I think the correct term is "TAKE OVER"
BUMP
Someone is "protecting the dealerships" too. This is a very stupid move ~ sure, they might need all those dealers in the future, but you can contract for that service as needed. International Harvester even went so far as to absorb the debts of its dealership network ~ a vast sum of money at the time that turned out to be more than the company itself was worth.
They went out of business.
Ford is going to go out of business eventually doing this.
It will be interesting to see who buys which current Ford assets at bankruptcy ~ certainly won't be the dealers they are protecting today.
bump
Hopefully not. They make some good cars and trucks, but as with many large corporations, are finding their market shares down and their expenses up. That cannot continue for long without major changes in the way thinks operate. I do my part with a 04 Grand Marquis, and 95 Explorer.
Going down, the sooner the better
I am here on the Titanic right now. In half an hour the Captain will speak and say who gets a place on the lifeboats and who gets life jackets and who goes overboard.
GM, on the other hand, seems hopelessly lost.
It sounds like they've hired Mr. Mulaly to conduct Ford's funeral.
Well, when they signed on to be big supporters of the Gay/Lesbian Movement, they lost tons of business.
I hate to see 14,000 Ford employees have to take a buy-out but I hope this helps Debbie Stabenow lose her Senate seat. Granholm is already a goner as far as the Governor's race.
Some of you Michiganders give us some input here.
I've got two new Fords in my garage and I've had very little problems at all. And I've owned about 15 new Fords and except for a 1991 model very little warranty work. I used to have GMs and they were nothing but trouble.
The problem is quite simple. They have rode the SUV and pickup wagon too long and it has gone over the cliff with the market. They should clone the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord or Hyundia Sonata and make it BETTER! for less money. They haven't had any cars that are truly competitive for years. The Fusion isn't even made in the U.S. It is made in Mexico. The Mustang can't carry an entire company.
As far as what I have, I have the Escape (my second) and an F-150 and they are nearly perfect but Ford abandoned the sedan market and that was their downfall.
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.
But they are too big an American icon to let fail (read US govt if the Dems get in).
Their SUV dependency will have to change. Big American companies cannot turn on a dime.
BUMP
The future of the auto industry will be dealer-free. Customers will buy autos directly from the factory on line, and will pick them up at distribution centers...a kind of Walmart model of cost reduction. There will be service centers for maintenance, but no show-room floor. The coming generation is so used to buying everything on line...even homes...that it won't bother them a bit that they can't "kick the tires" first. The auto industry will either make this change to save money, or they will go under.