Ford Posts an Unexpected Profit of $997 Million

[denem]

Source: NY Times

DETROIT — The Ford Motor Company on Monday posted a surprise third-quarter profit of $997 million and said it had its first profitable quarter in North America in more than four years.

The carmaker also said it increased its cash reserves by $2.8 billion during the quarter, ending September with $23.8 billion.

For all of 2009, Ford, the only Detroit automaker to avoid bankruptcy this year, has had a profit of more than $1.8 billion. It reported $834 million of income in the first half of the year.

Its goal has been to break even or earn a full-year profit by 2011. On Monday the company said in a statement that it “now expects to be solidly profitable in 2011, excluding special items, with positive operating-related cash flow.” It did not indicate whether a fourth-quarter or full-year profit is expected this year.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/business/03auto.html?_r=1

---

[doc03]

1. I hear GM wants another handout, I think they should have just

let them go under.

[Romulox]

14. That's dumb. nt

[Xenotime]

23. GM is one of the best auto makers out there.

[doc03]

33. I agree but the company seems a little dysfunctional n/t

[Jack_DeLeon]

42. I disagree.

[JonQ]

74. Despite it's inability

to make cars that people want at a price they can afford. In every other way, sure.

[blue_onyx]

36. Where did you hear they want another "handout?"

Letting them go under would have devastated our economy.

"The global auto industry would have collapsed if the U.S. government had not provided taxpayer-backed financing for automakers General Motors and Chrysler, according to the chief executive officer of Motors Liquidation Co.

"If GM had gone down, the world's supply base would have gone down," said Al Koch, speaking at the Reuters Restructuring Summit in New York. Koch was GM's chief restructuring officer during the bankruptcy and now heads the GM unit that is being liquidated."

http://www.reuters.com/article/Restructuring09/idUSTRE5906LM20091001

[doc03]

43. So why is everyone trying to blame Obama for

GM's problems? By golly they took my tax money to bail them out because of bad management and stupid union work rules I think we the owners have every right to fire the CEO or anyone else. The same goes for the banks, we have every right to limit their salaries or fire any of them.

[blue_onyx]

47. Just my opinion...

but I think people are angry that GM and Chrysler were pushed into bankruptcy before they received more government funding. AIG and the rest of Wall Street, on the other hand, had money continually thrown at them with no strings attached. AIG was in need of bankruptcy just as much as GM/Chrysler. Why weren't they required to go into bankruptcy before we gave them money over and over again?

As to my question....where did you hear that GM needed more money?

[doc03]

52. I really haven't heard any report about GM needing

more money myself, that's what someone was saying he heard on Faux News this morning. So who knows that could have come from Glenn Beck for all I know. Well if you can believe anything that comes out of Washington, they claimed the entire world financial system would have gone into meltdown if they didn't bail out Wall Street. Democrats and Republicans have both said we would have had another Great Depression or worse. I don't claim to understand all that, I can only take their word for it. Hey it was so bad John McCain had to suspend his campaign to come to the rescue last fall ha,ha. GM and Chrysler didn't really go into a traditional bankruptcy. I went through two of those and the Court pretty much controlled everything down to telling the Union workers what they were going to work for. I had two pensions terminated and dumped on the PBGC, the UAW walked out of this with their pensions.

[boppers]

63. "The global auto industry would have collapsed..."

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[JonQ]

75. According to the GM chief restructuring officer

I'm glad they found someone objective. :eyes:

[JNelson6563]

71. No.

Terribly ignorant statement. GM needs to be managed properly and it needs to survive. It ain't just the invisible forgotten people of Detroit and Michigan that would be ruined by such a thing as GM going under. No, the damage would be widespread, the pain felt in pockets across the country.

Julie

[WriteDown]

2. Ugh, compare this to GM....

Glad we didn't pay those GM bond holders. :eyes:

[Romulox]

15. For one, Ford is not being run by the Obama administration.

That's a HUGE difference right there. I've seen no evidence that David Axelrod knows how to run an automobile manufacturer. :shrug:

[ronnie624]

19. Is David Axelrod actually "running" General Motors?

I thought that was just a meme I hear on FOX and other wingnut 'news' outlets.

