Ford execs on tour to promote new Taurus

— -- CEO Alan Mulally is dispatching executives to 100 cities — from Olympia, Wash., to Winston-Salem, N.C. — to build enthusiasm before Taurus hits showrooms in August.

Executives are supposed to talk up the Taurus and other new vehicles in the lineup as they visit broadcasters, newspapers and just about any other place.

Taurus' success is critical for Ford, which can't afford to see its new flagship flop as it walks a financial tightrope. So far, it has not asked for government loans as have General Motors and Chrysler, both in bankruptcy court.

Mulally has a personal stake in Taurus, too. He rescued the name from the dustbin and pinned it on the Five Hundred sedan to mark time until this all-new version arrived.

Though Ford denies it's intentional, the sessions will serve the additional purpose of distancing the automaker from GM and Chrysler.

"I am sure that is still part of it," says Alexander Edwards, president of the automotive consulting arm of Strategic Vision. "In the end, they are going to have to remove that negative imagery."

A blitz is right out of Ford's playbook lately. It has given 100 new Fiesta minicars to bloggers, rockers and other tastemakers to build buzz before its launch. And participants streamed Twitter tweets as they squeezed 1,446 miles out of a tank of gas to promote its new Fusion Hybrid in Washington, D.C.

This time, marketing chief Jim Farley says the blitz is all about an "opportunity to connect with customers around our new lineup." He says Detroit's troubles won't come up because "more than 90%" of people know Ford stands apart from GM and Chrysler.

Ford is well-positioned now, he says, because buyers are moving down from more ostentatious brands. He noted how McDonald's is trying to encroach on the gourmet coffee business of Starbucks. He says there's a "change in psychology away from 'badge' and prestige and to mainstream products that are well executed."