2010 Ford Fusion Wins Car of Year Award at Detroit Auto Show

One of the most significant indicators of Ford Motor Corporation's recent gains in market share and profitability is the rise in its stock price. When I bought a couple hundred shares of Ford stock in early 2009, it was trading around 2 bucks a share. I sold it just under $5.00 per share, bought it again when it dropped back down to $4.00 and sold it again above $8.00 a share. Lest you think I'm making the claim of being some kind of stock wizard, let me set you straight:

I bought the stock the first time because I thought I'd make money on it--and I did. I thought Ford was an unappreciated brand. Car writers invariably succumbed to the high-priced European luxury car mystique, an attitude which took hold of American buyers. Many Americans, including myself, appreciated the innovative Japanese manufacturing techniques that produced solid, reliable cars (though I would say American trucks are better). But the weak dollar made foreign produced cars even more expensive. My opinion is that many foreign cars are way over-rated in terms of performance and certainly over-priced. I prefer to buy cars, not image, or status symbols.

I sold the Ford stock just short of $9.00 per share the second time around because I needed the money to buy a 2009 Ford Focus and a "previously owned" Ford F-150 Supercab truck. Here's the part which proves I'm not stock wizard-I retained a portion of the Ford stock capital gains to buy Citigroup, which dropped in value right after I bought shares-- something of a laughing matter at our house. Ford stock is currently selling above $12.00 per share.

My real gain is in having accomplished what I'd set out to do-buy two excellent Ford vehicles we're happy with. You know that saying about the "best plans of mice and men...?" I was originally intending to buy the truck first, but was waylaid by the Obama cash-for-clunkers program so we bought the Ford Focus first. I wrote an article about that on Associated Content. I had to shop around a great deal to find an affordable F-150 Supercab 4 x 4 as these vehicles are much in demand and high-priced, even while truck sales is hurting.

I'd researched both target vehicles, and learned much about Ford vehicles. Moreover, I'd had a college part-time job at a Ford dealership, an experience which gave me some discernment in car buying. Government ownership was a small factor in my decision to buy Ford vehicles, but the larger factor was that Ford was back with vehicles that were distinct, performed well, and made sense.

The Ford Mustang, anemic and neutered after the 70s oil embargo and into the 80s, came back strong; the latest version is a 5-litre 412 Horsepower road-hugging monster which gets 25 miles per gallon. A wealthy and nutty friend of mine, who used to drive race cars, took me for an unsolicited thrill ride in his. I was glad to survive the launch, and later on, to touch terra firma. I had a new appreciation of the Ford's Brembo brakes.

According to CNN's online "Money" website, Ford Motor's 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid won North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show and delivers 41 mpg city and 36 mpg highway, with a price of around 27,000 for the base model. Though that was out of our price range, it compares well in terms of price, better in performance and mileage, with competition like the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the Nissan Altima Hybrid. Many auto web site reviewers , like Richard Hadley of USA Today, admire the smooth flow of power for the Ford Fusion Hybrid when switching from gas to electric power, compared to its shuddering gas-electric competition.

In the truck division, Ford again won the Truck of the Year Award at the Detroit Auto Show with its Transit Connect. It's a vehicle that has been sold in Europe for years but was brought to the U.S. this year. I climbed into one recently-the words that occur to you are practicality, and space. It seems that the vehicle was built with space and practicality in mind and would be an excellent choice among delivery vehicles.

The Ford F-150 was last year's North American Truck of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show. Currently, Ford F-150 sales are down, as were larger trucks of GM and Chrysler, due to high prices, the dearth of credit financing, and the downturn in the housing market.

Bigger trucks like the Ford F-150, the Chevrolet Silverado, and the Chrysler Ram trucks are much in demand with the home building crowd. It's ironic that today the Wall Street Journal featured an article about how the 60 percent government owned car company is relying on a redesign of its popular Chevy Silverado to improve its profit potential. The Chevy Silverado is a good truck already, and would be my second choice, if not for the Government Motors designation.

In spite of grabbing market share while GM and Chrysler suffered and shrank, Ford Motor Company still has struggles ahead of it. The company didn't follow GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy largely because it used good old-fashioned private industry business sense and foresight to mortgage its own assets instead of those of the taxpayers to gain operating capital. But the outlook is certainly better for Ford than it is for other U.S. car companies.

While European car markets are suffering, the U.S. economy is making a slow climb and CEO Allan Mulally has committed the Ford to a strategy of a lesser but better performing numbers of platforms which could be sold across the world. On the quality front, Consumer Reports in November put Ford vehicles in the same reliability category typically reserved for Toyota and Honda, and in light of recent Toyota recall problems, some reviewers say Ford reliability is better.

Sources: CNN Money Online at : http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/11/autos/ford_car_truck_of_year/index.htm; USA Today online at: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/reviews/healey/2009-02-05-2010-ford-fusion-hybrid_N.htm