[JeeBoomba]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('emersonbiggins', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', 'M')y first car was a Ford Taurus.

[AmericanEmpire]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')'ll either drive this one into the ground, or live in it when there's no more gas available.

[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JeeBoomba', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('emersonbiggins', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', 'M')y first car was a Ford Taurus.

[pup55]

I've owned 8 fords in my life, got two of them now.

They should do what they do best (F150's and mustangs) and leave the boring rental-car fleet vehicles to somebody else.

Evidently they also do a good job on cop cars (a.k.a. redneck limousines) because plenty of them around. When is the last time you saw a cop try to pull someone over in a honda? That'll be the day.

[larrydallas]

I think Ford is really hurting from the big vehicle sales or lack thereof I should say. Their econoline and F-series are very profitable vehilces. The F250/350 sold like crazy because of the tax loop hole for vehciles over 6000 pounds being major tax deductions for business. That worked until we hit $2-3 gas/diesel. Now, these vehicles are costing more than the tax deduction savings in a year's worth of fuel if you are a commercial entity.

The private car buyer is also staying away from buying an F150 just for the heck of it when he does not have to have one to live for the obvious fuel cost reason.

Now with cars, they do have success with the Crown Vic and Mustang but is this sustainable? Crown Vic is almost all fleet sales to corporations or govt. The chasis does double duty in Mercury/Lincoln format but it's not a stellar seller. Mustang simply sells because if the heritage and name plate. The fact that they had to retro the car's looks to such an extreme they copied what Lee Iacocco conjured up in 1963 for a 64 model is a bad sign. Other companies have done it with cars like the VW bug but that was not at a time when the company was neary broke.

Ford needs to shut down Mercury, end all minivan production, and gut Lincoln's lineup to keep only the towncar and a few sedans like the 06 Zypher. The Lincoln SUVs and trucks will be completely in the red as soon as gas surges over $3.50 a gallon if they are not already.

For their cars that will come out in the next 3-5 years (if they are still around) they need to develop turbo diesels in 4 or 5 cyl configuartions. Those engines do wonders for mileage. Way back in the early 80s Mercedes offered a 5 cyl diesel on their S class sedans in the US and compared to the same car powered by a gas engine it was a big difference. The W126 chasis sedans weighed over 4500 pounds and got about 12-14 mpg on gasoline but closer to 20-22 on turbo diesels.

Of course, I'm sure Ford will not do this. They will just keep adding airbags and sensors to their cars to pitch the safety thing. I'm disgsuted when I see Bill Ford in that commercial with the mom and her kids as he talks about safety and innovation. Bill, all of those dirty F series trucks and SUVs you build are going to pollute the air so much those kids will have calcified soot on their lungs before they hit 30 if they live anywhere near a major city.

[Eli]

Both Ford and GM are done. Ford just announced 25,000 worth of layoffs in the US and massive restructuring and they say that this is only the beginning.

Like it was said before GM and Ford made their money on their large vehicle line up, GM just came out with an all new large vehicle redesign that they hoped would save them.

With the high fuel costs coming and the fact that neither company has been able to come up with a decent small car to compete with the Japanese they are screwed. Neither one knows how to make money selling small cars.

Already, having serious financial problems poor small car designs top heavy production in large vehicles that have slowing sales and 3.00 gas expected to make an extended appearance is not good time to try and turn around an auto company.

[jesus_of_suburbia_old]

Was I the only one who thought this thread was going to be about Gerald Ford?

I am currently driving a 98 Taurus. I hate this fucking car. I mean, for a first car it isn't terrible. But ultimately, it's a Taurus. You might as well be driving a Chevy Cavalier. It has all of these weird glitches. Nothing major, yet.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t doesn't take much to convince me that a new 45+ MPG Jetta makes more sense, even with PO coming, than my 19 MPG Taurus.

[The_Toecutter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')opefully, I'll be bringing in more money in the next few months. As soon as I pay off my parents, I'd like to buy a Jetta.

[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jesus_of_suburbia', 'H')opefully, I'll be bringing in more money in the next few months. As soon as I pay off my parents, I'd like to buy a Jetta.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('The_Toecutter', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')opefully, I'll be bringing in more money in the next few months. As soon as I pay off my parents, I'd like to buy a Jetta.

[smiley]

Will they ever learn?



Hmmm..... large vehicle sales are slipping. Probably they are not big enough. Let's make them bigger.

[elroy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Eli', 'B')oth Ford and GM are done. Ford just announced 25,000 worth of layoffs in the US and massive restructuring and they say that this is only the beginning.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jesus_of_suburbia', '
')I am currently driving a 98 Taurus. I hate this fucking car. I mean, for a first car it isn't terrible. But ultimately, it's a Taurus. You might as well be driving a Chevy Cavalier. It has all of these weird glitches. Nothing major, yet.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smiley', 'W')ill they ever learn?



Hmmm..... large vehicle sales are slipping. Probably they are not big enough. Let's make them bigger.

[Specop_007]

Good job Ford!
Article

Troubled No. 2 automaker overcomes losses in auto operations to post much better-than-expected profit.
January 23, 2006: 8:06 AM EST


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Ford Motor Co., hours ahead of an expected announcement about thousands of job cuts and widespread plant closings, posted much better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings Monday.

The nation's No. 2 automaker said it overcame losses at its core North American auto operations to earn $511 million, or 26 cents a share, excluding special items in the quarter. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had forecast only a 1-cent a share profit in the period.

The company earned $554 million, or 28 cents per share, on that basis a year earlier.

[crow]

Looks like the old goat is going to stick around a while longer!


I wish Henry Ford Senior was back, just to see what has become of his company! the look on his face would be precious.

[leal]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('elroy', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Eli', 'B')oth Ford and GM are done. Ford just announced 25,000 worth of layoffs in the US and massive restructuring and they say that this is only the beginning.

[emersonbiggins]

What a desperate ploy at advertising, just false enough to encourage the more litigious among us to sue Ford for just such a marketing move. Clearly, the car has an ICE - it follows that it must 'use' energy, correct? I'm afraid more than a few Joe Sixpacks will waltz into a Ford dealer and purchase one of these, only to find out too late that the car in question hardly 'creates' anything, save for a good amount of air pollution and perhaps a few inflated egos.

Anyways, this is the *dumbest* *thread* *ever*

That commercial just irks me, though. Seriously.

[J-Rod]

I was going to post something similar when I first saw it, but of course it's just advertising. They do *say* that it creates energy, but the implication is another type of energy, not the one that fuels the kinetic motion of the car. But yes, basically annoying, it did give me a good laugh.

[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('J-Rod', 'I') was going to post something similar when I first saw it, but of course it's just advertising. They do *say* that it creates energy, but the implication is another type of energy, not the one that fuels the kinetic motion of the car. But yes, basically annoying, it did give me a good laugh.