When Shakespeare wrote “Much Ado about Nothing,” he could have been referring to the feigned outrage following Jim Farley’s remarks recently at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Let me preface that Jim Farley, Ford’s global marketing chief, is my friend and one of my personal marketing heroes in our industry. Fortunately or unfortunately, he has more personality and a better sense of humor than 99% of the auto executives we deal with regularly.
When he loosens up and says what’s on his mind, he usually assumes he is in the company of friendly people who are in tune with his cordiality. In other words, you can dress him up but you can’t take him anywhere.
In chatting with the media, he may assume he is dealing with people who get what he is about, opposed to swimming in a pool of piranhas looking for sound bites and key phrases, in or out of context.
Okay, here’s a piece of what he said: “We have so much data about customers that we are not using. By the way, we know everyone who breaks the law. We know exactly when you do it because we have a GPS sensor in your car. We know where you are and how fast you’re driving.”
Read the whole article here at Wards Auto
