Ford takes a hit...

Found this on CNN.com...

Ford posts $1.2 billion loss
No. 2 automaker misses Wall Street forecasts, hurt by losses in auto operations, charges for plant closings.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
April 21, 2006: 7:55 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Ford Motor Co. reported a $1.2 billion net loss Friday as losses in its auto operations caused it to miss Wall Street forecasts.

The nation's No. 2 automaker said that excluding one-time items such as charges for plant closings, it earned $458 million, or 24 cents a share, in the first quarter. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call were forecasting 25 cents. The company earned 62 cents a share excluding items a year earlier.

Ford's (Research) automotive operations lost $184 million excluding special items in the quarter, a sharp fall from the pretax profit of $580 million on that basis a year ago. But Ford credit posted a pretax profit of $751 million.

Ford's auto business in North America lost $457 million before taxes. All its other regions and auto operations, such as Mazda and its European luxury brands, posted pretax profits for the quarter.

The company blamed the loss in its home market to lower market share and a smaller increase in dealer inventories. Ford's U.S. sales fell 3 percent in the quarter, led by a 15 percent decline in its SUV sales across various brands.

Including a $2.5 billion pre-tax charge for plant closings, Ford's net loss of $1.2 billion was equal to 64 cents a share. That compares with net income of $1.2 billion, or 66 cents a share, a year earlier.

Auto sales fell 6 percent to just under $37 billion, while overall revenue fell 9 percent to $41.1 billion.

"I am confident that we are confronting our challenges head-on and that we will succeed in our turnaround and getting back on track to ensure our long-term success," CEO Bill Ford said in a statement. "We are clearly in a period of transition."

Ford's disappointing results follow better-than-expected results at its similarly troubled competitor General Motors (Research). GM saw strong sales of its newly introduced large SUV's.

The GM results helped lift Ford shares 4.6 percent Thursday, and even with the miss Friday, Ford shares edged higher in before-hours trading on Inet Friday. Top of page

Unless you have Ford stock, who gives a s**t. Can't you just be happy with your truck?

Billb , your comment to Brich seemed out of line . Any company that suffers a loss will mean more jobs lost in America , to all of the people that work in the ford motor company, They give a s*#t . If they lose their jobs . they will not be ab le to afford to buy an RL, pay their bills, go on vacation, buy the expensive gas, or put their children through school even . It is all a trickle down scenario . It is a lose lose situation . Besides everybody has a right to express their opinion , including us roc members . Drink another cup of joe and relax:D and enjoy the ride .

Unless you have Ford stock, who gives a s**t. Can't you just be happy with your truck?
Need a hug BillB? ;)
Simply posting for those interested in the auto industry. Sorry to force you to use not one, but two * in your post. :eek:

Ouch... it's going to be a very long year for Ford and GM that's for sure.

Here are my true feelings so you do not have to guess my motives, and I did not mean to offend the poor workers because they of course are always affected. I am tired of reading postings in this forum by Ford owners who want to bash Honda owners and Honda owners wanting to bash Ford owners and everything in between.

This forum used to be about problems we could learn about and solve for ourselves with others helpful advice, features about our truck to learn about and enjoy, and an occasional good joke to laugh at and waste a bit of time - but now the forum is filled with notices about other companies problems, and troll patrols, and Honda shills who only wish to remind those that have had problems that their problems were either imaginary or that they were not true believers in the Ridgeline as the best thing since sliced bread. Basically, the forum has taken a bad turn and as much as I enjoy reading and learning and occasionally trying to help, I have been on less and less and I feel that is a loss for me.

I can see Bill's point to a degree. This site is more inter-personal in that there is heated debates/rivalries on things other than what the primary purpose of this site is. And nobody wants to see Americans out of work because of a company's mismanagement. I didn't take the post as a 'bashing' of Ford owners, I took it as general knowledge and education of what's going on in the auto industry.

Perhaps this thread should have been in the 'off topic' discussion as opposed to Miscellaneous/General Ridgeline since it really does not pertain to the RL.

