Posted on 05/19/2009 3:42:10 AM PDT by IrishMike
The Ford Motor Company says it will not match big dealer cuts made by General Motors and Chrysler, and expects to benefit from the elimination of nearly 2,000 competing showrooms. The company’s director of North American sales, James D. Farley, said in an interview Monday that Ford had been pushing steadily to consolidate its dealers, rather than trying to end contracts or let them expire. Ford has reduced its dealer network by 700 since 2005, leaving it with 3,700 nationwide. Mr. Farley declined to specify Ford’s targets for additional reductions, but said they would be small compared with the cuts by G.M. and Chrysler.
Last week, Chrysler, which is in bankruptcy, said it would terminate nearly 800 dealers, or 25 percent of its total, by next month.
G.M. said it would cut 1,100 dealers next year in the first phase of a plan to reduce its dealers by 40 percent, to about 3,600 from 5,900.
Ford is not accepting any government bailout money, in contrast to its two crosstown rivals. It is taking every opportunity to highlight the difference, even as it searches for ways to match some of the cost-cutting structural changes at G.M. and Chrysler.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Somehow - Ford will pay - Ford MUST pay.
And the fascinating thing is...Ford workers are UAW - yes?
And now UAW runs GM - but they’re supposed to “represent” the Ford workers, and it’s a total conflict of interest cluster**** - and it’s completely owned by the libs.
I would like to add emphasis to the "person" part of your statement. Hoping for a day when not only when corporate business sees the folly in taking poison-laden pills when accepting "government" dough, but when that sentiment trickles down to smaller entities as well as individuals.
Trucks are barely OK, vans are terrible too.
“Time to buy more FoMoCo Stock(I already have 150 shares)!”
hmmm..we’re still in the paying down debt - building up savings mode.
But it might be worth it to buy some Ford stock just to make a statement.
What’s the best route for online trading? I’m a novice.
Check out the new Fiesta. (in the States next year) Tried the European version out on a trip. Fun car. Good quality. Parsimonious with fuel. Green if you care about it.
Anyways, I think Ford has a bright future if it can escape The One’s clutches
I was a GM fan for years but switched to Ford back in 96 and have been loyal ever since. Proud owner of an 2008 F-250 and got an excellent deal from Ford.
I’m thinking about using a Prius as the battery for the winch on the front.
I believe you mean the Ford Foundation....not Ford Motor Company.
What.....too early in the morning?
Seems it was hijacked back in the late 60s....Community Activists ya know..like ACORN....
Everyone has their own stories to tell but IMO we need to buy Ford and the other American car companies, the ones Japan build here. They are not the slaves of Bozo either and the are not being held hostage by the UAW.
I am rooting for Ford like never before. I am proud to drive a Ford car whose engine was made in my hometown. My friends who (when we were young) proclaimed Ford stood for “Fix Or Repair Daily” and such, can keep their Chevy’s.
Is the 43 mpg an aggregate total of all production or all sales? Seems like Ford could produce a cheap piece of crap that gets 50-60mpg sell it at cost to offset it’s lower mpg better selling pickups/SUV’s.
Ford is actually going to the table asking for further cuts that GM may have that give them a cost advantage. This is after Mulally brought in his crack negotiator from Boeing to cut a good deal with the UAW. Note, Ford's relationship with the UAW for years has been far better than GM's. Also they have been quietly working on Toyota like work rules plant by plant as noted in the Detroit papers, but it got little coverage and no one saw the significance of it.
The Ford Stock dilution last week was to 1. add additional shares to cover the equity swap for the bond holds and 2nd, to have enough additional shares for the 1/2 and 1/2 cash and stock for the "VEBA" i.e. to off-load their health and retirement liabilities to the UAW.
IF Ford can ever get profitable and off-load these all in one lump, IMHO the UAW would be less of a factor.
I am not trying to sing the UAW song here, but maybe this relationship has a lot more balance.
The early 80’s while I was in the service
We laughed at the FORD brand -
“Fix Or Repair Daily”
or
“Found On Road Dead”
.
.
.
NO MORE !!!!
See the problem here is you are trying to apply old rules to the new game.
Obama and the Dems took the legal debt holders in the GM and Crhysler cases and placed them AFTER the Unions in the line that decides who gets what.
So no matter what deals FORD has with UAW now or who negotiates what with whom, Obama and Crew can swoop in and say sorry but you have to play by the New rules too FORD or its not fair to the rest of the industry.
Thus it really matters not what FORD has done with contracts and such.
Try a Fusion. I bought an ‘06 and couldn’t be happier with it.
However, Ford UAW guys may not want their pooched screwed and may not put up with it, especially if it turns around and their VEBA gets funded and their retirement/health car benefits are then solvent.
Now That might be interesting to see.
Nice of you to think green.
Good for them. I will seriously look at a Ford as my next car.
Why pay for advertising when you get free ads on the top of the hour news, every hour, all day? Seriously, I was getting mad. This is going to hurt Ford, as everyone will be running to buy their Chryslers at thousands below dealer cost. Then Ford will be hurtin' for certain. I think this is part of the plan.
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