????誰將成為艾倫·穆拉利的繼任者，出任福特汽車公司（Ford）的首席執行官？本周，美國權威汽車周報《汽車新聞》（Automotive News）在頭版刊發了一篇報道，之后，這場競猜游戲進入了最后關頭。這篇報道的標題是“福特內部涌現4位首席執行官候選人”。它揣測，穆拉利的繼任者到底是像他一樣的外來者，還是公司現有的高管之一。

????實際上，據內部人士透露，福特公司的繼任者競賽已經接近尾聲，只待正式公布結果?，F在懸而未決的兩大問題是：穆拉利到底何時退休？福特又將如何處理好這次權力交接過程？

????福特汽車的高管繼任是底特律經久不衰、廣受關注的一大傳統賽事。歷史上，跌宕起伏的接班大戲曾多次上演。1945年，亨利·福特二世首次拉開了大幕。當時，他從神智恍惚的祖父和居心叵測的手下哈里·班尼特手里奪得了公司的控制大權。此后，大戲接連上演：1978年，李·艾克卡遭解雇；1989年，唐·彼得森遭驅逐；1999年，阿歷克斯·特羅特曼的退休鬧得沸沸揚揚；2001年，杰克·納賽爾過早離開了公司。

????2006年，穆拉利首次從波音公司（Boeing）轉投福特，當時有關其繼任者的揣測之聲就不絕于耳，并且日漸響亮?？紤]到福特歷史上的交接大戲，這種反應就絲毫不足為怪了。除了公司員工和行業觀察家，投資者對這一動向也保持著密切關注。在穆拉利主政的過去三年半中，福特的股價上漲了5倍，福特以前所未有的大手筆重新開始派發紅利。其實沒有人會太在意管理層變動引發的震驚。

????今年8月，穆拉利剛過66歲，他還是顯得年富力強。無論是他還是執行總裁比爾·福特，誰都沒有做過任何暗示他將于何時下臺。本周，隨著《汽車新聞》這篇報道的出臺，他們將面臨的壓力進一步升級，必須給出一個說法。這篇報道其實沒有任何新意，它只是把三年多前那場不同尋常的面試重新拿來炒了炒冷飯。那場面試正是由公司人力資源前總裁喬·雷蒙主持。

????雷蒙心直口快，喜歡炫耀自己是多么了解公司的內部運作機制。2008年，他宣布，福特公司有6位候選人將成為穆拉利的繼任者。這一明顯欠妥的公告發布一周后，雷蒙就黯然下臺。而他的這種假定到底有多精確則從未獲得過確認。

????自那以后，雷蒙所謂的“6大接班人”中的一位，首席財務官唐·雷克萊爾，也離開了公司。而第二位，即斯蒂夫·奧德爾，則在目前的歐洲經濟危機中忙于讓福特歐洲分公司維持正常運轉，因此可以推斷，他沒資格入選首席執行官的候選名單。

????The guessing game about who will succeed Alan Mulally as Ford CEO moved into the late innings this week with a front-page article in Automotive News. In a story headlined "4 top CEO candidates emerge inside Ford," it speculated on whether Mulally's successor would be an outsider like him or someone already working at the company.

????In fact, insiders say the Ford (F) succession race is all but over, and all that's left is the official announcement. The two big questions remaining: When will Mulally actually retire, and how will Ford handle the transition?

????Executive succession at Ford is one of Detroit's enduring spectator sports. There have been any number of dramatic transitions, beginning in 1945 when Henry Ford II wrested control of the company from his confused grandfather and his thuggish underling Harry Bennett. They include the firing of Lee Iacocca in 1978, the ousting of Don Petersen in 1989, the noisy retirement of Alex Trotman in 1999, and the premature departure of Jac Nasser in 2001.

????With that history, it is not surprising that there has been speculation about Mulally's successor almost since he arrived from Boeing (BA) in 2006 and the noise level has been increasing ever since. In addition to employees and industry watchers, investors are paying close attention. Mulally has presided over a five-fold increase in Ford's stock price in the last three-and-a-half years and Ford is on the cusp of resuming dividend payments. Any surprise about management changes would not be well received.

????Mulally turned a vigorous 66 in August and neither he nor executive chairman Bill Ford has given any hints when he will step down. The pressure on them to make a decision ratcheted up a notch this week with the News story. It wasn't based on any fresh information but instead recycled an unusual interview given more than three years ago by the company's former human resources head Joe Laymon.

????The irrepressible Laymon, who liked to show off his knowledge of the company's inner workings, announced in 2008 that there were six inside candidates at the company to succeed Mulally. One week after that impolitic disclosure, Laymon left Ford. The accuracy of his supposition has never been confirmed.

????Since then, one of Laymon's "Big Six", chief financial officer Don LeClair, has also left the company, and a second, Steve Odell, is busy keeping Ford of Europe afloat during the EU's economic crisis and is thus presumably disqualified from current consideration for the CEO's.