Business: Ford's Touch of Chrysler Flu

A job for Henry II's successor

It was a poignant milestone in automotive history. Last weekend movers cleared out the four-room, twelfth-floor corner suite in Dearborn, Mich., from which Henry Ford II for most of the past 34 years had run the auto empire founded by his grandfather. Though Ford, 62, will remain as board chairman, he has stepped down as chief executive, ending three generations of day-to-day family management at the nation's third largest industrial firm. His departure is not at an auspicious time in Ford's fortunes. The domestic auto business faces serious problems, but Henry Ford, following a careful...

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