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GM, Ford feud over Super Bowl ad (Reuters) - A simmering feud between General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co heated up on Sunday as Ford objected to GM's Super Bowl advertisement for its Chevy Silverado pickup truck. The ad, which will run on NBC's television broadcast of the Super Bowl on Sunday, depicts an apocalyptic scene in which Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks and their owners escape death and make it to a pre-arranged meeting point. But, one of their friends, identified as "Dave," who drives a Ford, doesn't make it to the meeting site, in the video that plays...

The National Center for Public Policy Research is claiming a scalp today after Ford Motor Co. formally withdrew from the liberal U.S. Climate Action Partnership. The conservative non-profit announces today that Ford has withdrawn from the organization, which uses corporate support form management to work against shareholders' interests by promoting a cap-and-trade framework for carbon emissions.

The government's pending (2016) 35.5 MPG CAFE fuel economy requirements -- which for the first time apply to trucks as well as passenger cars -- are going to make it very difficult for any automaker to sell trucks in volume in this country. Ford has just dropped the compact-size Ranger from its U.S. model lineup -- making it the first CAFE casualty -- and I predict that larger trucks are on the endangered species list now, too.... Even a small truck with a four-cylinder engine will have a hard time averaging 35.5 MPG....

<p>DETROIT — Ford is recalling more than 128,000 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans from the 2010 and 2011 model years because the wheels can fall off the cars.</p> <p>The recall affects only cars with 17-inch steel wheels built from April 1, 2009 through April 30, 2009, and from Dec. 1, 2009 through Nov. 13, 2010.</p>

When Chevrolet unveiled the 580 hp 2012 Camaro ZL1 and its high-tech magnetically-adjustable suspension, ostensibly claiming the title of king of the pony cars, the folks from Ford were oddly unfazed. “Don’t worry,” they said, “wait until you see what we have in the works.” They weren’t kidding. The 2013 Shelby GT500 will come packing a 650 hp supercharged engine that Ford says is the most powerful production V8 in the world. The 5.8-liter mill sends its 600 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels via a carbon fiber driveshaft.

General Motors Co. may be the largest of Detroit’s Big Three, but it is the only one to not be represented on Automobile Magazine’s ‘2012 All-Stars’ list. The magazine, which ranked the 2012 Audi 7 the best vehicle of next year, feature vehicles from Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC on the top 10 list, but left GM in the dark. Ford drove onto the list with its compact Focus, which was awarded car of the year by the magazine in 2000, and the highly-acclaimed Mustang Boss 302, which the magazine dubbed “the best Mustang ever.” January 2012 issue,...

Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit has written that comparing President Obama to Jimmy Carter would be a best-case scenario for President Obama. But President Obama may be in the process of getting a lucky break. Not that it will help him. This next election might not be an exact replay of 1980, with President Obama playing the part of Jimmy Carter. Imagine if, instead of nominating Ronald Reagan for president, the Republicans had dusted off Gerald Ford and run him against Jimmy Carter in 1980. That is a good analogy of what is probably going to happen in a Mitt Romney...

It's not easy to challenge a legend, especially one that has simmered in the minds of loyal Mustang enthusiasts for over 40 years. The Boss 302, offered in limited quantities for '69 and '70, was the ultimate in high-performance for its time. Everything about the car spoke to its purpose of homologating the unique Boss 302 engine for Trans-Am racing. You can check off the list of equipment for the fastback-only Boss: high-revving 302 with large-valve Cleveland heads and solid-lifter cam, Top Loader four-speed transmission, 9-inch rearend with nodular housing, handling suspension with staggered rear shocks, 15-inch wheels with F60x15...

If all you wanna do is ride around, the classic convertible can be yours for $15,000. Ford Motor Co. will soon sell brand-new 1965 Ford Mustangs for just $15,000 each. The only hitch: There's some assembly required. As part of its Ford Reproduction business, Ford revealed today it had approved a new stamping of the steel bodies for first-generation Mustang that buyers could then build into their own 1964 1/2 through 1966 Mustang, using whatever engine, axles, interior and other parts they can find on their own...

Asian brands continue to dominate Consumer Reports' 2011 Annual Auto Survey, sweeping the top nine spots. Toyota's American brand Scion leads the pack, followed by Lexus, Acura, Mazda, Honda, and Toyota. The brands scored strong on predicted reliability tests. Of the 91 Japanese models for which Consumer Reports has sufficient data, 87 (96 percent) were rated average or better. 24 Japanese models earned the highest rating.

