Article: Ford online auction worries tire maker.(News Briefs)

Ford Motor Co.'s first online auction was efficient, but at least one supplier is worried the process may devalue its carefully cultivated brand. Ford used five tire makers as guinea pigs in its first attempt to buy production parts from suppliers in an online auction. The auction was conducted on Ford's new auto-xchange Web site. ``We would hope that the online bidding process does not lead to a purely lowest price scenario that doesn't take into account the value of our brands,'' said Michael Fanning, a spokesman for Michelin North America Inc. ``We will not sacrifice profitability in order to gain market share.'' The online tire auction was the first part of a major ...

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