Is a More Competitive Market Good for Ford?

While many will argue that foreign entry into US domestic markets is the downfall of the American auto industry it may well be the key to Ford’s newfound success. Shortly after WWII the big three were pretty much the only major players in the auto industry. The competitive nature at the time between said companies were at the least lax and the most bordering on collusion. Fast forward twenty five years and the threat of new foreign entrants was laughable compared to the US auto makers. So what has changed in the last forty years?
The American auto makers took their foot off of the gas and neglected to look in the rearview. By the time Japanese automakers flew past, the US automakers would fall further behind wondering how to catch up.
So how has this superior level of competition been good for Ford and bad for GM and Chrysler? Since the conglomeration of American automakers the companies to form General Motors Ford has been has been forced into a niche. Please don’t misunderstand when I write that Ford’s product selection has been relatively limited compared to other auto makers. For better or worse from that Ford has since been dependent on the synonymies of its models to its brand recognition. So in some way although Ford’s domestic level of competition was lacking, its corporate structure was much more capable of adapting to the entrants of new foreign competitors. As discussed in former blogs I relate Ford to Honda, because they both depend largely on the success of only a limited product line. Toyota, GM, and Hyundai share similar traits in that their success is based more on the large product mix.
In conclusion I believe Ford’s recent success compared to Chrysler and GM can be somewhat attributed to the fact that it was already competing against a lot of options. If Ford continues its recent trend of consolidation of resources and effort to a superior product they will America’s Honda.