When Wolfgang Reitzle gets behind the wheel of a car, he likes to feel in total control. The 50-year-old German automotive executive expects certain things from different brands - sometimes speed and styling, sometimes safety and family values. When he does not like a brand or the strategy behind it, he makes his opinions known.

Last February, his outspoken views arguably cost him his job on the management board of BMW, the German carmaker. According to former colleagues, Mr Reitzle had little option but to resign after refusing to sanction a huge cash injection for new mid-size cars at Rover, BMW's loss-making British subsidiary.

Within six weeks of quitting BMW, he was snapped up by Ford to head the US carmaker's new Premier Automotive group.

As a result, Mr Reitzle is now driving four different brands at once: Lincoln in the US, Jaguar and Aston Martin of Britain, and Sweden's Volvo Car Corporation. From a small office in London, the former BMW executive has assumed strategic responsibility for some of Ford's flagship carmakers.

His mentor, Jacques Nasser, Ford chief executive, has ambitious plans for the Premier group. He wants to lift output of Ford's luxury models from 250,000 last year to 750,000 in 2000 and one million beyond that.

Ford went a long way towards that goal by acquiring Volvo Cars for SKr50 billion (£4.5 billion/ €5.7 billion) earlier this year. But volume growth alone does not inspire Mr Reitzle.

To make a success of the Premier group, he hopes to extract synergies from the four brands while preserving their distinct identities. That could involve pooling technology, research and development and dealership functions.

The former BMW executive wants to exploit the special characteristics of such brands across the entire Ford group. Volvo, for example, will be the "centre of competence" in car safety.

"A new Ford product will in future run through the Volvo safety process and a new Jaguar too. It's an idea of what's possible in the future."

In the meantime, there are obvious savings to be achieved in the dealer network and backoffice functions, such as finance and information technology.

In these areas where brand identity is not an issue, the Premier group president expects significant changes. He is seeking savings in purchasing components and sub-systems at one end of the value chain, and through dealership restructuring at the other.

"In future, you will see a lot of focus on driving down costs in retail; that will lead to new ways to market and sell cars," he says. Ford has already begun to consolidate dealerships in the US and Britain. But Mr Reitzle's plans could take that a step further.

He envisages a system where there could be one "owner-dealer" in a large city or town, which would operate separate outlets for Volvo, Jaguar and, in time, Lincoln.

As part of that strategy, the Premier group will compare the performance of different dealers in terms of servicing or turnover. The implication is that Ford would like to see regional champions or super-dealers to sell its luxury models.

This is controversial stuff given the current furore among consumer groups over car distribution and retailing practices. But Mr Reitzle is determined to be innovative in handling dealer functions, rather than reacting to outside pressures.

"I could imagine having one big used car site, with the whole of Ford group products operating from it."

If carried through, that could mean authorised Ford dealerships becoming multi-franchise operators for used cars - selling Jaguars alongside Volvos, or Aston Martins alongside Lincolns - or even mass volume Ford models.

But it could be some time before Lincoln models are available outside their home market. Mr Reitzle says developing the US brand in Europe and beyond has been put on hold while the group assimilates Volvo.

For the time being, Mr Reitzle will concentrate most of his efforts on Jaguar and Volvo. They are, he says, two of the most complementary luxury brands in the world.

"Jaguar is about style, refinement and sportiness. Volvo is safety, family values and station wagons."

While defending those characteristics, he says the Premier group will bring together ideas to cut costs and develop products.

The new group president describes the brands as self-regulatory - retaining day-today responsibility for their operations - but they will be held accountable for costs.

Mr Reitzle will track them from London with a computer system monitoring sales, profits and operating margins.

"I want to have one communication and reporting process, so it's transparent," he adds. "The Premier group will be a management enabler. It will not add bureaucracy but value."