February 27, 2007 5:54 AM

Today's sign that the Apocalypse is upon us

Mullet or not, Fields’ hair is talk of the auto industry

[D]on’t expect him to cut his thick, wiry black hair ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ no matter how many people complain, tease or obsess about his so-called “mullet.” That’s a hairstyle known for being short on top and longer in the back, and it was made popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. The often-ridiculed hairstyle is sometimes called “hockey hair,” a reference to the many players who still wear the style. Fields said he doesn’t believe he has a mullet, but he prefers to wear his hair a little longer, even though it seems so out-of-step with the conservative culture and fashions in the auto industry.

OK, America…when you try to figure out why Detroit can’t compete with companies like Toyota and Nissan, you might want to refer back to this story. Talk about fiddling while Rome burns. Japanese and German automobile manufacturers are running circles around American companies. Their products are superior, their production costs are generally lower, and they’re not burdened with the long-term legacy costs (pensions, retiree health care, etc.) that American automakers are. This isn’t to say the quality of American automobiles hasn’t improved over the years, but the perception (and often the reality) is still that Toyota and Nissan are far superior in terms of overall quality.

You’d think that Detroit would be falling all over itself, making the reclaiming of the world automobile market Job One. Yeah, right. While the Japanese, the Germans, and the Koreans are streamlining operations, anticipating market trends, and innovating for the future, Detroit is all atwitter over Mark Fields’ hair.

As a young hotshot, Fields, who became President and CEO of Mazda at 38 and is now leading Ford’s North American turnaround, has attracted a variety of professional and personal criticism over the years.

But the relentless remarks about his longer hair style ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ “my mullet,” he pointedly joked ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ seem to be the most personal and frivolous criticism he’s been subjected to in his new job as president of the Americas at Ford, a post that has made him a celebrity of sorts in auto-centric Detroit.

“Don’t people in Detroit have better things to worry about?” Fields’ wife, Jane, a petite, tough-talking East Coat native, asked the Free Press in Las Vegas last month. The couple was there socializing with Ford dealers at the annual convention for the National Automobile Dealers Association.

Uh…that would be “no”, Jane, and it’s part and parcel why the American auto industry is such a &)^%$#@ mess. People who should be focused on trying to save an industry that’s a major engine of the American economy are worried about Mark &)^%$#@ Fields’ &)^%$#@ hair.

The first mention of Fields’ hair in a news article was in 1999, when it was announced Fields would lead Mazda.

“As if his glistening mane of brownish-black hair and athletic build didn’t distinguish him enough from his colleagues, the Harvard Business School grad is by far the youngest-ever president of a Japanese car company,” the Financial Times wrote at the time.

Since then, the press has also called him “movie-star handsome” and a “hebrew hottie.”

And you wonder why I wouldn’t want to buy American car now? Jeebus, if these knuckle-dragging troglodytes ever get a clue, they just might find a way to save Detroit and it’s hanging-on-by-its-frayed-jockstrap auto industry. Yeah; like THAT’S going to happen any time soon….

&)^%$#@ morons….

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on February 27, 2007 5:54 AM.

Another triumph for the 101st Fighting Keyboarders was the previous entry in this blog.

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