Here are my true feelings so you do not have to guess my motives, and I did not mean to offend the poor workers because they of course are always affected. I am tired of reading postings in this forum by Ford owners who want to bash Honda owners and Honda owners wanting to bash Ford owners and everything in between.

This forum used to be about problems we could learn about and solve for ourselves with others helpful advice, features about our truck to learn about and enjoy, and an occasional good joke to laugh at and waste a bit of time - but now the forum is filled with notices about other companies problems, and troll patrols, and Honda shills who only wish to remind those that have had problems that their problems were either imaginary or that they were not true believers in the Ridgeline as the best thing since sliced bread. Basically, the forum has taken a bad turn and as much as I enjoy reading and learning and occasionally trying to help, I have been on less and less and I feel that is a loss for me.

Jeesh, ya know it gets really discouraging when you post something you think may be of interest to others, you get speils from members who don't like what you posted. With over 30 topic categories to choose from, this leads me to believe that there will be more posted in here than just what BillB wants. My motives were nothing more than posting an article concerning the auto industry, the same industry that Honda is in. Never did I post anything more than the article. Did I make any derogatory remarks about Ford? NO. Did I toot Honda's horn? NO. Did I make any remarks at all other than posting the article? NO. Guess what my friend. I also own a FORD! This topic is Miscellaneous/General Ridgeline Discussion. Guess the Miscellaneous part threw me... :rolleyes:

If the troll comment was directed at me over a post I made in another topic, get over it. I made amends with the poster I offended and continued a courteous dialog with him after that.

If you have a hard time with the diversity of opinions and prides that are exposed in this forum, how much better are you with such a defensive post? I'm really sorry if you feel I contribute to all that you don't like about this forum but let me just remind you of something, I have every right as you to post what ever is allowed by this site's moderator's. If it does no use for you, then jeesh, really sorry. You also have to understand that with more and more Ridgelines being sold, the number of members on this forum will increase. May be bad news for you but to me it only means more valuable views and opinions.

Thanks for another enjoyable dialog BillB..;)

The BIG 3 need to stop building on 80's-90's technology and stop giving us what they think we want and start building what we want. Anyone llistening???:eek:

At least dodge/chrysler is trying to be different, they came back from the brink of death. The others have the same old sh*t, different grille, different wheels, a curve here, straightening some there. No across the board safety items, ie. ABS, traction control, stability control, side air bags etc. Should all be standard on every model. Try redesigning the whole POS instead of minor changes to save retooling. I Looked for an escape once, (not for me), 25 on the lot and only one had side airbags, the hybrid. WTF, its BS. Thats there problem, quality and giving what the customer wants. Went with the CRV instead. Oh well my thought on the subject.:rolleyes:

As a (former) longtime Ford owner who now owns an '06 RL and an '06 Civic Hybrid (they balance out each other at the pump at least) I say this: build what I want at the price I want and build it so I can rely on it and maybe, just maybe I'll look at it. In most of my Ford experiences one or more of these things wasn't true. Whether the blame goes to poor engineering or overpaid UAW members bleeding the company, Ford and GM need to build vehicles people want because the old fallback "by American" routine doesn't cut it anymore with many consumers. It si a sad commentary on U.S. makers when Ford loses over a billion on their "turnaround" and GM stock goes up 10% because they only lost over $300 million this quarter. Itis unfortunate that Ford workers are losing their jobs but it is just a small blip in the overall workforce (30,000 workers or so over a few years). Ford, GM and the UAW made their bed now they can lie in it.

Brich, are you reading the same forum I am reading. By posting news about Ford losing money, do you think I should believe you do not have an agenda in posting this news. Everyone who picks up a newspaper see what troubles the big 3 are having, and you posting the same type of story that has appeared now for the upteen time in a forum that has had quite a few heated anti- big 3 debates in it recently only looks like another attempt at throwing salt in the wound.

