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July 2008
- Ford Posts $8.7B Loss, Will Make Fewer Trucks
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jul 24, 08 9:08 AM CDT
  
  Ford Motor Co. lost $8.67 billion in the second quarter and will retool two more North American truck and SUV plants to build small, fuel-efficient vehicles, the company announced today. The net loss includes $8.03 billion in writedowns due to a decline in the value of its truck and SUV inventory, as well as Ford Motor Credit Co.'s truck-heavy lease portfolio. More »
- In Need of Big Ideas, Ford Thinks Small
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 19, 08 4:28 PM CDT
  
  Ford Motor Company will be repurposing some of its US plants to manufacture smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, the Wall Street Journal reports. As rising gas prices drive falling sales of behemoths like the F-150, insiders say the company will move toward making more of the passenger cars, like the Mondeo, that are mainly sold in Europe. More »
- US Auto Sales Off Big, But GM Holds Top Spot
  
  newser | Detroit News | Jul 1, 08 2:40 PM CDT
  
  Sales for General Motors, Ford and Toyota all fell by double-digit percentages in June compared to the same month last year, while Honda managed an 11% gain, the Detroit News reports—with GM holding off Toyota as top US seller. In general, consumers passed over big, fuel-guzzling vehicles and luxury sedans for smaller, fuel-efficient models. More »
June 2008
- Obama Meets With Top Automakers Amid Tension
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 26, 08 1:07 PM CDT
  
  Barack Obama is meeting with two of the Big Three in encounters the Wall Street Journal says “could thaw festering tension” between the Dem and America’s automakers. A year after Obama criticized the companies for fighting fuel-economy standards and rewarding “failure with lucrative bonuses for CEOs,” he met with Ford’s chief yesterday in a summit the businessman called “productive.” More »
- What's Hot? Some Guzzlers Among the Sippers
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 25, 08 10:03 AM CDT
  
  Soaring gas prices have predictably driven sales of gas-sipping vehicles such as Honda’s Fit and Toyota’s Scion xB, which have seen increases of 64% and 59% respectively, reports the Wall Street Journal. But guzzlers such as Toyota's Sequoia and Tundra are also selling surprisingly well (29% and 8.5%, respectively). More »
- Plunging Truck Sales Drive Ford Deeper Into the Red
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 21, 08 9:12 AM CDT
  
  Ford's recovery plans have been sent careening off the road by the continuing drop in truck and SUV sales, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company, which now expects this year's losses to top 2007's $2.7 billion, has given up hope of being back in the black by 2009. The ailing Detroit giant has cut production again and delayed the launch of its new F-150 pickup. More »
May 2008
- SUV Credit Crunch Rolls Over Ford
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 30, 08 10:18 AM CDT
  
  Ford's plans to get back in the black are being forced off the road by woes at its lending arm, the Wall Street Journal reports. The auto giant made a lot of cut-rate loans on trucks and SUVs in recent years and has been unable to recoup losses on bad loans through repossessions because of the plummeting resale value of bigger vehicles. More »
- SUVs Plunge in Value as Drivers Turn to Smaller Cars
  
  newser | CNN | May 24, 08 8:21 AM CDT
  
  SUVs are falling out of fashion fast as gas prices go through the roof, CNN reports. As drivers downsize to more fuel-efficient vehicles, gas-guzzlers are filling up used-car lots—but there aren't many buyers. The biggest SUVs—like the Cadillac Escalade, Ford Expedition, and Chevy Suburban—are dropping in value by the thousands, a dealer reports. More »
- Mercury Line May Hit the Scrap Heap
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | May 10, 08 6:52 PM CDT
  
  Once a four-wheeled icon of cool, Ford's Mercury brand is steadily losing traction and may soon be parked for good, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ford has not yet announced a plan to scrap the line, but one key stockholder is urging the company to let it go. "Mercury has one more product cycle left in it, and then will almost certainly be retired as a brand," one analyst said. More »
April 2008
- Kerkorian Bets Big on Ford Turnaround
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 28, 08 4:22 PM CDT
  
  Investor Kirk Kekorian is gobbling up shares of Ford in move seen as a vote of confidence for the automaker’s turnaround efforts, the Wall Street Journal reports. Kerkorian’s Tracinda has bought about 100 million shares and holds a 4.7% stake in the firm. Tracinda also offered to buy 20 million more for $8.50 apiece, 13% more than their market value Friday. More »
- Ford Surprises With $100M Q1 Profit
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Apr 24, 08 7:28 AM CDT
  
