The Blue Oval casts a monumental shadow over the American auto industry. In the minds of many, the Ford Motor Company is synonymous with the invention of the automobile. While the Model T wasn’t the first-ever car, the relatively affordable, mass-produced vehicle transformed the United States into a car-driving nation over its 19-year production run. Regardless of how you feel about Ford’s current model lineup, the company remains one of the most influential in the country.
What would you do if you were Ford’s chief executive for a day? While you would be sitting in for Jim Farley, it wasn’t possible to even imagine yourself in that position unless your last name was Ford for most of the company’s history. Henry Ford led the company for 39 years until he was succeeded by his grandson, Henry Ford II. Since Hank the Deuce relinquished the CEO title in 2008, the company has been led day-to-day by a Ford family member for only five years, William Clay Ford Jr. from 2001 to 2006.
You can certainly tell that Jim Farley loves racing
The position of CEO at Ford offers the opportunity to shift the company’s focus to indulge your own automotive passions. Farley doesn’t make it a secret that he’s a racing fan, even competing as a driver in the one-make IMSA Ford Mustang Challenge. The 63-year-old stated in January that he wants to transform Ford into “the Porsche of Off-Road” vehicles. The automaker hired retired Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo as a Ford Racing ambassador to promote its Raptor lineup of performance off-road vehicles. Farley is openly considering developing a 1,000-horsepower machine to win the Dakar Rally. This is on top of re-entering F1 with a partnership with Red Bull Racing and its upcoming factory Le Mans Hypercar effort.
What would you consider doing at Ford if given the chance? Are you as obsessed with racing as Jim Farley, or do you have other ideas in mind? Please leave your suggestions in the comment section below.
