Kyle's Corner (FYI) Ford: "It's a Tale of Victory"

Even in a most chal-
lenging automotive
environment, it is
good to report that
the U.S. automaker
Ford is doing better.
A big reason for
automaker's success
is from its leader and
CEO, Alan Mulally.

And regarding the
Success, Newsmax

states, "It's a tale of victory in a time of economic calamity. Ford Motor,
industrial America's great auto company, refused to accept TARP funds.
So, how's it doing now? It's burning rubber, producing vehicles consumers
are clamoring to own. Moral of the story: A smart U.S. auto builder can
compete against any competitor, even GM, backed by Uncle Sam."

Ford is a great example of how 'taking the high road' results in good
things happening. In many cases consumers have purchased a Ford
because they were impressed by the automaker's core values. Such
will likely to continue to serve the automaker well down the road.

In addition to not accepting TART, what did Mulally do to turn things
around? John Davis, Executive Producer of PBS' MotorWeek told
Newsmax, "They were leveraged to the hilt and everyone was asking
whether Ford would even survive, let alone succeed again. Mulally
had a clear vision to get rid of excess stuff and focus on what
the company did well."

This involved Ford selling off brands that were losing money such
as Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo and organizing Ford's management
for all to focus completely on making Ford the best it can be.

The automaker decided to bring Fords that were a success in Europe
to the United States (see my article on the:Ford Fiesta). Additionally,
in July the automaker released the new Explorer, a top-rated SUV cross-
over (see my article on the: Ford Explorer). Furthermore, the automaker
is focusing on building vehicles that are well designed with the latest
technology such as SYNC which lets drivers easily (by voice) connect
with the vehicle's audio and video systems.

I the past, Ford has faced many challenges and the automaker has a
history of tenacity. The 110 year-old Dearborn Michigan automaker
has withstood depressions, recessions, wars, oil embargos, and product
glitches which would have ended lesser firms.

So okay, Ford is building better vehicles! But what about the
automaker's finances? In July Ford won the 'Business Turnaround
of the Year' at the 2010 American Business Awards. The recognition
is well deserved as the automaker reported net income of $2.1 billion
in the first quarter of this year, a much welcomed turnaround from
the 1.4 billon loss it posted in the same quarter a year earlier. Also,
Ford has also announced that it has made payments reduced its debt
load by 4 billion.

As with all automakers, Ford faces challenges in the future.
However, the company is in a much better position to meet such
challenges. As John Davis told Newsmax, "I think they're going
to be on a roll for quite a while. It's very possible that they're going
to be as big as GM in the United States. They're on track to do just
that now and that would be quite an accomplishment."

I say that it is nice to hear some good news lately. And on
a slight twist of what Clint Eastwood might say, "It makes
my day!"

Have an auto question or comment? You can email it to me at
Kbusch3@verizon.net. Kyle Busch is the author of "Drive the Best
for the Price..." www.DriveTheBestBook.com.