[Romulox]

21. The Obama administration installed a new CEO at GM.

This is common knowledge, surely? :shrug:

[onenote]

24. Fritz Henderson -- 25 year veteran at GM, former VP -- not exactly "David Axlerod"

Here is a link to a bio of Henderson from 2004
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_46/b3908066.htm

[WriteDown]

35. Even better...

One of the architects at GM vorm 1984 to today. GM's "golden" years. :eyes:

[onenote]

38. so who should have gotten the job?

Henderson may turn out to be the wrong choice. But he has at least some track record in launching new models overseas that were successful.

So if it would be bad for David Axlerod to be "running" GM (and I agree it would, but of course he's not). And it would be bad for Henderson to be the CEO, the question is who should be the CEO and who should have picked that person.

[Romulox]

39. What about the Obama appointed Chairman of GM, Ed Whiteacre?

:shrug:

[onenote]

51. what about him? Please analyze the job he has done in the 114 days he's had the job

and be specific. And focus on his role as Chairman of the Board, not CEO.

[doc03]

25. So you do Repug talking points. Just how was GM doing

before the Obama Administration installed a new CEO? Weren't they loosing like $1 billion a day? So now it's Obama's fault GM is loosing money? Now that's dumb.

[WriteDown]

34. How are they doing now?

How is Ford doing now?

[Romulox]

40. They say that reality has a liberal bias. I tend to agree with that statement.

Nonetheless, that does not allow us to ignore well known facts that some of us may find embarrassing. These aren't talking points--they're the basic facts of the situation.

[Lagomorph]

44. How is that a "Rethug" talking point?

It's a simple statement of fact, without spin.

Yet, you spin it.

[doc03]

55. Don't play dumb, you are insinuating it's Obama's

fault GM isn't making a profit. That's right out of Faux news play book. I could turn on Faux and hear those exact words every day. Ford made a profit and GM didn't what does that have to do with the Obama Administration? How do you know GM isn't doing better now after their CEO was replaced? GM was hemorrhaging money long before Obama even entered office, so now suddenly they are supposed to be making money and hiring 1000s of workers.

[Lagomorph]

66. That's absolutely insane.

Obama isn't running GM. I didn't insinuate a damn thing. Hypersensitive much?

He gave them some money to get out from under their debt's and go back to turning a profit. It's GM's job to get it done.

All I see is Obama telling them not to blow tax money on hookers and blow or there will be hell to pay.

[doc03]

76. Look at the posts, please. I was responding to

Romulox #15 #21 #39. Romulox said Ford made a profit and GM didn't because Ford wasn't run by the Obama Administration. I wasn't responding to anything you posted, you injected yourself in the middle of the thread. I am saying Romulox was repeating the Rethug talking points and I stand by that.

on edit: If you read the posts you will see I agree with you.

[Lagomorph]

77. You're right, I missed the one he made above it.

[ronnie624]

27. GM CEO resigns at Obama's behest

Obama and his aides may have honed in on Wagoner for two reasons. First, his company is asking for the most in total federal aid: $26 billion, a figure administration officials fear could grow even larger. Second, the GM chief was tied more directly to the ill-fated decisions that that brought much of the American auto industry to the brink of collapse. Wagoner joined GM in 1977, has had a senior role in GM management since 1992, and became CEO of the company in 2000. He is considered responsible for increasing GM's focus on trucks and SUVs—at the expense of the hybrids and fuel efficient cars that have become more popular in the last couple of years.

<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20625.html>


I can't find any credible information about the Obama Administration installing a CEO at GM. All such searches lead to nothing but blathering wingnuts. Every serious news report on the matter says GM appointed former vice president Fritz Henderson - who has been with the company since 1984 - as the new CEO at General Motors.

[Romulox]

41. Let's not quibble. The Obama admin unambiguously inserted a new Chairman of the Board

Ed Whiteacre.

