Ford posts profits while Government Motors and Chrysler ?????

oh, so you mean the union(s) agreed to this as part of a whole package, where to keep some jobs they made some other sacrifices?

unheard of...

nah, ford slashed the income of those poor pensioners, so that they now are eating wonderbread and baloney at every meal... kicked granny out into the street and encouraged local hooligans to violate her buttocks repeatedly with with frozen chicken nuggets.

funny, but i know a few people that got buyout packages from auto companies and they weren't so bad...
 
There's more to this than Ford being the only one of the Big Three that didn't take a bailout.

For one thing, Ford took out some mortgages right at the perfect time. Any later and they'd have ended up like GM. Also, notice that revenues were down. That means this profit is because of cost-cutting. Further, Ford' market share went up by about one single percentage point, which doesn't really mean people are "flocking" to Ford showrooms instead of Chevy or Dodge. Of the people that are heading to the Ford showrooms, consider that Ford's F150 pickup truck was redesigned for 2009, which is generally going to boost sales (especially since the new truck has many improvements including better gas mileage), and the Fusion is updated for 2010 and has been well-reviewed by critics, and the hybrid version is also generating interest, while the Escape small SUV continues to sell well and has a hybrid version. Also, the Mustang was updated for 2010. By comparison, Chevy's new models are the Equinox small SUV and the Camaro. The Silverado truck enters its fourth year of the current design in 2010 and the Malibu midsize sedan enters its third year of the current design. The Camaro has enthusiasts excited but it's not really a mass-market vehicle (neither is the Mustang but it's also got a new look and new improvements). Over at Dodge, the only new model is the Ram pickup truck, although the Ram has always lagged behind Ford and Chevy/GMC in sales. The Journey crossover SUV is fairly new and the Challenger is about as recent, but otherwise, the model line-up is old. Whether Chrysler becomes profitable again depends a lot on how well the small cars from Fiat sell here. I'm not sure which small cars GM has coming (and the Cobalt is going into the sixth year of its current design), although what they've been doing with Cadillac the last couple of years is encouraging. It does seem weird, though, that there's room enough in this town for Chevy and GMC trucks, but not room enough for Chevy and Pontiac, or Chevy and Saturn.
 
A billion dollars! Wow, they shouldn't be able to do that, they need to bring down cost so everyone can afford to own a nice car.
 
Wow! A billion dollars and we can all benefit if they spread it around. I'm gonna use my $3.03 to buy me a new car!!
 
billion dollars is an interesting number. that's about how much a new vehicle program costs.

for those of you out there whining about auto companies, that they should should do (or not do, or not have done) this or that, imagine what kind of pressure you'd be under if you had any decision making capacity in a company where the $ stakes are that high. you might lay some people off.
 
Sure if that’s what the P & L called for…
What I’d wanna do is free my Company from the Unions!
Then I could hire and fire with the best interests of the company in mind.
Dream on white boy. Dream on black girl.
 
2minkey said:
imagine what kind of pressure you'd be under if you had any decision making capacity in a company where the $ stakes are that high.
Click to expand...

Now, multiply that by 50 when the federal government dcides to step in amd interfere with your plans.
 
Inkara1 said:
There's more to this than Ford being the only one of the Big Three that didn't take a bailout.

