars “all out“. While I indeed put the cars to the test, my response to him was that I had a gentleman sitting in the car next to me who is more important to the future of Ford than me getting a thrill from taking too many risks out on the race track.

That man was Robert Parker, Ford’s Car Marketing Manger. He oversees the entire Ford car brand line up including the Fusion, Focus, Five Hundred, Mustang, Shelby GT-500, and now the Shelby GT. Most people on the team at Ford down play their singular importance in the larger scheme, as did he. But there are few people at Ford who’s work has as much weight on the future of the company. Ford’s passenger car line up is the battleground for taking back American market share.

After the driving, TMN had the opportunity to discuss the Mustang and the changes going on at Ford with Robert Parker.

TMN: There has been discussion about a spicier version of the 2007 GT-500 in the works that might be something akin to the Cobra R or GT-500 KR models of the past. Can you shed any light on this?

Parker: Everything is open right now. We have a terrific partnership with Carroll Shelby’s Team. Amy Boylan is their President. Amy and I go back many years. Joe Jacuzzi at Shelby Automobiles has a tremendous background in road racing and performance cars. So really we’ve got this perfect partnership so when we sit down and talk about other things we could do, everybody’s on the same page and everybody knows the history. We’re not having to educate people saying, “Well back in……” People know. Certainly everything’s on the table. Jamie Allison at Ford Racing has been a great partner with the Shelby GT. Now that we have the door open to build cars in Las Vegas, everything is possible. I would just ask the enthusiasts to stay tuned. I think they will be happy with what they see. We’re gearing up for an all out muscle car war. We think there could be absolutely nothing better than that.

TMN: On that subject, the Camaro and Challenger have been given the green light. What major challenges do you see these competitors posing to the Mustang?

Parker: Well it appears that the Challenger is a little more locked down than the Camaro in the design. They are great looking cars and I think that it's going to be the best thing that has hit Detroit in the last 40 years. The muscle car is unique to America. It’s unique to our parents. It’s unique to us. They appeal to our kids. Nobody is left out. As far as enthusiasts and customers alike I just think it’s going to bring out the positives in the automotive industry the United States and in Detroit.

Obviously GM and Chrysler are going to have the “latest and greatest” and that tends to get the bulk of the attention but we’ve got some countermeasures that will be deployed and I think we will be ready. We’re excited. We just think it’s going to be great for the company, great for the Mustang. We’re looking to engage the competition on various levels and events like Barrett Jackson and other venues that we all participate in.

TMN: With the Camaro and Challenger reported to have independent rear suspensions (IRS), has the business case for an IRS in the Mustang become stronger?

Parker: I am surprised about the amount of conversation that goes on about an independent rear suspension in the Mustang. I’ve driven cars with IRS and solid axles. When some of our competitors have gone with a solid axle when we’ve gone independent they have shown they can do just as well. So there is not a lot of time and effort being spent on the subject as to whether or not their should be an IRS in the Mustang. We certainly have the tools in the toolbox, we have the parts on the shelf if we want to deploy that if necessary. But as we see Camaro and Challenger on the horizon that is not something we spend a lot of time considering “should we have IRS”. The Shelby GT can outperform anything on the road course that they can build and I am pretty confident of that. The products that we will have in that same time frame will give anybody a run for their money whether they have a solid axle or IRS.

TMN: In the Bold Moves video about the Shelby GT, you talked about breaking down barriers and fast tracking the development new cars by going outside the system to Shelby Automobiles in Las Vegas. Do you see this experience changing the normal development process in the future?

Parker: It was played up in the video that we went around the system, but it’s never is really “around “ the system. It’s using the system in a different way. These are some new plays from a new playbook. The Shelby GT and GT-H proved to a lot of people in very high levels of the company that we could fully integrate Ford Racing engineered parts into a mainstream car, build it with a key strategic partner and put that car into the marketplace successfully. It was really the “H” version of the Mustang that plowed the ground for the Shelby GT. It got the right people engaged in engineering and marketing. In our legal team, in Ford Racing people said, “Hey we can do this”. It is going to make our process better. I can tell you that really in the last four weeks I have seen more change than really in my last 17 years with Ford. People are getting on board. People are calling up to see what they can do to help whether it’s the assembly plant, design or quality control people.

TMN: There are a lot of changes going on at Ford. There are daily news reports and editorials second guessing what the company is doing right or wrong. We recognize that many people in the Ford family have been wondering what is going to happen for them and the company in the future. If there was a message that people in the company would want people outside to hear, what would it be?

Parker: I think that there is more untapped potential at Ford than people realize. We’ve proven time and time again that anytime we’ve faced massive headwinds, we’ve engaged the employees and got them all headed in the same direction. It’s unbelievable what we can do. I think that what people are going to see in the Bold Moves video series and in the new management team is that we getting everyone going in the same direction and on the same page with the sense of urgency that Mark Fields has built up. You are going to see all hands on deck. I think sometimes in the past few years we’ve had people not all on the same page, not all headed in the same direction. It becomes inefficient and we aren’t as good as we can be. I think the employees understand that. I’m totally optimistic, I’m buying Ford stock. I think you’ll see a big change at Ford very soon and I intend to be a part of it.