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Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) has recognized in the last 24 months that it needs to get the kind of vehicles that customers actually want to purchase to market much faster. Foreign competitors have been able to do this for a while now, which is a reason Toyota Motor Co. (NYSE: TM) has moved up the chain to become the global automotive heavyweight to beat these days -- even ahead of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM).

In that vein, Ford has sold off some of its niche brands, reorganized focus on its core manufacturing and sales finesse and is now taking another step under "fixit" CEO Alan Mulally. The global automaker is reorganizing its design and engineering centers worldwide to speed product development on a global scale. Not only will this help Ford compete more effectively, but let's also hope the company knows -- in advance -- what the majority of customers want to buy in terms of new vehicles. Unless I'm completely wrong, the large SUV won't be at the top of those plans for a long while.

It's been said that the business world of sellers and buyers takes place in a "global village" -- and automakers like Ford are finally realizing that a broader global view makes perfect sense in trying to maintain consistent sales when one market may be down while others are up. It's no secret that U.S. auto sales have been down for a long while -- and the capability of shifting more product mix to non-U.S. markets to deflect slowing sales would seem to have been on Ford's roadmap much sooner than it actually was. Better late than never, though.

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