A new book chronicling the financial collapse of General Motors and Chrysler in 2008 reveals new details about just how desperate the situation was for the giants of the automobile industry. New York Times reporter Bill Vlasic's new book, "Once Upon A Car," relates the fiscal turmoil facing General Motors in the months leading up to the financial collapse.

As the UAW rank-and-file continues to vote on the contract offer hammered out between management and UAW honchos, the Detroit Free Press reports that at least one local has rejected the offer, even though it includes a $6,000 cash bonus, a $3,700 profit sharing bonus and at least another $1,500 cash for each of the four years on the contract for a total of $15,700 on top of wages and benefits. (Snip) No wonder some auto companies needed a bailout. $56 and $58 an hour? Most CEOs and small business owners make less than that.

GOP House Oversight and Government Reform chair Rep. Darryl Issa has questions for Ford CEO Alan Mulally about the White House Ford fiasco. In a new letter Mulally received today, Rep. Issa requests more information and notes that he is “deeply concerned about undue political pressure exerted by the White House on public companies. Issa asks Mulally the same question I asked White House press flack Dan Pfeiffer yesterday (and which Pfeiffer refused to answer): Did any White House officials — or any other current or former administration officials — contact any Ford officials/employees to discuss the anti-bailout ad? He...

What was designed as a “man-on-the-street” style commercial for Ford Motor Co. turned into a potent political statement when F-150 owner Chris McDaniel, asked about the importance of buying American, explained why Ford was the company for him: “I wasn’t going to buy another car that was bailed out by our government,” McDaniel explained. “I was going to buy from a manufacturer that’s standing on their own, win, lose or draw.” The TV spot was so popular, the video went viral on YouTube. But it was not until the ad was pulled off the air that people really started talking...

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford's turnaround over the last five years has resulted in big profits and won its CEO a reputation for brilliant management. But those same achievements are stirring resentment among many of its factory workers. And that is complicating contract talks between the company and its union employees. GM and Chrysler needed government bailouts and bankruptcy protection to stay in business, but Ford took billions in private loans and endured on its own. As a result, Ford became a consumer favorite and the company prospered. It paid Mulally for engineering the turnaround and restored merit pay and some...

Remember that clever little Ford ad that showed an actual buyer being led into a surprise news conference and answering impromptu questions? You know, the one where the buyer says, “I wasn’t going to buy another car that was bailed out by the government. I was going to buy from a manufacturer that’s standing on their own: win, lose, or draw. That’s what America is about is taking the chance to succeed and understanding when you fail that you gotta’ pick yourself up and go back to work.”

Remember that clever little Ford ad that showed an actual buyer being led into a surprise news conference and answering impromptu questions? You know, the one where the buyer says, “I wasn’t going to buy another car that was bailed out by the government. I was going to buy from a manufacturer that’s standing on their own: win, lose, or draw. That’s what America is about is taking the chance to succeed and understanding when you fail that you gotta’ pick yourself up and go back to work.”

Your Chicago Way read of the day comes from the Detroit News, where columnist Daniel Howes brings news that a few calls from the White House have led to Ford Motor Company yanking ads that spotlighted its refusal to take government auto bailout money. The ad is no longer on the company’s YouTube page. Nice car company ya got there, fellas. Would be a shame if anything happened to it… (h/t Is This Blog On, Cold Fury): For the only Detroit automaker that “didn’t take the money” of the federal auto bailouts, Ford Motor Co. keeps paying a price for...

Ford Motor Company has shelved a television commercial indirectly criticizing its competitors for accepting government bailouts to avoid bankruptcy in the wake of media criticism and, reportedly, a call from the White House. The ad, first uploaded to YouTube months ago, was part of a series featuring real-life customers who were thrust into press conferences where actor/reporters asked them to explain their decisions to buy a Ford. "I wasn't going to buy another car that was bailed out by our government," the customer, Chris, said in the ad. "I was going to buy from a manufacturer that's standing on their...

Money for President Obama's new jobs bill will have to come from somewhere else, whether in the form of higher taxes or higher debt. Productive jobs pay taxes, but taxes do not create productive jobs. As for taking on more debt, the private sector would already be borrowing money at today's very low interest rates to create jobs that fill a genuine economic need. Social Security is already struggling to remain solvent, so a payroll tax cut that is not balanced by increased taxes elsewhere is simply not realistic. The summer jobs for disadvantaged youth would create themselves if there...

