Alain Batty, 52, became president and chief executive officer of Ford of Canada in April, 2001. Before that, he was president of Ford Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, where he led the establishment of a Ford Focus assembly plant outside St. Petersburg. He earned a bachelor's degree in administration at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montreal and met his future wife, Canadian-born Ginette Audet. They have two children.

Vaughan: General Motors is bringing in Daewoo subcompacts and selling them as Chevrolets. Why don't you bring in a car like the KA or Festiva from Spain to compete?

Batty: First, we never comment on our competitors' plans. We really cover the small-car market with four versions of the Ford Focus. As you know, the Focus is a very high-tech, European-developed product, which might not be the case for all of our competitors, hence the need for them to add products. In addition, we are considering additional product in that segment, but not necessarily smaller vehicles. It's too early to discuss.

Vaughan: And speaking of the Focus, the new European Focus is far superior to the current North American Focus. Why aren't you selling the new European version?

Batty: We're very happy with today's Focus for this market. So we had no reason to change, but we are just introducing the 2005 Focus this May, four months ahead of the traditional fall introduction. As you may know, Focus has made five straight appearances on Car and Driver's "10 Best" cars list and it is a Consumer Reports top small-car pick.

Vaughan: You've just spent $50-million (plus legal fees) to settle the law suits from some of your dealers that came about from the 1999 decision to eliminate the Mercury brand and turn all the Mercury dealers into Ford dealers. I know you didn't make that decision in '99, but how much of a distraction has it been from your other duties to have to clean up the mess?

Batty: I would say that the distraction was more inside the family, rather than outside. So we are pleased that this difficult matter is behind us. Despite the launching of the class action in June, 1999, we continued to work closely with our dealers in the sale and servicing of great cars and trucks. The relationship between Ford and our dealers is based on dialogue and inclusion, recognizing that we are all dedicated to satisfying customers, building brand awareness and ensuring our mutual businesses continue to grow and prosper.

Vaughan: The Ford Taurus is on sale for $5,000 under the "official" price. It's hard to believe that Taurus was once the best-selling car in North America. Do you think its replacement, the Five Hundred, will win back customers who left the Taurus and went to Accord and Camry?

Batty: It really is a great time to be a consumer today, isn't it? In fact, when you look at 0-per-cent offerings on most vehicles, today's low prices are pretty common. For Taurus, we have chosen to advertise a price point of $19,995, which we think customers will find attractive for that proven product. And let's set the record straight -- Taurus will continue for the foreseeable future. Five Hundred will be a very different sedan -- our roomiest, most sophisticated sedan ever, available in either front- or all-wheel drive.

Vaughan: General Motors has spent billons on Cadillac and sales are ramping up. But can Ford, in its financial difficulties, spend what's necessary to make Lincoln competitive again?

Batty: Ford's financial performance is now solidly in the black, due to the product-led recovery plan we announced more than two years ago. Our plan is well on track and we are in the midst of launching an avalanche of new products, including the all-new F-150 pickup, AJAC's Canadian Truck of the Year and Canada's best-selling pickup for 38 years. We have many new products to come, including five new products planned for the Lincoln brand in the next four years. The first is the 2006 Lincoln Zephyr, which made its debut last week at the New York Auto Show. This all-new midsize Lincoln sedan will attract new, younger customers to the brand -- providing Lincoln with another vehicle to compete with other entry-luxury sedans.

Michael Vaughan is the co-host with Jeremy Cato of Car/Business, Monday nights at 8:30 p.m. on Report on Business Television. Michael Vaughan Live is on at 8 p.m. Monday to Friday.