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| » April 12, 2007 |
Ford president earns US$28 million in 2006
Ford Motor Company filed its 2007 proxy statement with the
Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday, outlining
compensation for select executives. The proxy shows that
President and CEO Alan Mulally earned a total compensation
of $28,183,476 (all figures U.S.) in 2006. Mulally served
in his role from September 1, 2006 to the remainder of
the year, earning $666,667 in salary; his total compensation
included a $7.5 million signing bonus, $172,974 for required
use of the corporate aircraft, and $55,469 for relocation
costs and temporary housing. William Clay Ford Jr., executive
chairman and former CEO, served as CEO from January 1,
2006 until September 1, 2006, and received no cash salary,
bonus or other awards for 2006, pursuant to his May 2005
compensation arrangement to forego any new compensation
until the company's automotive sector achieves sustainable
profitability. His 2006 compensation totaled $10,497,292,
including previous options and other stock-based awards,
$185,232 in value for required use of the corporate aircraft,
and $85,708 for security. Other select compensations included
total 2006 compensations of $4,401,100 for Don Leclair,
executive vice president and chief financial officer; $5,574,850
for Mark Fields, executive vice president and president,
The Americas; $4,274,509 for Lewis Booth, executive vice
president, Ford of Europe and Premier Automotive Group;
and $8,673,622 for Jim Padilla, former president and chief
operating officer, who retired from the company on July
1, 2006.
Mini builds one-millionth car
Six years after the start of series production, Mini has
built its one-millionth vehicle at its Plant Oxford location
in England. The one-millionth Mini is Pepper White and
Almond Green, and has a roof graphic made up of one million
little Minis. The company says that with the upcoming launch
of the Mini Clubman, the third model in its range, and
with increased production capacity, the company expects
to set new production and sales records for 2007. The Plant
Oxford facility, the sole producer of Mini, produces up
to 700 vehicles a day, using 4,700 workers over three shifts.
All Minis are built to individual customer orders, with
almost 80 per cent produced for export. While initial forecasts
suggested a market for about 100,000 units per year, the
company sold a record 200,428 cars in 2005. The BMW Group
has invested 380 million pounds into Plant Oxford since
2000; the facility, known as Mini Production Triangle,
includes plants at Hams Hall and Swindon which supply engines,
pressings and subassemblies to Plant Oxford. Annual capacity
is planned to reach 240,000 units.
Zipcar launches auto-sharing service in Vancouver
Zipcar, a U.S.-based members' car-sharing service, has
announced that it has launched operations in Vancouver.
The company is putting 100 new vehicles, representing
11 makes and models, into locations throughout Downtown,
Kitsilano, Fairview, Commercial Drive and Mount Pleasant.
Zipcar says the Vancouver fleet is its largest to date. "Our
mission to remove personally-owned cars from urban streets
is a perfect match with Vancouver's leading green initiatives," says
Scott Griffith, CEO of Zipcar. "At Zipcar, we have
seen that a switch from car owner to car sharer sparks
a behaviour change, resulting in thousands of personally-owned
cars coming off the roads. In addition, our members save
money that was wasted on under-used cars - a significant
share of that savings will be spent in the local economy." Vancouver
residents can join Zipcar for $80, and for a limited
time, the company will include $75 in free driving. Rates
in Vancouver start at $8.30 per hour and $59 for a 24-hour
period, with gasoline, 150 free kilometres, parking and
comprehensive insurance included. For more information,
visit www.zipcar.com.
What's ahead for Mercedes?
Without Chrysler, some say DCX's luxury unit may not
be big enough to compete globally. DaimlerChrysler
AG sells Chrysler, the German company will look much
as it did 20 years ago when it was a small, proud,
provincial luxury automaker with a heavy-truck business.
