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Article: Another Ford Behind the Wheel: Henry Ford's great-great-granddaughter says she has gasoline in her veins. Now she has a chance to prove it.(Elena Ford)
- Article from:
- Newsweek
- Article date:
- June 17, 2002
- Author:
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Byline: Keith Naughton
The lights come up in a warm, windowless conference room, and Elena Ford is not happy. As brand manager for Ford Motor Co.'s struggling Mercury car line, she is trying to reverse a serious sales skid in its most profitable model: the Grand Marquis, a big cruiser favored by the Geritol set. On this day at Mercury's Irvine, Calif., headquarters, the ad agency is previewing a new Grand Marquis commercial. But Ford is jarred by the ad's opening image of the conservative car towing a motorcycle. "Our target customer is unlikely to drive a motorcycle," she says, noting that she raised this objection before. Now it's too late to change, and she's ...