Could this have anything to do with their new CEO? He did wonders at Boeing, maybe he can save Ford USA -- maybe they'll one day make a car I'd actually want to buy.
I think most of this was in place before the new CEO came in. My gut instinct is that Mark Fields wanted to do something more like this at the start, but was being held back by Bill Ford. IMO, Bill Ford had his heart in the right place, but wasn't necessarily making the proper decisions for the company. Fields is much more the businessman, focused on turning around the business even if it means layoffs/buyouts/etc.
I think that Mullaly (the new CEO) didn't come up with this plan. But he certainly would have given it the green light - something Bill Ford may not have been willing to do.
I think the one thing Mullaly will bring to Ford is the viewpoint of an engineer. For once, the company won't be run by MBAs without a clue how to build a car. Cars and airplanes aren't that far apart, really... the production process may be different. Their tasks may be different. But the science behind build quality, customer appeal, etc are very similar....