But not even Ford's bullish chief executive, Jac Nasser, thinks that Ford's mainstream products can recapture lost ground.

ECONOMIST: Ford in Europe

Many fingers point at Jac Nasser, a Ford veteran who moved up the management ranks to become chief executive in 1998.

ECONOMIST: Ford

In 1995 Jac Nasser, the head of Ford Automotive Operations, told his suppliers that they must trim prices by an average of 5% a year.

ECONOMIST: Too many pieces

At the big press conference in San Francisco, Ford president and chief executive Jac Nasser waxed lyrical about the impact of Ford taking a minority stake in CarPoint, Microsoft's car-buying site.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Asia Buzz: In the Fast Lane