CEO Jim Farley Says Driving Dynamics Still Important To Ford

Ford CEO Jim Farley isn’t just the head executive of one of the world’s most iconic automakers, he’s also a big-time enthusiast and part-time racer, too. As such, Farley has long been a proponent of making sporty vehicles that are fun to drive, and played a big role in ensuring that the S650-generation Ford Mustang retained its V8 engine and manual transmission options. In a recent interview, Jim Farley also noted that creating a thrilling driving experience for customers is still important to the company, too.

In a recent interview with Autocar, Farley was asked about his European connections, as well as what enthusiasts like to call Ford’s “Richard Parry-Jones era,” referring to the late, revered production development chief that helped catapult the automaker to the forefront of enthusiasts’ minds. Some believe that the days of Ford vehicles being known for their superior driving dynamics is long gone, but Farley doesn’t believe that’s the case at all.

“Richard Parry-Jones is still very much in the company, in my eyes, and when I read that our team didn’t get it right, that’s very upsetting for me,” the CEO said. “We owe it to those great engineers that their work continues and gets perfected. I always want us to major on stuff we do very well, like suspension damping, steering feel, brake feel and so on. And we have got to get our cars lighter – and that includes our Mustang versions. Just because [the] Fiesta and Focus didn’t work globally doesn’t mean we should turn away from how those cars feel when you drive them.”

Farley went on to note that the company should retain its focus on driving dynamics, even with vehicles designed to perform off the pavement. “That excellence needs to be as obvious in a Raptor as any other Ford,” he said. Aside from reiterating time and time again that he wants to continue to offer V8 engines as long as possible, Farley is also focused on dialing in the driving experience of other types of non-enthusiast vehicles as well, such as the European Ford Explorer EV.

We’ll have more on Ford’s strategy soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.