Keeping Volvo is a better idea

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For a company whose advertising tagline used to be "Ford: A Better Idea," there has been astonishingly few of them coming from the Dearborn automaker in the past few years. Clearly, not that all of the company's decisions have been bad, but here's what I'm talking about:

Buying Volvo, good idea.

Buying Jaguar, bad idea.

The new Mustang, good idea.

Renaming the Taurus the 500, bad idea.

Renaming the 500 the Taurus, bad idea.

Hiring Jim Farley, good idea.

Selling Jaguar (and Land Rover), good idea.

Keeping Volvo, great idea.

Maybe things at the Blue Oval are looking up.

In making the announcement this morning that the company was keeping Volvo-for now-Ford CEO Alan Mulally said, "I think we can do substantially better than where we are today." He was speaking about profits, and Volvo lost money in the third quarter. Ford doesn't have a lot of cash to throw around, and all of its brands must make money. Mulally said the company is developing a strategic plan to emphasize Volvo's strengths in order to make the brand more profitable. Good idea.

Ford already has sold Aston Martin, which, in keeping with the theme of this column, was a good idea. Aston is a small company making niche vehicles and is better served being out from under the behemoth that is Ford. And it now looks as if Jaguar and Land Rover will be sold as a package deal to either one of two Indian bidders or a private equity firm.

Again, shedding the two British brands makes sense. If either Tata or Mahindra and Mahindra, the two Indian firms, are the successful bidders, it gives either company two recognizable worldwide brands.

But Volvo is a different story. Despite its Swedish heritage, Volvo is, and has been, a much more mainstream brand in the United States than either Jag or Land Rover, and it deserves to stay in the Ford fold. It has a solid lineup of vehicles, from a small coupe (the new, fun-to-drive C30), to a crossover (the XC90), up to a luxury flagship sedan (the S80).

Across the lineup, the cars are solid, comfortable and good-looking, in a Scandinavian-furniture kind of way. To Ford's credit, it has allowed Volvo to remain distinctly Volvo, with its own look and emphasis on safety and engineering. You easily could make the argument that one of Jag's downfalls has been Ford's attempt to make the storied brand appeal to the everyman (can you say X-Type?), rather than keeping it as a luxury brand.

Volvo gives Ford a portfolio of premium vehicles that are different from the other vehicles it markets. For my money, the only idea stupider than selling Volvo would be to sell Mazda, a company that makes good-looking, well-engineered, affordable, fun-to-drive cars. Using resources from both Volvo and Mazda will make Fords, Lincolns and Mercurys better.

Ford shareholders should celebrate the day Mulally hands over the keys to Jag and Land Rover . . . and they should fight to make sure Volvo remains in the Ford family.