  Ford today posted an unexpected first-quarter profit of $100 million, Bloomberg reports, the result of cost cutting in North America and strong overseas sales. Analysts had anticipated a loss on the order of last year's first-quarter drain of $282 million. The world’s third-largest automaker said its revenues increased 1.2% to $43.5 billion. It was only the second quarterly profit for the company in the past two years. More »
- More Cuts Planned as Ford Shifts Out of Reverse
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 23, 08 2:41 AM CDT
  
  Ford was in the worst shape of Detroit's Big 3 a couple of years ago but chief executive Alan Mulally's sweeping changes have put the firm back on the road to profitability, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company has slashed jobs, and will likely cut more, and ditched its Jaguar and Land Rover brands. Insiders say Volvo could be the next to go. More »
- Wal-Mart Tops Fortune 500
  
  newser | Fortune Magazine | Apr 21, 08 4:07 PM CDT
  
  Wal-Mart nosed out Exxon Mobil for the second consecutive year to land atop the 2008 Fortune 500, with $37.7 billion in revenues, the magazine said today. In profits, the oil company far outstripped the megaretailer. Three of the top 5 on the list were oil companies, the AP reports. ChevronTexaco (No. 3) and GM (No. 4) swapped places, and ConocoPhillips again rounded out the top 5. More »
- Pickup Sales Plummet to 10-Year Low
  
  newser | BusinessWeek | Apr 9, 08 7:35 AM CDT
  
  US pickup truck sales tumbled in March, hitting their lowest level in nearly a decade. The Big Three all reported double-digit percentage drops in sales this month—the Dodge Ram was down 26%—and large pickups represented barely more than 10% of the auto market. High gas prices added fuel to the freefall, but the housing crisis—and an attendant drop in carting construction loads—may have had the most impact. More »
- Detroit Looks to Pump Up Exports
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 8, 08 12:47 PM CDT
  
  The dollar’s declining value, lower labor costs, and other terms of new UAW deals have US automakers looking overseas as they attempt to reclaim market share and profitability, reports the Wall Street Journal. About half of US vehicle exports in 2007, which totaled $50.66 billion, went to Canada and Mexico, and automakers now are looking to emerging markets in China and Latin America. The weak dollar "improves export competitiveness and potential profitability," says GM's president. More »
March 2008
- Ford to Sell Jaguar, Land Rover to India's Tata
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Mar 25, 08 9:30 PM CDT
  
  Ford will sell marquee brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the deal, expected to be announced tomorrow, Ford will get $2 billion, less than it paid for either company in separate deals years ago. Ford has lost $15 billion the past two years and is in the midst of a major restructuring. More »
- Car Makers Prepare for a Crash
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Mar 20, 08 9:06 AM CDT
  
  The slumping US economy is casting shadows over the New York Auto Show, as industry forecasters this week cut their projections for sales of new cars and light trucks in 2008 to less than 15 million, the lowest level in 14 years. Chrysler, GM, and Ford, who had been projecting sales of 15.5 to 15.7 million, are preparing for a fresh round of belt tightening, the Wall Street Journal reports . More »
- US Car Sales Sink in Slow Economy
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Mar 3, 08 9:45 PM CST
  
  A tumbling US economy hit Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and Toyota today as all four posted declining sales for last month, Bloomberg reports. Chrysler fell 14% as Ford dropped nearly 7% and GM suffered almost a 20% drop in light truck sales. "Primarily it's driven by the weak economy,'' one analyst said. "It's been difficult for people to refinance and get credit.'' More »
January 2008
- Ford Trims Q4 Loss to $2.75B; Plans Job Cuts
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Jan 24, 08 6:56 AM CST
  
  Ford Motor Co. said job cuts and plant closings helped slash its fourth quarter losses to $2.75 billion, Bloomberg reports, less than half of what they were a year ago. But, adds the Wall Street Journal, the company plans to reduce its workforce by at least another 13,000 jobs by the end of the first quarter through buyouts and attrition. More »
- '07 vehicle sales slip into reverse
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jan 4, 08
  
  Sales of cars and light trucks in the U.S. fell to their lowest level in almost a decade last year -- and the first half of 2008 isn't likely to be much better for automakers. They reported Thursday that vehicle sales in 2007 totaled 16.1 million, off 2.5% from 2006 and the smallest annual count since 1998, according to figures compiled by Autodata Corp. Their forecasts for this year were downbeat, with the head of the country's No. 1 car company, General Motors Corp., saying he thought the economy would push GM sales lower in the next six months.