America is still fighting over President Obama's costly bailout of Chrysler and General Motors. Especially the owners of Ford, the only member of Detroit's "Big Three" who rejected the government dole and emerged perfectly healthy. [Check out our editorial cartoons on President Obama.] In its most political ad in the so-called "Drive One" ads where real drivers are thrust before cameras to explain why they picked Ford, a real Ford F-150 pick-up driver is featured.

Is this just a business seeing a competitive edge against two of its rivals — or a political statement meant for wider purposes? Ford has a new ad series called “Press Conference,” in which sales staff escort a Ford buyer into a room supposedly to finalize paperwork but finds “reporters” and cameras on hand to ask why he or she bought a Ford. The responses are unscripted, according to US News and World Report, but the decision to publish this response while the nation still debates the auto bailouts might have some Obama supporters questioning the timing: It’s brilliant in...

The last Ford Crown Victoria rolled off a Canadian assembly line Thursday, marking the end of the big, heavy Ford cars that have been popular with taxi fleets and police departments for decades. Since 1979, almost 10 million Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Cars — so-called Panther Platform vehicles — have been sold. Demand for better fuel economy and performance has choked off sales over the years. The Crown Victoria and Town Car get just 24 miles per gallon on the highway, a figure matched by some large three-row SUVs today. … The Crown Victoria and its...

Ford building $1bn manufacturing complex in India An child walks on a plot of land acquired by Ford India for its new automobile manufacturing plant near Sanand, some 60 kms from Ahmedabad. Ford has started construction on a $1 billion manufacturing and engineering complex on the site. The complex will create 5,000 jobs and be able initially to produce 240,000 vehicles and 270,000 engines a year from 2014, Ford says. AFP - US auto giant Ford has started construction on a $1 billion manufacturing and engineering complex in India as it bets on the country to help drive global growth,...

A video has emerged of U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford being assaulted by a pro-regime demonstrator on the streets of Damascus last week. The assault took place before Ford's unapproved trip to the city of Jassem on Aug 23. Ford was present at a gathering of demonstrators who support the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad outside the Cham Palace Hotel in Damascus when one demonstrator ran up to Ford and tried to wrap him in a poster that featured Assad's face. Ford's security intervened quickly and rushed Ford to his car. The incident was then replayed in a...

President and Government Motors drive consumers into a ditchThe U.S. auto industry wouldn’t exist today if it weren’t for President Obama, or so he says. According to the White House, the 2009 $80 billion auto bailout - of which at least $14 billion was lost - not only saved the American auto sector but preserved 1 million jobs. If you believe that one, he has a $45,000 electric Chevy to sell you. Earlier this month, at a Ford Motor Co. plant in Chicago, Mr. Obama even argued that Ford, which didn’t take a federal handout, had him to thank for...

“The President and Mr. Buffett discussed the overall outlook on the economy and the reaction to the headwinds we’ve experienced over the last couple of months," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. "They talked a little bit about some possible measures that would spur investment and increase economic growth. And they also talked about some measures that could address the long-term fiscal situation in this country.” Obama also called Mulally, and they discussed the disruptions to the auto industry supply chain caused by the Japanese tsunami as well as ways to stimulate exports and investment. Ford was a major opponent...

•Second quarter net income was $2.4 billion, or 59 cents per share, a $201 million decrease from second quarter 2010. Pre-tax operating profit was $2.9 billion, or 65 cents per share, a decrease of $64 million from second quarter 2010. •Automotive pre-tax operating profit was $2.3 billion for the second quarter, an increase of $209 million from second quarter 2010. •Ford Credit reported a pre-tax operating profit of $604 million for the second quarter, a decrease of $284 million from second quarter 2010. •Total Company revenue was $35.5 billion in the second quarter, up $4.2 billion from second quarter 2010....

To help American carmakers stay in business, autoworkers grudgingly gave up pay raises and some benefits four years ago. Now that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are making money again, workers want compensation for their sacrifice. Just how much they get is the central question hanging over contract talks that start this week between Detroit and one of the nation's largest and most powerful unions. The negotiations, the first since Chrysler and GM took government aid and emerged from bankruptcy, will set wages and benefits for 111,000 members of the United Auto Workers, including those at Ford, which avoided bankruptcy...