I do not take your posting personally and I do not post personally at you. Comments about trolling have nothing to do with you for all I know, but if you did accuse someone in a prior thread, I couldn't care less. My comments are general and my feellings are mine. If they are not yours, so be it. You have all the rights to have your feelings and I am not the one giving that to you.

I think the reality is that Ford is in worse financial shape than GM. Both are in terrible shape.

This really has little to do with if you like a Ford or GM product. The fact is that both are a huge part of our economy. The bankruptcy of either will cause their huge, underfunded pension plans to fall upon the responsibility of the taxpayers via the PBGC. The PBGC is already in bad shape and is not prepared to take on such large pension plans like GM or Ford.

Think of the hundreds of thousands of Ford and GM retirees that would suddenly have huge cuts in pension payments, and elimination of health care benefits (PBGC has maximum monthly payments and no provisions for continuation of health care benefits). That alone is a huge problem.

Most look at bankruptcy as the worst that can happen to Ford or GM. Let's hope that's the case. If either were to completely collapse it would probably put an end to all auto production in the US for some period of time. Yes, our Ridgeline's have GM and Ford parts in them. Probably every vehicle produced in North America has Ford and GM parts. Not every vehicle has Chrysler, Toyota or Honda parts.

Even if a vehicle didn't have a directly provided GM or Ford part, just think of all the suppliers that would not survive in the case of a GM or Ford bankruptcy. Our VTM-4 units are made by Borg Warner. I don't know the finances of Borg Warner but I doubt they would survive without GM or Ford in the picture. They're just one example.

I don't want to get into politics, but I don't believe our economy is nearly as healthy as we're lead to believe. I feel it has been propped up by artificial means for many years (spanning both Republican and Democrat administrations). I don't believe our economy could survive the failure of GM or Ford without major repercussions. It's not a matter of someone else just stepping up and filling the gaps.

It really doesn't matter if you like Ford or GM. Just consider that it's to everyone's best interest that they both turn the corner into profitability... and soon!

-Joe

I want to add one more thought on this issue. I have little experience with Ford, but I know a few of their people. I have first hand experience with both GM and Chrysler.

I was with GM at a time when we had to "hold back" from making advancements that others in the industry could not keep up with. We were told of monopoly (now called Anti-Trust) problems (remember what happend to AT&T). GM had nearly 60% market share.

GM had an engineering team that could have out "engineered" the rest of the industry into playing catch up for decades. Those at the top chose not to do so. Patents were allowed to lapse or not protected to make sure everyone was on a level playing field.

There's an entire generation (or two) that doesn't remember when a Japanese car was considered a joke... a rust bucket that was not taken seriously. A product "Made in Japan" was considered the lowest form of junk you could buy.

The 1973 Arab Oil Embargo turned the industry up side down. GM failed to adapt... some think this was an intentional act by management. I remember taking a Vega apart piece by piece and being told how great the design was. The "company men" tried to make us believe such things.

Anyway, GM had the opportunity and the means at that time to crush the competition. This may sound strange to some today, but GM could have hired anyone away from Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Datsun, etc.

It's really amazing how things have changed.

-Joe

I took a Vega apart piece by piece but not by choice. Reynolds 390 block just like 928 Porsche would later use if memory serves. Mine was the highest mileage Vega I knew of at 73,000 miles when I parked it for good. But that was when few American cars made 100K miles before they were junk.:rolleyes:

I took a Vega apart piece by piece but not by choice. Reynolds 390 block just like 928 Porsche would later use if memory serves. Mine was the highest mileage Vega I knew of at 73,000 miles when I parked it for good. But that was when few American cars made 100K miles before they were junk.:rolleyes:

Funny that you mention that. Yes, the Vega block was 390 aluminum. 390 was developed by GM and Reynolds specifically for the Vega. It might have worked out a little better if they had gone with steel cylinder liners... but that's a different story.

390 aluminum has enjoyed better success when not mentioned in the same sentence as the Vega.

-Joe

Overheating was the kiss of death for many Vegas. My next car after that was a Jensen-Healey.:eek: