Posted on 04/24/2008 5:04:27 AM PDT by eraser2005
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. surprised Wall Street on Thursday with a $100 million profit in the first quarter as strong results from Europe and South America helped offset the impact of a slumping U.S. economy that cut car and truck sales in its main market
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Dunno—maybe Pres. Bush hasn’t fouled up America as badly has the MSM has convinced us he has???
Thank the Fed for the weak dollar!
It enables US manufacturers to be competitive overseas and the high oil prices provide impetus for us to find alternative fuels and let the jihadist funders go back to being nomads.
They are selling Diesels in EuROPe and Asia! No wonder they are making a profit! Hey FORD! Sell them HERE, DUDES!.....
I don’t think this is a function of exports. Ford really doesn’t export to those markets. It has plants there (thank our corporate tax code for that).
Thankfully my Ford loves regular. I couldn't afford to keep it if it had a taste for diesel.
Let’s say two cars are being considered.
Both are exactly alike, except one is gasoline powered and the other is Diesel powered.
Both have a 10 gallon tank.
Gasoline is $3.00 a gallon.
Diesel is $3.50 a gallon.
The gasoline model gets 30 mpg.
The Diesel model gets 40 mpg.
Gasoline miles per tank = 300 miles.
Diesel miles per tank = 400 miles.
Gasoline trip costs = $30.00
Diesel trip costs = $35.00
You go 100 miles farther for $5.00 in the Diesel.
That $5.00 would have bought 1.667 gallons of gasoline, that would have carried you only 50 miles...........
New products to be launched about 1 every three months for the next couple of years.
The new Flex, The new Lincoln MKS, The F-Series bigger trucks, New Fusion-Milan with a Hybrid Version, The Fiesta with very high gas mileage. At some point a revamped Mustang, and 2010 Taurus of which spy-photos of have leaked. This Taurus was shown at a Ford Dealer convention in Vegas and got an unscripted standing ovation from the delarers.
I have been saying on this board for the last 2 years, DO NOT bet against Alan Mulally, failure s not an option for this man.....
Oh and I forgot to mention the Euro-Small utility type wagon the Trans-Connect, which would be great for light duty for small businesses, and the Eco-Boost Directed Injected Turbocharged Engines which will become their norm.
The difference in the cost of the 2 vehicles because of the engine. Now things may be different than just last year because of the price of diesel, but when we were looking at new trucks, the price of the diesel was $7000 more than the gasoline engine.
Of course that was for a truck, but I would assume there would be pricing differences for cars too.
Again, that would be still assuming that the diesel is still the higher priced.
So in your example, for $7000 more (probably valued more at trade-in/sale too), that $7000 should be taken into account when looking at the mileage cost I should think.
This morning's real gas prices where $3.47 for regular and $4.35 for diesel and that's only if I bought the gas from Hugo (CITGO). Other stations are higher.
I bought this highly rated 2008 Mercury Sable in Dec. and I'm completely satisfied with it. I'm happy to support the American auto industry.
It's got all wheel drive, electronic stability system, navigation system, rear-seat DVD system, heated seats, Sync System, which integrates telephone and entertainment functions, and a 3.5-liter V-6. Six standard airbags include side-impact airbags for the front seats and side curtain airbags for both rows, etc.
Hi, how do you like your new Taurus?
I think you'll find the diesel far more efficient then you realize. 50mpg vs. 30mpg more than makes up for the disparity in fuel price, even with diesel at $4.05.
But don't take my word for it.....
I’VE DONE THAT EXACT COMPARISON! But I use very conservative numbers in my example, so that the person who does any real comparisons for themselves will be pleasantly surprised.........
In trucks, the mileage differences are smaller than for cars. The reason for buying a diesel in a truck are different than for cars. A truck would need a diesel engine for towing large equipment and trailers loaded with stuff. Diesel engines are great for that because of the low end torque. Thats why big rigs are mostly diesel. But for cars it’s a different story. Small compact turbo diesels run in a very efficient manner when the load is light and the speed is steady..............
The exchange rate can be beneficial, as well as the fact that so much of the core R&D behind the vehicles sold overseas is still done here...
But you’re right about manufacturing... Ford builds where they sell, so there really are very few vehicles being shipped out from the US (except to Canada and Mexico)
Maybe as the happy owner of an 11 year old Taurus (which had highly questionable styling) I’m a little biased or blind, but I *REALLY* like the looks of the ‘10 Taurus...
Thanks for that explanation... I’m say it again, I’m glad I only have to buy regular. My Dodge didn’t like the stuff (always knocked) but my Ford seems to love it.
The AFA with their dozens of other family organizations dropped their boycott of Ford last quarter.
But they are still on my $&!+ list for what they did to Ford.
They are no better than Sharpton or Jackson in my book, don't even get me started on the AFA.....
I participated with them for years. My last purchase was one of the new Mustangs when they came out 3 years ago.
Since learning of the boycott after that, I joined in with it, and I’ve postponed a 4WD purchase until this year.
I’m looking at them now, though. I hate their prices. You know they’re still thousands higher than most other models?
Every model I look at is thousands less than the competition... which model are you looking at?
4WD’s of all varieties.
It helps when a company puts out good products. I bought a new 2008 Fusion SEL in August, 2007. It is rolling up 8,000 miles right now. It has never been back to the dealer for anything except oil changes and tire rotations. Not a single defect. I’m 6’6” tall and 260 pounds and it is plenty big for me. I’ve owned 53 automobiles in my lifetime and this is the very first time I have ever had one that I have had no defects and frankly, there is nothing I would change about it. On one long trip it delivered 34 mpg on the highway. That works for me.
If Ford keeps their eyes on the product they will do fine. Inevitably people want value for their money and reliability and they are delivering it. I’m completely satisfied.
Good to hear from you, good to hear you like your Taurus!.
The Taurus wagon has a host of improvements over the "500" (over 500 to be exact). The changes are subtle, especially in the interior area. I like it.
But the continuous improvement changes (a Toyota and aerospace model) are what really caught my eye. For instance, the rear hatch door hand-holds and release button are so much more user friendly and can only come from engineering listening to the customer.
The ride is much better but I am biased, I have a friend who was responsible for the suspension tuning :-)! Funny thing is, I didn't know he did it until we started taking about it one day. The power of the new 3.5l and the 6 speed is a definite improvement.
The 2010 Taurus spy photos have hit the web and are causing a buzz, she is a looker.
Shameless plug to all you Freepers, Go to a Ford dealership and test drive one or a bunch of them. They are so much better if you haven't driven one in years.
Exactly right! Plus, the Sync System is simply amazing, although I haven't tried out a DVD yet. We'll be using that when my 4 week-old grandaughter gets a few months older.
I really like my Fusion. Seems to be holding up very well so far.
Again, which ones?
They make a LOT of them... Are you talking F-150s? 250s? which?
I’m speaking of SUVs, Pickups, or Mini-Vans.
The only minivan now with AWD is the Sienna, but a few SUVs have the room I want — Explorer/Mountaineer would match. So would the Expedition or Excursion.
I like the new Saturn Outlook — a CUV with AWD and loaded with a sticker of 32k.
Also, it makes imports more expensive.
If you actually believed anything that the AFA told you, the ONLY company you should be considering buying from is Ford. They all ran advertisements in the publications AFA had a problem with. Now AFA says Ford has stopped, meaning that Ford is the only company that is NOT advertising in those publications.
Meaning that to stick to your moral high ground, you can only buy a Ford product.
I’m curious what equipment you want.... When I price things out with AWD of 4WD, I get the following (all MSRP - rebates):
Ford Edge SE $26,020
Ford Taurus X $27,580
Toyota Highlander Base $28,880
Honda Pilot $29,630
Ford Explorer XLT 4WD $25,890
Toyota 4Runner SR5 $30,099
I really loved my Expedition. It moved us from Dearborn to Louisvile, but only got 20mpg. I now have a Focus that I thought I would hate after the Expedition, but I love it! I get 28 mpg in town and is the peppiest car I have had in years. It sits higher than most vehicles so I don’t feel like I’m driving a little car.
In my opinion, people always underestimate the fun factor of a small car, particularly one with a manual transmission.
I used to drive a Mazda GLC (Mazda version of the Escort).. the car was kinda junky. But it was reliable, and with a manual actually rather fun. There is literally no comparison between it and the new Focus, though - the Focus is better by far in just about every way imaginable - except mpg, where the extra weight and safety have dragged down mileage a couple mpg.
“The AFA with their dozens of other family organizations dropped their boycott of Ford last quarter.”
I’m surprised it took 20 posts for the AFA’ers to take credit. I’m more inclined to think that the AFA saw this coming and dropped their boycott so that they could claim the credit. THere is no way the AFA would have had anything to do with this, especially considering that y-o-y sales for this quarter was a reduction.
This is a result of cost cutting in labor and material.
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