Tune up; Ford merges SVT, motorsports and performance parts.(News)(Ford creates Ford Performance Group)(Brief Article)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER

Yes, Mr. Ford, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Ford Motor Co. is revamping its performance activities-Special Vehicle Team, Ford Racing Technology and its Vehicle Personalization performance parts division-into a single entity called Ford Performance Group. The group, headed by Mike Zevalkink, the former executive director of Ford North American Car Product Development, will provide performance vehicles, parts and services for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.

If this sounds familiar, you're right. Ford has grown weary of watching its competitors-specifically General Motors and its GM Performance Division, and Chrysler with its Performance Vehicle Operations-steal the spotlight while Ford's factory-tuned performance operations toil away in relative anonymity.

``The difference between Ford and the competition is that Ford has more than 100,000 SVT vehicles already on the street, and will sell 125,000 feature vehicles in 2002 along with a full line of factory-backed performance accessories,'' said Zevalkink, who will report to Ford vice president Jim O'Connor. ``And you can expect to hear more very soon.''

O'Connor, who took over as head of Ford North America Marketing, Sales and Service on May 1, was quick to respond to the suggestion Ford was merely picking up a new game plan from the competition. Rather, he said, others have copied Ford's successful performance strategy, built on 10 years of SVT products, 100 years of motorsports and 100,000 personalized Ford vehicles.

But Ford did recognize a need to ``take it to a new level,'' ...