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Ford hoping to distance itself from Detroit rivals

 
5 1,531 views Dec 10, 2008

The $9.9 billion represents a 28% reduction in Ford’s overall debt

The $9.9 billion represents a 28% reduction in Ford’s overall debt

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The demise of the Detroit 3 is unsurprisingly tarnishing the image of American carmakers, however Ford executives are hoping to distance themselves from their neighbors, General Motors and Chrysler, by refusing government loans (for now).

Chrysler and GM's current financial situation is no secret in the press, however Ford has managed to hedge its bets in overseas markets and new fuel-efficient models. Ford planned its shift to smaller, more fuel efficient cars over two years ago, and the Blue Oval even organized its own line of credit with major financial institutions in 2006 to the tune of almost $24 billion. This early line of credit allowed the manufacturer to shift production to its smaller cars and promote research and development into fuel saving technologies.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally is confident that his company will be able to weather the recession without government help if current economic conditions remain relatively stable. Bill Ford Jr., who serves as executive chairman for the company, remarked that Ford's non-reliance on government loans will allow the public to see "Ford as a company trying to pull itself up by its own bootstraps, and making it on its own and pulling the right levers."

While Congress is currently working with GM and Chrysler to streamline their businesses, Ford began the process much earlier when it shed most of its Premier Automotive Group, which included Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover. While the company still controls Volvo, even that business is under review for sale.

However, while Ford may be able to stand on its own two feet for now, the company has discussed taking possible government loans should the economic climate worsen. Mulally has also stated that should Ford require loans and his resignation be a condition of those loans then he would be willing to fulfill that.



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Comments (5)

  1. ma_gus avatar Gus Chyba Posted: 12/10/2008 9:48pm PST

    I do like Ford's lineup compared to all others, but we'll see what happens...
     
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  2. ma_www.mywheelsonwalls.com avatar www.mywheelsonwalls.com Posted: 12/10/2008 9:55pm PST

    So does this mean that the chances of me driving an RS Focus on U.S. soil are good?
     
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  3. ma_Chris avatar Chris Posted: 12/11/2008 5:35am PST

    gus; as far as the line up on the whole, ford is probably the best looking, but even i have to admit GM has a couple stars... very few.. but they do have some.

    MWOW, I suspect with the recent appointment of Jost Capito to the newly created position of "Global Awesome Cars Manager", you're going to see more SVT models (currently the only SVT cars are race specific cars), which if you remember were rebadged RS models from europe (think SVT Focus and SVT Contour). of course we already have an SVT fusion in the pipe, using an engine that is already in production in NA, and the SVT F150 off road monster thinger.. point being is, there was a point in time in the 90s when ford had the SVT contour and F150 Lightning, with the SVT Focus and GT in the works.. at a time when there was a global performance head. with the availability of stronger, more advanced engines with forced induction, i suspect you're going to see very powerful engines finding their way into smaller cars. just look at the 2.3L turbo that mazda uses.. its the only engine available in the CX7 but they throw it in their sedans for a performance version. brilliant. expect the same at ford.
     
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  4. ma_NoNameDenton avatar NoNameDenton Posted: 12/11/2008 8:59pm PST

    Actually the turbo 2.3 liter went into the performance car before the CX-7. Ford is hoping to make 6 billion from selling Volvo (what are the odds Volvo is actually worth that much), but if they can get the money they need from outside the government, that is good.
     
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  5. ma_gus avatar Gus Chyba Posted: 12/11/2008 10:13pm PST

    At least they're trying, right?
     
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