Looks like the guy made it out of a '56 Ford convertible (or maybe a coupe), neat. I can already hear the "Why not Chevy" responses, but have you looked at the price of a Tri-Five lately? Nicely done with the diner theme, too: It don't get any more American than that! What would be funny is to drag it in for a smog test and then fire up the grill- hehMore news/views/humor at Reaganite Republican

I noticed that a co-worker had gotten a new car while seeing each other in the parking lot and congratulated the person. The co-worker said "thank you", but stated that I shouldn't tell anyone else. The co-worker in my opinion felt they had a Scarlett Letter attached to them for buying not only a new car but an import model.

The "bumbling" President Ford apparently knew that the toast is supposed to end with the words, "the Queen." It is interesting to watch the Queen's reaction in this video and compare it with the one she had yesterday. (Video at link) ML/NJ

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) wipes tears from his eyes as he attends the unveiling ceremony for a statue of the late former President Gerald R. Ford in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on May 3, 2011. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

Bureaucrats can’t run a car company, let alone the whole country Ford Motor Co. beat General Motors in March sales, another small but significant victory of private enterprise over government micromanagement. Since the 2009 government takeover of GM, competition between the two leading domestic auto manufacturers has taken on strong ideological overtones. It serves as an ideal test case, a microcosm of the competition between two worldviews, the automotive equivalent of North vs. South Korea. Right now, the good guys are winning. Ford has been giving GM a run for its money since the competition began. In October, Ford recorded...

Yesterday, I decided to take my relatively new car out for a spin. Due to a combination of ugly winter weather and health issues, I hadn't driven the car in a couple of months and wanted to give it a spin to keep its "juices" flowing. I got in the car and tried to start it. Nothing. All the symbols lit up and went nuts, but no sound of cranking. Fortunately, Ford gives new owners 5 years of Roadside Assistance. Ford's service responded quickly and professionally. The technician came prepared with a "box" to start the car in my garage....

Now that Ford is back in the black, the United Auto Workers union wants to recover the perks it gave up over the past few years as the auto giant teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Rhetoric is flaring ahead of negotiations this summer for the UAW's next four-year contract. More than 1,000 delegates from the union are meeting in Detroit this week to strategize for those negotiations. The talks will encompass labor agreements with the Big Three automakers, but Ford's impressive profits may make the company a target for union representatives looking for a bigger share of the wealth....

Ford's chief financial officer has warned predictions of a surge in electric car sales are "very ambitious", as next generation vehicles dominate the Geneva Motor Show. Lewis Booth, a Briton, raised concerns about their viability without state subsidies. Most leading car makers have unveiled new electric or hybrid models in Geneva, while BMW and Peugeot have confirmed a €100m (£85m) joint venture to develop electric technologies. However, Mr Booth said: "Electric vehicles at the moment are still very expensive and have limitations. There is a question mark about how long governments can subsidise vehicles when they are under so much...

Ford is working with the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power and Folsom Technologies to develop a prototype F-150 light-duty pickup truck propelled by a hydraulic hybrid powertrain. Hydraulic hybrids differ considerably from gas-electric hybrids, like the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid, but the goal is the same: to improve fuel efficiency. “We have the potential to reach 40 miles per gallon or higher with hydraulic power,” said Perry Li, co-deputy director of CCEFP and a mechanical engineering professor. “But we feel like we don’t give up anything versus an electric hybrid, and there are no batteries and nothing to...

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (Reuters) – About 1,000 chanting protesters rallied on Sunday outside a California resort where conservative lawmakers and business executives met for a political strategy session hosted by billionaires Charles and David Koch. About two dozen police officers in riot gear lined up in front of the Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in the upscale desert town of Rancho Mirage to keep the protesters away from the gated entrance. ... Another group, some dressed in hazardous material suits, tried to encircle the resort with yellow caution tape in a symbolic effort to "quarantine" the meeting, but they...

When I mention that my family used kerosene lamps when I was a small child in the South during the 1930s, that is usually taken as a sign of our poverty, though I never thought of us as poor at the time. What is ironic is that kerosene lamps were a luxury of the rich in the 19th century, before John D. Rockefeller came along. With the high price of kerosene at that time, an ordinary working man could not afford to stay up at night, burning this expensive fuel for hours at a time. Rockefeller did not begin his...