[ronnie624]

62. Your initial claim was

"The Obama administration installed a new CEO at GM", which is demonstrably false. No one on a progressive forum is properly served by misinformation and Republican talking points. We might as well keep it accurate.

Rattner Recounts How Detroit Was Saved

Mr. Rattner recalls in detail one of the most controversial parts of his duties as car czar: removing Rick Wagoner as the chief executive of G.M.

The news about Rick’s departure had leaked out on Sunday before we started briefing the press and consequently ended up being a bigger part of the story than it should have been. I was stunned by the suggestion that the government, G.M.’s only source of fresh capital, was somehow out of bounds for asking for the resignation of a C.E.O. who had lost $13 billion of taxpayer money in three months and was now asking for more.

Both auto companies avoided liquidation, a feat that Mr. Rattner is proud of. He says that TARP helped save both companies and for at least one of them averted a full meltdown.

<http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/rattner-recounts-how-detroit-was-saved/>

*****

U.S. Takes On the Insular Culture of G.M.

Mr. Rattner and other government officials have repeatedly said they have no interest in running the company day-to-day. But they are taking a keen interest in shaping the new leadership team.

For example, Mr. Rattner himself was behind the appointment Tuesday of Edward E. Whitacre, the former chief executive at AT&T, to become G.M.’s new chairman. Four more vacancies on the board also have to be filled.

The newcomers’ primary task will be to make sure that G.M. rewires the corporate DNA that led to a decades-long slide in market share and tens of billions of dollars in losses.

Mr. Rattner said he expects no less than the kind of wholesale restructuring that John F. Welch Jr. engineered at General Electric in the 1980s, where he decisively shed businesses, cut costs and jobs and demanded better performance

<http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/us-takes-on-the-insular-culture-of-gm/>

*****

Obama Expands Car Czar's Duties

Speaking at an AFL-CIO picnic in Cincinnati, the president introduced Bloom, who has been a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner as part of the auto industry task force since February. Bloom, a Harvard Business School graduate, previously advised the United Steelworkers union and worked as an investment banker.

"As my new point person on manufacturing, he's going to help us craft the policies that will create the next generation of great manufacturing jobs and ensure American competitiveness in the 21st century," Obama said.

Bloom will work with the National Economic Council to develop and plan policy for Obama's efforts to revitalize U.S. manufacturing, the White House said. He will retain his position on the auto task force.

The U.S. manufacturing industry has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in recent years to overseas competition as some U.S. businesses have relocated abroad to take advantage of cheaper labor. Bringing an invigorated manufacturing base back to the United States was a campaign pledge Obama made last year.

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/07/AR2009090702041.html>

*****

The auto bailout: How we did it

(Fortune Magazine) -- Without any experience in automaking or government, Steven Rattner left his Wall Street perch to wade into the largest restructuring in American history. The scale and speed of the rescue raised many questions, inspiring Rattner to write this account of a defining moment in capitalism.

Rattner, who led the group that did the hands-on work, believes passionately that the decision to intervene represented not "creeping socialism," as some feared, but a critical part of the effort to prevent economic collapse. Here is the full Fortune exclusive, where Rattner gives a behind-the-scenes look at the President's decision to impose tough medicine, the ouster of GM's Rick Wagoner, and the revolt of Chrysler lenders that forced bankruptcy. Rattner's account:

<http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/21/autos/auto_bailout_rattner.fortune/>

[Capn Sunshine]

54. and you're implying he reports to the President?

Don't get out much do you.

[Psephos]

57. He reports to the "car czar."

Let's work that one up the chain and see where it lands.

[WriteDown]

18. Remember this great pick?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Deese

[ieoeja]

22. It does seem that Obama turned the entire economy over to the Clinton team, doesn't it? (nt)

[Psephos]

58. I'll see your Deese, and raise you one Rattner. Frankly, I think you should fold. ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Rattner

[MARALE]

3. Have you seen the new Tarus?

It is really sweet! we are thinking about trading in our Nissan because it handles terrible in the snow for the new Taurus. It is a really well made vehicle!

