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Ford recalls 434k vehicles for several unrelated issues

It seems that the hard winter in much of the country has been as rough on some Fords as it has on many people. The Blue Oval is recalling roughly 434,000 vehicles in two separate recalls, and one of them partially caused by the salt used to melt the snow on roads.
The first recall covers 385,750 2001-2004 Escape models in the Midwest, Northeast and Canada because a subframe could rust and eventually fail. This is partially due to the road salt used in those areas, and about 349,000 of the affected vehicles are in the US. To remedy the problem, dealers are installing a reinforcement cross brace on the frame to strengthen them. There has been one crash caused by the failure but no injuries. According to The Detroit News, this is not the first rust-related recall for Ford. It estimates the company has repaired over two million vehicles since 2010 for problems on vehicles related to the iron oxide, including the rear wheel wells of the Freestar minivan.
The second recall covers 48,950 2013-2014 Ford Fusion, Escape, C-MAX and Lincoln MKZ models because welds in their seatbacks don't meet National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standards. The fault affects the front seats, and the sub-standard welds joining the setback to the recliner could increase the chance on injury. There have been no reported injuries or accidents caused by the problem, but there are 42,972 affected vehicles in the US and 4,744 in Canada.

Ford to announce Mulally retirement, Fields CEO as early as May 1

Ford CEO Alan Mulally may be about to announce his long-rumored retirement from the Blue Oval, according to a pair of insiders who spoke to Bloomberg. An official statement on the succession could arrive as soon as May 1. Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields is rumored to step up as the new CEO. The company is said to be readying the announcement soon to ensure an orderly transition of power, according to the insiders.
Mulally's retirement from Ford has been a hot topic for a while. He was seriously rumored last year to be leaving the automaker to take over as the CEO of Microsoft. The board even said at one point that it was okay with them if he stepped down early. However, the CEO maintained he would stay with the business through at least the end of 2014. Fields has been rumored as a frontrunner to take over the top spot at the company since he was promoted to COO.
For the moment, Ford isn't officially confirming any of these plans. "We don't comment on speculation. We do have succession plans in place for our key leadership. We take succession planning very seriously," said Susan Krusel, Ford Global News Manager, to Autoblog.

Mark LaNeve named head of Ford US sales and marketing

Ford continues to rework the positions of its top marketing executives as Jim Farley moves to take over the Blue Oval in Europe and Stephen Odell becomes head of global sales. The latest shift brings Mark LaNeve in as the new vice president of US marketing, sales, service and dealer relations, effective February 1. LaNeve replaces John Felice, who is retiring. Felice was with the automaker for the last 30 years and held his most recent job since November of 2013. In addition to coordinating marketing and sales, LaNeve's other duty is to build "innovative new digital communications and transforming the retail experience for customers," according to the automaker's press release announcing the change. He reports to both Odell and Joe Hinrichs, Ford's boss of the Americas. LaNeve has a long history in the auto industry. He spent a portion of his early career with Cadillac but eventually was hired as the CEO of Volvo Cars North America. He also headed up US marketing at General Motors for several years in the 2000s. Since 2012, LaNeve has been the chief operating officer at Global Ford Team, which is responsible for the company's worldwide advertising. There's an interesting challenge ahead of LaNeve in leading the Blue Oval's US marketing and sales in 2015. Ford was the bestselling auto brand here in 2014 but overall sales fell about 1.1 percent. According to Automotive News, the company's market share dropped to 14.9 percent, a one-percent reduction and the lowest level since 2008. Read below for the automaker's official announcement of LaNeve's new job. JOHN FELICE RETIRING AFTER 30 YEARS; FORD NAMES MARK LANEVE TO LEAD U.S. MARKETING, SALES AND SERVICE TEAM John Felice is retiring as vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service, after 30 years of service Mark LaNeve, named vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service and elected a Ford Motor Company officer; former chief operating officer at Global Team Ford brings nearly three decades of automotive marketing and sales experience to Ford Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced today changes in its senior leadership team as it continues to deliver and accelerate the company's One Ford plan while driving for product excellence and innovation. John Felice, vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service, has elected to retire after 30 years at Ford, effective Feb. 1, 2015.