Our 2010 CEO of the Year Drives Success Mulally's achievements position Ford to thrive in a very hard industry. By David Whiston, CFA, CPA, CFE | 01-05-11 | 12:00 PM Alan Mulally of Ford Motor Company (F F) is the Morningstar 2010 CEO of the Year for good reason. Auto manufacturing is a tough industry in which few participants are able to garner long-term competitive advantages. It is a viciously cyclical business with high fixed costs and powerful unions to keep happy, and consumers have no reason to keep buying vehicles from the same manufacturer. As such, management prowess, or...

The White House has announced the appointment of a new ambassador to Syria -- a controversial move by U.S. President Barack Obama, who used his Constitutional muscle on Wednesday to name the envoy while the Senate was not in session. The previous ambassador to Syria was withdrawn by former President George W. Bush in 2005 in response to the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, as well as its support for Saddah Hussein-sympathizers and terrorism in general. There were strong indications at the time that Syria was behind Hariri's murder, although Damascus denied involvement in the truck bombing. The...

New York’s dumbest at their worse! ***WARNING, GRAPHIC LANGUAGE!*** From this gentleman’s window, he sees snow clearing efforts go really, really wrong. From the person who upload the video to YouTube:”City workers destroy a Ford Explorer trying to free a snowbound front-loader in Brooklyn Heights, New York after the storm of 2010. The crazy thing here….the vehicle WAS….wait for it….A NYC Dept of Buildings city owned vehicle. I went down, I know the owner, they are aware of the video and no police ever came. Hope that answers a lot of questions. Obviously some comments here in response are from...

We are told by careful pollsters that half of the American people believe that American troops should be brought home from Iraq immediately. This news discourages supporters of our efforts there. Not me, though: I am relieved. Given press coverage of our efforts in Iraq, I am surprised that 90 percent of the public do not want us out right now. Between January 1 and September 30, 2005, nearly 1,400 stories appeared on the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news. More than half focused on the costs and problems of the war, four times as many as those that discussed...

Democrats' hypocrisy on Bolton exposed Joel Mowbray May 5, 2005 Call it the tale of two confirmation hearings. Two of the four men most recently nominated to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations found their candidacies challenged, though they could not have faced more different receptions.  Both men were supremely qualified, but the similarities end there. The divergent paths for each reveal Democrats' rabid partisanship and belies their claims that they oppose John Bolton on the grounds that character matters. Six years ago, Foreign Service veteran Richard Holbrooke was awaiting Senate confirmation.  As former a ambassador to Germany,...

In the depths of the financial collapse, the U.S. Federal Reserve pumped $3.3 trillion into keeping credit moving through the economy. It eventually lent $57.9 billion to the auto industry — including $26.8 billion to Ford, Toyota and BMW. The Fed on Wednesday was forced to reveal the identity of the companies it aided during the crisis, after contending to Congress that keeping their identities and the details of such lending secret was essential. Much of Wall Street, and corporate giants such as General Electric, Harley Davidson and McDonald's, took advantage of the Fed's help. We've done the math...

Ford is the latest U.S. automaker to announce it is hiring again. Ford said Thursday it will add 1,800 workers at a plant in Louisville to build the Escape, the second best-selling small SUV in the U.S. after the Honda CR-V. The automaker is investing $600 million in the plant, which will be shut for a year while new equipment is installed so that Ford can build the Escape on a more fuel efficient car platform. The plant currently employs 1,100 people on one shift and has been building the Ford Explorer mid-size SUV since 1989. Production of the Explorer...

In November 2010, GM sold stock in a public offering. At the same time, the President announced that the tough decisions made during his administration were beginning to pay off. He also indicated that the “American taxpayers are now positioned to recover more than my administration invested in GM, and that's a good thing” I do not know whether to be amazed or appalled. First, contrary to popular administration folklore, GM did not survive bankruptcy. The name did but that is all that happened. A new company acquired the name and assets of GM and is now the company being...

Medford police Officer Jason Montalbano loves his Crown Victoria, its bulk, its toughness, its engine’s quiet purr. He takes his police cruiser to the car wash at least three times a week. He dangles a yellow “Vanillaroma’’ scent tree from the console to mask the stench of stogies smoked by the overnight patrol officers. And sometimes, late at night when the city is quiet, Montalbano, the son of a cop, will take the 250-horsepower sedan out onto Interstate 93 and hit the gas until he is flying down the open road. Like his father and thousands of other officers across...