Most DaimlerChrysler investors are jubilant at the
prospect of turning the clock back to a time when the
company was smaller but more profitable. For years,
German executives have grumbled that the grand expansion
strategies of the company's past two chief executives
have taken a heavy toll on Mercedes-Benz, DaimlerChrysler's
most valuable subsidiary. Former CEO Juergen Schrempp
built a global automotive giant by surrounding Mercedes
with mass-market brands such as Chrysler, Dodge, Mitsubishi
and Kia. His predecessor, Edzard Reuter, paired Mercedes
with aerospace and electrical appliances businesses
that lost huge sums of money. DaimlerChrysler has closed
or sold nearly all those businesses, and its stock
has surged 30 percent to an eight-year high since CEO
Dieter Zetsche signaled in February that a sale of
Chrysler was possible. Yet amid the euphoria, a few
voices question whether dismantling the 1998 merger
of the former Daimler-Benz and Chrysler is such good
news for the German side of the company.” We
are not in favor of a sale of Chrysler," Mark
Warnsman, a New York-based analyst for Prudential Equity
Group, wrote in a report this week. Without Chrysler,
the rest of the company may not be large enough to
compete with huge and efficient global automakers such
as Toyota Motor Corp. "Even at the luxury end
of the business, scale matters," he said. "In
our view, the original merger strategy remains sound,
and it is the execution that has lagged. "Mercedes
sold 1.25 million vehicles last year, barely more than
half of Chrysler's volume and far fewer than the 4
million-unit threshold many industry experts consider
the minimum needed to cover the rising costs of environmental
and other technologies. Mercedes' heavy-truck business
is the world's largest, but fewer than 600,000 are
sold annually. And Mercedes has been far less successful
with its Smart small car than rival BMW with its fast-growing
Mini brand.
Accused of embezzling $5 million
from dealership, former GM wants a public defender
A Louisiana man accused of bilking millions from a
now-defunct car dealership wants a court-appointed
lawyer to represent him. At a hearing in federal court
the former general manager of R.E. Coleman Toyota told
a U.S. Magistrate he’d “appreciate a public
defender as soon as possible.” The request came
after the accused man’s own lawyer asked to withdraw
from the case because he hasn’t been paid and
because his client won’t cooperate in his own
defense, reports the Baton Rouge Advocate. The former
dealership manager’s indictment stems from a
two-year FBI investigation into allegations that he
and the store’s former office manager looted
$5 million from the business. The prosecutor in the
case urged the magistrate to closely scrutinize the
accuser’s finances. In January the former GM
told the court he had $60,000 in savings, $7,000 in
checking, and assets of $100,000 in a home. He also
runs two or three businesses — including a used-car
lot — and also collects disability payments through
Social Security. The federal probe was prompted by
a civil lawsuit filed by the dealer/owner and his family
in 2004, alleging the losses forced the family to sell
the dealership. The grand jury alleges that from January
2000 to April 2004, the former general manager had
the office manager issue 90 checks to two checking
accounts he alone controlled. The checks were issued
to J&C Marketing and Marketing Concepts — neither
of which did business with Coleman Toyota.
The former office manager was sentenced to four months
in prison
Ohio car dealer agrees to settle discrimination suit
for $2.3 million. Thirty-nine women will share $2.3
million in a lawsuit led by the EEOC. The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission announced that the 39 plaintiffs
it represents would split up about $2.3 million to
settle sex discrimination lawsuit with a large Ohio-based
dealership group. Although the dealer group agreed
to the settlement, the company has denied any wrongdoing
in the case. According to the Cincinnati Post, the
case dates to September of 2003, when the EEOC said
about a dozen women complained that they had been passed
over for dealership sales jobs because of their gender.
As the case progressed, other women joined the suit.
The lead plaintiff in the case claimed that she had
tried to get a job at Jeff Wyler Chevrolet during a
15-month period that ended in August 2001. She contended
that a number of men were hired during the period although
she had been told that she would be hired as soon as
a vacancy occurred. Besides the payment, the EEOC said
the settlement includes management accountability and
training as well as reporting and monitoring requirements.
The settlement also requires the dealer group to extend
job offers to some of the women who sought jobs in
the past.
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