Tesla Motors As The 4th U.S. Automaker, And Why The Future Is Bright [View article]
The government bailed out GM to the tune of $49+ billion,on which they will potentially lose about 15B or so unless GM stock skyrockets. They also bailed out Chrysler and gave the company to Fiat and was was paid back through Obamamanics (which I do not understand). I think the taxpayers lost on that deal too.
Ford did not get any bailout money at all.
Ford did participate in a Government New Technology program and borrowed about 6B which was a loan, which they either paid off or will pay off with interest. Toyota and Nissan also participated in that program and borrowed from the US government.
Ford (F) could see even steeper losses in Europe than forecast with the automaker's pace of plant closures and layoffs based on sales estimates which have now been wadded up and discarded. Sales on the continent for Ford have tumbled 23.4% during the first two months of the year. [View news story]
Not necessarily, the 2B projected loss includes plant closures and the very weak European sales...................
General Motors (GM -1.2%) CEO Dan Akerson told Congressman the automaker is performing well as he tried to convince the lawmakers to take the automaker out of the political debate. The exec says the "report card" was well-received by both Republicans and Democrats. [View news story]
The only way GM can be taken out of the Political Debate is by GM re-paying the bailout money in full and forfeit the sweetheart deal brokered by Obama to avoid paying billions in taxes on present and future profits.
GM (GM) and partner SAIC Motors are reportedly interested in acquiring ailing car makers in China, as if the U.S. company doesn't have enough problems turning around loss-making operations in Europe. Still, GM wants to boost sales in China by 75% to 5M by 2015, and an acquisition could one way to achieve this. The government might be supportive, as it wants to consolidate a car industry that suffers from overcapacity. [View news story]
Great move by the Chinese government to acquire Foreign technology by allowing ailing Chinese companies to take on a foreign partner. Many years from now, a very good chance that the foreigners will be phased out once they are no longer needed.
Automobiles with turbocharged engines are blasted by Consumer Reports for not living up to their expectations. Engineers found in detailed testing that the performance results from turbocharged four-cylinder vehicles underperformed on power and fuel economy. The development is important with close to 3M vehicles with turbocharged engines slated to be sold from automakers this year at elevated prices, including models from General Motors (GM), Ford (F), and Hyundai (HYLMF.PK) [View news story]
The EPA drive cycle is the common denominator for all manufacturers and if CR or any other magazine writers want to compare vehicles, to be fair, they should use the EPA cycles. If CR is unhappy with the way EPA tests, they should lobby the EPA to revise their procedures.
CR has been an extremely biased magazine in terms of treating the domestic automakers. Personally, I stopped reading their trash years ago. Unfortunately, they still have a large membership and use tactics like this to keep themselves in the news and sell their product.
Also, Tdot is correct in that the Ford Ecoboost system is not your father's turbo technology, and I am sure GM and others did not want to pay royalties to Ford to put it into their upcoming products. Ford has performed some extensive "public" durability and reliability tests for the Ecoboost technology and the long term outlook should be no better or worse than any similar technology.
The Treasury violated its rules on executive pay as it went 18 for 18 in approving raises for AIG and GM execs over the past few years, according to SIGTARP. Treasury was warned of this a year ago, but disputes the report's findings. [View news story]
GM still owes many Billions and we the taxpayer may never recover all. Until the Government divests itself of the 300 million shares of GM it still owns, they are and should be subject to executive pay restrictions.
Manly Stock Wars: Harley Davidson Vs. Ford [View article]
Ford's operating debt is only about 10 billion, the 100 Billion number includes the debt of it's credit arm, which is essentially a bank, and it's debt is backed up with real assets called vehicles, purchased on credit.
General Motors (GM) passed Ford to become the leading seller of vehicles to the U.S. government as it now claims a market share of 38.7% compared to 21.4% for its rival. The trend will be closely watched with the Treasury Department set to sell off its stake in GM, although the automaker steadily maintains it won its contracts through aggressive bidding. [View news story]
""The trend will be closely watched with the Treasury Department set to sell off its stake in GM, although the automaker steadily maintains it won its contracts through aggressive bidding.""
Yes, and I have a bridge to sell .............
The US Government and GM have one thing in common, they both have no credibility.
Why do you think the MKX is a disaster? It is a Crossover, and for a Crossover it is styled rather well. Which Crossover in your opinion has tremendous styling?
New Car Registrations Still Down In The EU: Implications For Automakers [View article]
Tdot, you are right on....... For Ford and GM to be profitable with a 10-11M SAAR, makes investing in them relatively low risk. Ford is ahead of the pack in closing down plants in Europe and will benefit faster (very likely late 2013 or early 2014) then their public predictions. That should help Ford stock tremendously when they are in break-even or profitable mode in Europe.
The Ford mileage numbers are certified by EPA (in contrast to the Kia numbers which were not generated by EPA but self announced by Kia) and it is common knowledge that individual driving habits and driving conditions will result in mileage numbers better than or worse than the EPA cycle numbers. This issue is as old as when automakers were required to publish mileage for their vehicles decades ago. Unfortunately, hybrids are apparently more susceptible to driver variability. I doubt this issue will have any lasting effect on Ford sales.
Love Westport Innovations? Consider These 2 Stocks [View article]
Ford's $100+ B debt is from its credit arm which acts as a bank to loan customers for Car and Truck purchases and is backed up by real assets i.e. Cars and Trucks and is not hi risk, as recent loans are well scrutinized. Ford's operational debt is in the neighborhood of $10+B which is less than the cash Ford possesses.
