Ford turns a profit...

[roosterjuicer]

nice to see an American car company doing good business and turning a profit WITHOUT A BAILOUT!

My Way News - Ford earns $2.7 billion in 2009

[f6fhellcat13]

Without a bailout, but I'm pretty sure they got some stimulus money.

[wwgkd]

Part of the reason for the lack of a bailout was timing. They actually got into trouble sooner than Chrysler or GM but ended up doing a lot of fancy financials so that the Ford family was able to stay in control. If the whole financial crisis had hit a little earlier I have to think that they would have needed more help and that possibly GM and Chrysler would have been in a little better shape.

[Ferrer]

These days even Maserati and Jaguar are winning money...

[G35COUPE]

Part of the reason for the lack of a bailout was timing. They actually got into trouble sooner than Chrysler or GM but ended up doing a lot of fancy financials so that the Ford family was able to stay in control. If the whole financial crisis had hit a little earlier I have to think that they would have needed more help and that possibly GM and Chrysler would have been in a little better shape.

Actually, Ford realized much sooner than GM that change was needed in the american auto industry. They faced their demons head-on. GM and Chrysler were busy living in la la land even when the truth was starring them in the face. They too had similar problems as Ford. Ford manned up and did the right thing. For once, an american company decided that being pro-active was better than being reactive.

Ford is succeeding because it is pro-active. GM and Chrysler are failing because they are reactive. Can anyone tell us when Gm will deliver their automotive hocus-pocus (Chevy Volt) to dealer showrooms?? I hear they have moved the date of launching it to 2011. Yet, they do this knowing fully well that third generation Toyota Prius, which is more fuel efficient, and which will be released this year, will compete vigorously with the imaginary Chevy Volt. And then, how is GM gonna justify $35K - $40K for a Chevy Volt when a Toyota Prius can be had for $23K or less? American management sucks like fat thumb in a babies mouth.

[jcp123]

Ford seems to have a better lineup than its counterparts at GM and Chrysler (though I personally find their Altezza light and heavy grille styling to not be so great). Frankly, they have smarter vehicles, well-built and efficient, which have been lacking in the American market for a while. Buyers have responded by, well, buying. GM seems to have picked up the pace as of late, but the profits won't be reaped for a while if at all.

[roosterjuicer]

I think GM has been doing some good things as of late with the malibu, the equinox, the camaro, and perpetually with the corvette.

one thing that is very annoying, and g35 alluded to this, but it takes forever for them to get a car to market. We waited forever for the camaro to come out, several years after they announced it. And now we are doing the same thing with the volt, which, unlike the camaro will probably be worse, not better than its competition.

[jcp123]

I agree, GM is slow in that department. Gone are the Bunkie Knudsens, Ed Coles, and Arkus Duntovs of GM's past who had an instinctive knack for the right thing at the right time, and the decisive guts to do it. These days, they're more known for killing a car just when they get it right than anything else.

[wwgkd]

I think GM has been doing some good things as of late with the malibu, the equinox, the camaro, and perpetually with the corvette.

one thing that is very annoying, and g35 alluded to this, but it takes forever for them to get a car to market. We waited forever for the camaro to come out, several years after they announced it. And now we are doing the same thing with the volt, which, unlike the camaro will probably be worse, not better than its competition.

They do have more good cars than people generally give them credit for. I'm not sure it's so much that they're slow to get them out (everyone takes at least 3 years these days for even relatively small changes) as that they announce them way ahead of time.

[Ferrer]

(everyone takes at least 3 years these days for even relatively small changes)

Development times have been shortened quite a lot these days. Some cars are known to take 15-18 months from drawing board to production, altough I guess that also depends on how much you are changing from one generation to the other.

as that they announce them way ahead of time.

That's a common problem of today's information-based society. With internets and whatnot spy pictures are posted easily, secret documents leaked and anonymous sources quoted. So it's difficult to keep the secret of a new car for long.

[wwgkd]

Development times have been shortened quite a lot these days. Some cars are known to take 15-18 months from drawing board to production, altough I guess that also depends on how much you are changing from one generation to the other.

That's a common problem of today's information-based society. With internets and whatnot spy pictures are posted easily, secret documents leaked and anonymous sources quoted. So it's difficult to keep the secret of a new car for long.

Which is true, as we see with the 458 and impatient internet geeks claiming that it was taking forever to come out/might possibly never come out. But I don't thinnk this was a similar problem. GM really did announce and hype it pretty early in the cycle, which they've done with a couple of other cars.