Anybody else watch the news? Ford losing billions

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by 1SVT2NV

its all bs they do this all the time to gain buisness and promote their attempts at regaining the market

No, it's quite true. Do some research and find out.

Ford, a 104-year-old American car manufacturer with a worldwide reputation that has to borrow millions to 'restructure' and use it's factory and office real estate as collateral while rumors float around that they're either about to go bankrupt or will be absorbed by a foreign car company is hardly going to help them 'gain business' or regain the market. Who wants to buy a car from a company that could be out of business next year?

Ford's stock price is holding fairly steady (at about $8. per share) but institutional investors are very worried about the Ford stock they now hold. If they begin to sell off, Ford is finished, as the smaller investors will panic and everyone will try to sell, killing the price of the stock, which would be fatal for the company.

If this is a way for Ford to 'gain business', it's sure a strange method of doing so, as their sales are down 20%. Maybe Ford needs a better idea.

[1SVT2NV]

Originally Posted by Mr 5 0

No, it's quite true. Do some research and find out.

Ford, a 104-year-old American car manufacturer with a worldwide reputation that has to borrow millions to 'restructure' and use it's factory and office real estate as collateral while rumors float around that they're either about to go bankrupt or will be absorbed by a foreign car company is hardly going to help them 'gain business' or regain the market. Who wants to buy a car from a company that could be out of business next year?

Ford's stock price is holding fairly steady (at about $8. per share) but institutional investors are very worried about the Ford stock they now hold. If they begin to sell off, Ford is finished, as the smaller investors will panic and everyone will try to sell, killing the price of the stock, which would be fatal for the company.

If this is a way for Ford to 'gain business', it's sure a strange method of doing so, as their sales are down 20%. Maybe Ford needs a better idea.

Its the old theory make them think your weak when your strong. Do you think ford could afford to spend billions developing the ford gt if they were going out of buisness. or even cars like the svt cobra. ford has had the number one selling pickup 30 years running. dont believe everything you hear my friend. Ive worked for ford I know how things are going. Same thing goes for gm. its all hype. It pushes americans into buying domestic to protect our economy

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by 1SVT2NV

Its the old theory make them think your weak when your strong. Do you think ford could afford to spend billions developing the ford gt if they were going out of buisness. or even cars like the svt cobra. ford has had the number one selling pickup 30 years running. dont believe everything you hear my friend. Ive worked for ford I know how things are going. Same thing goes for gm. its all hype. It pushes americans into buying domestic to protect our economy

Well, we're all entitled to our opinions but I have to disagree with this one. Ford sales are down 20% and their stock is shaky - but it's all 'hype'? That makes no sense. People buy cars and if Ford can't sell as many of their cars as Toyota, etc then they lose market share. That isn't hype, it's simply economics.

A new car - foreign or domestic - now costs an average of $29,000. A 2007 Mustang V-8 coupe has an MSRP of almost $26,000. and goes out the door for about $2,000. less, not including state sales taxes. I seriously doubt that any notable portion of the car-buying public is going to feel sorry for Ford (or GM or Chrysler) and start buying domestic cars that they don't really want and that take a good chunk of a years pay to purchase, out of sheer patriotism. That's ridiculous.

Ford truck sales are important but they have also fallen, as have SUV sales. Foreign manufacturers, mainly the Japanese, are making steady inroads on this particular market segment. As I stated in an earlier post, truck/SUV sales are only one portion of a large market and, alone, cannot save Ford, a company that hasn't made a profit for almost two years.

I don't know what kind of optimistic fairy tales (let's just call it 'hype') the company feeds Ford employees, who are likely to lose a lot of their cushy benefits in future Ford-UAW negotiations, but if I worked there, I would ignore the "we're just pretending to go broke to get sympathy" line and start looking for another job. But that's just me.

[1SVT2NV]

ok keep thinking that sell your stocks. can I ask you what you do for a living

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by 1SVT2NV

ok keep thinking that sell your stocks. can I ask you what you do for a living

I certainly will keep thinking that Ford is in serious financial trouble. Just as those who care to investigate the situation already realize. Look, this is hardly worth the argument so if you choose to believe the 'it's all hype' excuse the company apparently hands out when it's sales drop by 20%, its market share shrinks while it's stock struggles to stay near $8, that's certainly your prerogative. Besides, I don't own any Ford stock. Apparently a wise choice. I'm just saying.

The drop in 2006 sales volume at Ford cost it $3.3 billion (compared to 2005) and lower pricing on the vehicles it did sell cost another $1.9 billion. Do the math. That's a huge loss of revenue. I don't care what the company is telling you (or what Ford employees tell each other), if it continues, it will be, in effect, a financial death spiral. Besides, Toyota - a foreign car company that basically 'came out of nowhere' (Japan, actually) - has already displaced Ford - with all it's history and (mistakenly assumed) owner loyalty as the #2 selling car in the U.S. That is telling, to say the least. The days of U.S. car buyers having loyalty to U.S. cars is long past, I can assure you. Sales figures now prove that contention. That isn't 'hype', it's reality.


I'm in the insurance business, as if that has any bearing on anything.

I'm also a realist who doesn't depend on Ford for my living so I have the ostensible luxury of objectivity here.

[1SVT2NV]

Originally Posted by Mr 5 0

I certainly will keep thinking that Ford is in serious financial trouble. Just as those who care to investigate the situation already realize. Look, this is hardly worth the argument so if you choose to believe the 'it's all hype' excuse the company apparently hands out when it's sales drop by 20%, its market share shrinks while it's stock struggles to stay near $8, that's certainly your prerogative. Besides, I don't own any Ford stock. Apparently a wise choice. I'm just saying.

The drop in 2006 sales volume at Ford cost it $3.3 billion (compared to 2005) and lower pricing on the vehicles it did sell cost another $1.9 billion. Do the math. That's a huge loss of revenue. I don't care what the company is telling you (or what Ford employees tell each other), if it continues, it will be, in effect, a financial death spiral. Besides, Toyota - a foreign car company that basically 'came out of nowhere' (Japan, actually) - has already displaced Ford - with all it's history and (mistakenly assumed) owner loyalty as the #2 selling car in the U.S. That is telling, to say the least. The days of U.S. car buyers having loyalty to U.S. cars is long past, I can assure you. Sales figures now prove that contention. That isn't 'hype', it's reality.


I'm in the insurance business, as if that has any bearing on anything.

I'm also a realist who doesn't depend on Ford for my living so I have the ostensible luxury of objectivity here.

OK lets discuss this again in 5 years and see whos right. deal

[1SVT2NV]

ps i buy all american products whenever I can

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by 1SVT2NV

OK lets discuss this again in 5 years and see whos right. deal

Deal. I'll be around and I hope you still have a job at Ford in 5 years.