For one thing, Ford took out some mortgages right at the perfect time. Any later and they'd have ended up like GM. Also, notice that revenues were down. That means this profit is because of cost-cutting. Further, Ford' market share went up by about one single percentage point, which doesn't really mean people are "flocking" to Ford showrooms instead of Chevy or Dodge. Of the people that are heading to the Ford showrooms, consider that Ford's F150 pickup truck was redesigned for 2009, which is generally going to boost sales (especially since the new truck has many improvements including better gas mileage), and the Fusion is updated for 2010 and has been well-reviewed by critics, and the hybrid version is also generating interest, while the Escape small SUV continues to sell well and has a hybrid version. Also, the Mustang was updated for 2010. By comparison, Chevy's new models are the Equinox small SUV and the Camaro. The Silverado truck enters its fourth year of the current design in 2010 and the Malibu midsize sedan enters its third year of the current design. The Camaro has enthusiasts excited but it's not really a mass-market vehicle (neither is the Mustang but it's also got a new look and new improvements). Over at Dodge, the only new model is the Ram pickup truck, although the Ram has always lagged behind Ford and Chevy/GMC in sales. The Journey crossover SUV is fairly new and the Challenger is about as recent, but otherwise, the model line-up is old. Whether Chrysler becomes profitable again depends a lot on how well the small cars from Fiat sell here. I'm not sure which small cars GM has coming (and the Cobalt is going into the sixth year of its current design), although what they've been doing with Cadillac the last couple of years is encouraging. It does seem weird, though, that there's room enough in this town for Chevy and GMC trucks, but not room enough for Chevy and Pontiac, or Chevy and Saturn.
Click to expand...

i know a lot of people who wont buy anything except a ford and they all say its because they didnt take the bailout moeny. i think more people appreciated that then are given credit for. they did take some steps before the bottom fell out, but isnt that what successful private businesses do? or atleast what they should do, rather than wait on uncle sam to pick up the pieces
 
H2O boy said:
i know a lot of people who wont buy anything except a ford and they all say its because they didnt take the bailout moeny. i think more people appreciated that then are given credit for. they did take some steps before the bottom fell out, but isnt that what successful private businesses do? or atleast what they should do, rather than wait on uncle sam to pick up the pieces
Click to expand...
They're asking for bailout money from other countries. All the while maintaining that they're 'bailout free' - it's spin doctoring and free marketing.
 
more like they applied pressure where they could in their own interest, as any rational company will do.

pretty determined to make them into a bad guy, eh? what's next? references to henry hussein ford ha ha ha...
 
ONTARIO (CP) -- Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. is facing a $1.8-billion shortfall in its pension plan -- a demonstration that the healthiest of the Detroit Three auto makers in Canada has been unable to avoid one of the biggest financial problems that caused its closest competitors to seek government financial help.

While Ford and its parent Ford Motor Co. did not seek a bailout by taxpayers in Canada or the United States, the Oakville, Ont.-based company wants the Canadian Auto Workers union to provide it with the same pension relief it gave to the Canadian units of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.

"Prudent management of Ford's pension plans is important to the future success of Ford in Canada and cash conservation is more important than ever," Ford said in a letter to employees and retirees.

The pension plan held assets of $2.91 billion as of Dec. 31, 2008, which would cover just 62 percent of the liabilities if the plan were wound up, the letter said. Those figures mean the liabilities in the plan are about $4.7 billion.

While rising stock markets will help shrink the deficit, the pension shortfalls faced by Ford and many other industrial companies highlight a risk to the recovery in the manufacturing sector -- the cash drain of paying benefits to a big contingent of older and retired workers.

Ford wants to take advantage of a change in Ontario law that extends the period for addressing shortfalls to 10 years from five, but can't do so without approval of two-thirds of employees and retirees.

The pension shortfall was identified in a valuation of the plan done on Dec. 31, 2008, which was at the end of a year when pension assets were shredded by the collapse in global stock markets amid the credit crisis and the failure of large Wall Street investment houses.

Ford described the windup of the plan as unlikely.

"It's important to note that Ford of Canada's pension plans are funded in compliance with the Ontario Pension Benefits Act," spokeswoman Lauren More said Tuesday.

The changes to the pension are among several concessions Ford is seeking in its talks with the union, arguing that its manufacturing operations in Canada won't be competitive with Chrysler and GM if it isn't granted the same deal.
Click to expand...
http://www.manufacturing.net/News-F...rtfall-In-Pension-Plan-092309.aspx?menuid=276

The bad guy? No... just pointing out that not taking a bailout doesn't make them successful, nor squeeky clean.
 
Well it show nuff keeps some lame-assed pay Czar
from telling them what they can pay themselves!

92179e20-9280-4ab6-aa1a-8849d263c569.jpeg
 
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