[doc03]

4. They have a Taurus SHO at a local dealership

sweet but around $39,000. They reopened the Brook Park Plant in Cleveland to build the engines for them, it's amazing the HP they get out of them.

[mule_train]

53. just looked at the new taurus at my local dealership - massive center console

why do they do this?!?!?

i have a taurus, with a colum shifter/bench deat with flip out cup holder/etc and i love it - real non clousterphobic

the console on the new one is not only real wide, but it's real high/elevated

why?!?

[tammywammy]

56. I saw the new Taurus about 6 weeks ago at the Ford dealer

I was very impressed with it's styling, fit & finish. I didn't drive one, but it was a very nice looking car.

[kpete]

5. Ford reports surprise $1 billion profit-Automaker now expects to be ‘solidly profitable’ in 2011

Source: Associated Press

Ford reports surprise $1 billion profit
Automaker now expects to be ‘solidly profitable’ in 2011

updated 25 minutes ago

DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and forecast a "solidly profitable" 2011.

The automaker said Monday earnings were fueled by U.S. market share gains, cost cuts and the Cash for Clunkers program, which drew flocks of buyers to showrooms this summer. Ford's shares rose 68 cents, or 9.8 percent, to $7.68 in morning trading.

The latest results signal that Ford's turnaround is on more solid ground. The company lost more than $14.6 billion last year and hasn't posted a full-year profit since 2005. While it made a profit in the second quarter, that was mainly due to debt reductions that cut its interest payments.

Ford, based in Dearborn, Mich., reported third-quarter net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share. Its profit forecast for 2011 was a step above previous guidance of break-even or better for the year.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33583171/ns/business-autos/

[MercutioATC]

6. They'll have to work better with labor first.

Local Ford workers just overwhelmingly turned down a contract that would have, among other things, cut their wages by $10/hr and eliminated their right to strike for 8 years.


...alternately, they could just ship more production to Mexico.

[unhappycamper]

7. And Northup Grumman celebrates delivery of its $1.2 billion dollar warship into New York harbor.

http://www.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.1561706.1257173250!image/3325026222.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/3325026222.JPG


http://www.newsday.com/long-island/uss-new-york-comes-home-to-harbor-1.1561686

[doc03]

26. Nice boat. n/t

[Thothmes]

50. Its a ship, boats are black and sink

[boppers]

64. LOL, a navy joke?

I wonder how many years it will last, and what the MPG is on it...

[Thothmes]

67. Should give the tax payers 20-25 years of service.

fuel consumption is not measured in mpg, the unit is tons of fuel per hour.

[Auggie]

8. Ford is marketing their products well IMO

They're running solid advertising with real news value

[BennyD]

10. I agree.

And whatever else they are doing, GM should emulate.

[WriteDown]

12. I think they are emulating the Zaporozhet or Moskvitch model. nt

[Lagomorph]

48. Yeah, and Ford's been doing it since 1914.

Pretty neat trick since the Zaporozhets came out in 1958 A.S. (After Stalin).

[Auggie]

16. Is GM capable?

Do they have the features/accessories/engineering to make them competitive?

During Clash for Clunkers I compared a Chevy Cobalt to a VW Jetta. They were about the same price, but the VW smoked it it terms of styling, ride, engine, handling, standard accessories, etc.

[doc03]

28. The Cobalt was ignored back in the days when they

could rake in $10000 profit on a pickup or SUV. The Cobalt is to be replaced with the Cruze next year. One thing about the Cobalt if anyone here cares, it is assembled in Lordstown, Ohio the Jetta comes from Puebla, Mexico. I have to admit I do like the Jetta TDI.

[Auggie]

32. Thanks for the update

I've heard about the Cruze. And the Volt, of course.

[TomCADem]

11. Looking At The Ford Fusion Hybrid, But...

...I just have a weak spot for the Ford Mustang. The current design reminds of the late 1960s model.

[Romulox]

46. The Fusion Hybrid is one of the nicest vehicles going, imo.

I'd buy one if it were made in the US.

