Ford: Automakers should follow technology industry's example

"I am pretty much fed up with the negative, defensive situation we in the automotive companies nowadays are so often put in," Wolfgang Reitzle, head of Ford's Premier Auto Group, said at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show.

Reitzle discarded his prepared remarks and spoke passionately about the auto industry and a future that might include dealerships with their own test tracks and vacation packages sold along with certain cars.

Car companies should stop thinking of themselves as manufacturers of "sheet metal boxes" and define themselves as "mobility enterprises," he said.

"In the future, it must not only be that we sell cars. You can buy mobility from us," he said.

For instance, Reitzle suggested that a globe-trotting customer might pay Ford $50,000 for a "mobility package," which would provide a car wherever in the world it was needed.

Reitzle also said car makers have much to learn from the fashion industry and companies such as Wal-Mart, which know how to package an experience and make shopping pleasant.

He had harsh words for the typical American car dealership, which he called a "parking lot with a roof."

He called rebates a "disease" that cheapens a brand.

"This comes from creating unattractive products which nobody wants that can only be sold by rebates," he said.

He was also critical of financial analysts who put great value on Internet companies and consider the automotive industry to be a poor investment.

"I think we are the future economy," he said. "Because there is no substitution for the car, it will always grow."

Reitzle heads Ford's luxury car division, representing the Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover, Lincoln and Volvo brands.

"Last year we sold more than 1,000 Aston Martins and I tell you, a few hundred went to these dot-com millionaires," Reitzle said, generating a huge laugh.

Reitzle said individualization is a trend, especially in California, that car makers have to embrace to survive.

"My prediction is that the last step of personalization will take place in the big dealerships," he said. "The big, strong dealers will not only have a service shop, they will also have a shop for personalization, where the dealer can change parts, make the interior a personalized interior."<