Ford Says Mulally to Remain as President and CEO through at Least 2014; Chief Operating Officer and Senior Leaders named for Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Lincoln brand [View article]
Great decision and announcement............. Will quell all rumors about Mulally's imminent departure and should help the stock price.
Ford Smashes Expectations, Stock Remains Ridiculously Cheap [View article]
Consumer Reports rankings do not reflect basic vehicle reliability as much they reflect customers annoyances in the way their vehicle performs. In Ford's case the majority of the problems are with the perception and acceptance of the Sync system. In my opinion, Ford misjudged the ability of its customer base to interface with the Sync technology, when, some can barely handle working a cell phone. Even though Sync is the reason for Ford's drop in the CR rankings, Sync is also credited for bringing untold customers to the Ford brand. Helilog is correct in his analysis of the CR Reliability Rating System.
Tesla Motors As The 4th U.S. Automaker, And Why The Future Is Bright [View article]
They also bailed out Chrysler and gave the company to Fiat and was was paid back through Obamamanics (which I do not understand). I think the taxpayers lost on that deal too.
Ford did not get any bailout money at all.
Ford did participate in a Government New Technology program and borrowed about 6B which was a loan, which they either paid off or will pay off with interest.
Toyota and Nissan also participated in that program and borrowed from the US government.
Ford (F) could see even steeper losses in Europe than forecast with the automaker's pace of plant closures and layoffs based on sales estimates which have now been wadded up and discarded. Sales on the continent for Ford have tumbled 23.4% during the first two months of the year. [View news story]
General Motors (GM -1.2%) CEO Dan Akerson told Congressman the automaker is performing well as he tried to convince the lawmakers to take the automaker out of the political debate. The exec says the "report card" was well-received by both Republicans and Democrats. [View news story]
2 Automobile Stocks To Buy, 1 To Avoid [View article]
GM (GM) and partner SAIC Motors are reportedly interested in acquiring ailing car makers in China, as if the U.S. company doesn't have enough problems turning around loss-making operations in Europe. Still, GM wants to boost sales in China by 75% to 5M by 2015, and an acquisition could one way to achieve this. The government might be supportive, as it wants to consolidate a car industry that suffers from overcapacity. [View news story]
Many years from now, a very good chance that the foreigners will be phased out once they are no longer needed.
Automobiles with turbocharged engines are blasted by Consumer Reports for not living up to their expectations. Engineers found in detailed testing that the performance results from turbocharged four-cylinder vehicles underperformed on power and fuel economy. The development is important with close to 3M vehicles with turbocharged engines slated to be sold from automakers this year at elevated prices, including models from General Motors (GM), Ford (F), and Hyundai (HYLMF.PK) [View news story]
If CR is unhappy with the way EPA tests, they should lobby the EPA to revise their procedures.
CR has been an extremely biased magazine in terms of treating the domestic automakers. Personally, I stopped reading their trash years ago. Unfortunately, they still have a large membership and use tactics like this to keep themselves in the news and sell their product.
Also, Tdot is correct in that the Ford Ecoboost system is not your father's turbo technology, and I am sure GM and others did not want to pay royalties to Ford to put it into their upcoming products. Ford has performed some extensive "public" durability and reliability tests for the Ecoboost technology and the long term outlook should be no better or worse than any similar technology.
The Treasury violated its rules on executive pay as it went 18 for 18 in approving raises for AIG and GM execs over the past few years, according to SIGTARP. Treasury was warned of this a year ago, but disputes the report's findings. [View news story]
Manly Stock Wars: Harley Davidson Vs. Ford [View article]
General Motors (GM) passed Ford to become the leading seller of vehicles to the U.S. government as it now claims a market share of 38.7% compared to 21.4% for its rival. The trend will be closely watched with the Treasury Department set to sell off its stake in GM, although the automaker steadily maintains it won its contracts through aggressive bidding. [View news story]
Yes, and I have a bridge to sell .............
The US Government and GM have one thing in common, they both have no credibility.
Ford's Failures And Future [View article]
It is a Crossover, and for a Crossover it is styled rather well.
Which Crossover in your opinion has tremendous styling?
New Car Registrations Still Down In The EU: Implications For Automakers [View article]
For Ford and GM to be profitable with a 10-11M SAAR, makes investing in them relatively low risk.
Ford is ahead of the pack in closing down plants in Europe and will benefit faster (very likely late 2013 or early 2014) then their public predictions. That should help Ford stock tremendously when they are in break-even or profitable mode in Europe.
Ford's Failures And Future [View article]
Unfortunately, hybrids are apparently more susceptible to driver variability. I doubt this issue will have any lasting effect on Ford sales.
Love Westport Innovations? Consider These 2 Stocks [View article]
Ford's operational debt is in the neighborhood of $10+B which is less than the cash Ford possesses.
Ford Says Mulally to Remain as President and CEO through at Least 2014; Chief Operating Officer and Senior Leaders named for Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Lincoln brand [View article]
Will quell all rumors about Mulally's imminent departure and should help the stock price.
Ford Smashes Expectations, Stock Remains Ridiculously Cheap [View article]
In Ford's case the majority of the problems are with the perception and acceptance of the Sync system. In my opinion, Ford misjudged the ability of its customer base to interface with the Sync technology, when, some can barely handle working a cell phone.
Even though Sync is the reason for Ford's drop in the CR rankings, Sync is also credited for bringing untold customers to the Ford brand.
Helilog is correct in his analysis of the CR Reliability Rating System.