[blue_onyx]

49. I agree

I tend to like GM more so than Ford but I really like the Taurus and Fusion.

It's a little odd that they make the Focus here in Michigan but the Fusion in Mexico. I would think that it would be the other way around. It would be nice if they built every car here.

[Capn Sunshine]

9. Profit---wait, what?

Such anathema to the conventional wisdom
Don't they know we're DOOOOOOOOOOMED?

[Romulox]

13. Cheers from Dearborn, Michigan! nt

[rayofreason]

17. Ford makes good cars.

The last Ford I owned I still own - with 134,000 miles. The Chrysler had the rack and pinion go out at 40,000 miles. Don't own it any more, wouldn't buy another.

The new SHO looks nice. I had a thing for the old SHO in the 80's, but couldn't afford it.

Not to worry, however. I am sure that the GENIUSES in DC will figure out in no time how to get Gov. Motors back on track. After all, look how many jobs were created by their effective economic action. I am sure we can expect the same level of performance in the auto industry.

[Psephos]

59. Do I detect a soupçon of wavering in your statement of faith in the DC geniuses? ;) nt

[rayofreason]

60. Indeed...

...the model is Wile E. Coyote SUPERGENIUS.

[Critters2]

20. I've always driven Fords, and will continue to.

I had an Escort that ran to 300,000 miles. Ugly as sin, but that little thing just would not stop. At 304,000 the engine block completely froze up, but that was the very first problem I had ever had with it.

I'm now driving a Focus, and love it. A sturdy car with good mileage. And the price was right. Paid it off over a year ago at $160 monthly payments, and it's only got 90,000 miles on it. So, I'm saving up for my next Ford, but shouldn't need it for some time.

And they're union made.

Why is anyone driving anything else?

[doc03]

29. I have a 1999 Tracer it just turned 137,000 miles

with nothing but routine maintenance.

[boppers]

65. "Why is anyone driving anything else"?

I'm currently driving a 2000 Saab (former GM marque, possibly Koenigsegg in the future).

It cost me $7,500 (already had 74K on the odometer), I'm paying it off at $300 a month (to cut interest).

It gets 28 mpg.

It has a theoretical maximum speed of 146 m.p.h. before the on-board computer kicks in, but I've never taken it over 132 m.p.h. (I hit 100+ once a week or so, when conditions are safe enough).

Saab is based in Sweden, which has much better unions than the US.

So:
Does Ford have a 28 (or better) m.p.g. car that goes above 130 m.p.h., for less than 8K, used?

[Critters2]

73. The Focus lists 34 highway mpg. I paid $7500 for mine

at 15,000 miles. And why would I care whether it could go over 130 mph, when the highest speed limit I'll ever drive is 70?

[wroberts189]

30. cash for clunkers perhaps? nt

[Romulox]

45. That is definitely a part of it, which makes for some worry about NEXT quarter...

But we will burn that bridge when we come to it, as they say...

[SpartanDem]

31. Awesome news!!!

[blue_onyx]

37. Great news but...

Ford has billons in debt which its fellow US automakers don't because of their bankruptcies.

[Blue_Tires]

61. hopefully they put a lot of it into product

[Divine Discontent]

68. Nearly all my cars have been GM/FORD & they all have been very economical for what I paid

and have rarely had problems. The Mitsubishi I had, new, only lasted seven years before the engine blew.

I wish everyone who can buy new cars would buy a USA union made product - there's some smart choices out there. Several look great and have very good features and are relatively well priced in the mid-sized market.

I think as part of taking the billions all operations should have been moved back to the USA. I know that's a bit extreme, but they woulda tanked without taxpayer money - so why shouldn't the taxpayer's wishes be heard? It would have encouraged heavier sales of their products, too, if we all knew GM/FORD were all made in the USA.

[skipos]

69. I like my Ford Fusion Hybrid! nt

[Vidar]

70. Good for Ford.

[totodeinhere]

72. If Ford can turn a profit, what in hell is wrong with GM? n/t