FORD has 8.7 billion dollar loss!
- Thread starter HEAVYGT
- Start date
m4a1mustang
New Member
Not surprising. It's going to take a while before Ford can even think about turning a profit. A lot of painful restructuring has to take place to put Ford in a position to compete profitably in this environment.
It's funny, though, that this situation could have been avoided if Ford didn't rest on its laurels thinking truck and SUV sales would be sustained on into the future.
It's funny, though, that this situation could have been avoided if Ford didn't rest on its laurels thinking truck and SUV sales would be sustained on into the future.
You absolutely CAN blame Ford. There were plenty of signs that oil was going higher and higher and gas was going to follow. They did absolutely nothing to help transition into this market that we are in now whereas GM/Toyota/etc... all did for the most part. GM started heavily advertising their hybrids and research to make SUVs/Pickups more fuel efficient and toyota has always had a strong car base. There is a reason that GM and Toyota are #2 and #1 (respectively) worldwide in vehicle sales and Ford is around the #10 area.
Agreed 100% and you hit the nail on the head.
08blueskunk
New Member
That isn't true, ford started making crossover suv's in 01 with the escape and they built the fusion before gas prices went up. Toyota is also effected by the higher gas prices, so it's just not a ford thing. Ford is only building 2 regular suv's, the explorer and exdedition and the explorer is going crossover. Ford is changing it's truck line up, they;ll have the super duty, F-150, F-100 and the ranger, a truck for everyones needs. They are also bringing back a manly suv, the bronco with solid axles and removable top to go head to head with the wrangler. It will be built on the F-100's plateform. The gas prices have hit everyone, the airlines are fixing to go bankrupt, it's a national crisis, not just a ford thing. Ford is lucky that they have a large pool of european and aisin products to drawl from. The experts say ford is in better shape than most to weather this storm. It gets on my nerves, with all the ford forums I belong to, the ford people seem to be the first thats allways wants to dog ford or belittle them. I would feel better if some of our ford people would buy chevy's or something.
m4a1mustang
New Member
The problem is production numbers, not really model lineup. Ford has relied on F-150 and SUV sales for a long time to provide the brunt of it's profit. Ever wonder how dealers could knock $10k off a Ford SUV and still turn a profit? Those were the money makers, and while gas prices were still low-moderate Ford was churning them out like mad. They didn't forecast a downturn in demand for gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs and thought that they would be able to keep churning them out and selling them and making money. That obviously wasn't the case.
It's easy to get mad at Ford because they always seem to make some monumental blunder somewhere with their operations. Not forecasting the rising cost of fuel and its impact on demand for vehicles is one of those.
This is a situation that could have been avoided if Ford's economists said, "If oil prices continue to rise at this rate, coupled with increasing global political tensions, demand for truck-based vehicles will decrease while demand for smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles will increase. We should consider restructuring production plans, focus more R&D into improved fuel economy and alternative energy technologies, and develop strategic plans to cope with the rising cost of oil and the consumer's demand for more fuel efficient vehicles and alternative energy vehicles."
The only way to succeed in business is to act, not react. Right now Ford is scrambling to react, and it's a mess.
They'll survive, I don't doubt that, but it's going to hurt really bad for a while. Then you can only hope that 20 years from now they've learned their lessons and operate like they should have been for the past 20 years.
red05bullitgt
Member
What in the hell are you talking about ? 2009 is the final production year for the Ranger.
Geeze just how many times must you be reminded, before it finally sinks in
NastyStang113
New Member
What in the hell are you talking about ? 2009 is the final production year for the Ranger.
Geeze just how many times must you be reminded, before it finally sinks in
Actually they just extended that date ...
red05bullitgt
Member
Five Oh Brian
Member
They say hindsight is always 20/20.
You do realize that if what you said about Ford was true: "...they always seem to make some monumental blunder somewhere with their operations..." that they would not have been in business for the last 105 years. The fact that they've survived this long should be worthy of praising their business sense. Sure, they've made some mistakes - as do all businesses - but they've made far more "correct" choices than bad ones.
1990Coupe
Founding Member
What in the hell are you talking about ? 2009 is the final production year for the Ranger.
Geeze just how many times must you be reminded, before it finally sinks in
Actually he is correct - The ranger has extended production.
Also there will be an F-100, F150 and Superduty only. the days of the 250's and 350's are over for the time being.
It will be nice to see the euro focus and fiesta over here. I'd most definatly buy either for my Daily Driving commute. I currently have a jeep cherokee with 200k on it and plan on waiting for those two before i buy a daily driver again
xtweakerx
New Member
red05bullitgt
Member
Actually he is correct - The ranger has extended production.
Also there will be an F-100, F150 and Superduty only. the days of the 250's and 350's are over for the time being.
It will be nice to see the euro focus and fiesta over here. I'd most definatly buy either for my Daily Driving commute. I currently have a jeep cherokee with 200k on it and plan on waiting for those two before i buy a daily driver again
Thanks for clearing that up. That being said, my apologies to Ranger04
Redbulitt02gt, ford is rethinking dropping the ranger because sales are up from the current gas crunch and besides that, there is a new world ranger being released in 2012, thats what the hell I'm talking about. A new ranger for the world market is being designed in Austraila as we speak. It's going to be the same size as the current ranger if not a tad smaller and built around the 4 cylinder as it's main power plant. So maybe you should do a little research before trying to make others look stupid. My dad as a ford retiree, gets a mag every month called ford world, that keeps ford employee's up to date on what ford is doing. There is also a web site called blue oval news, both have reported that the ranger may be spared the ax untill the new ranger is released in 2012. Now drink a beer and settle down before you need a heart stint installed. With gas at 4.00 bucks a gallon, it doesn't make much sense to drop the truck that gets the best mpg on the market, even ford isn't that dumb.
I'm sorry Red05bullitgt, I didn't read down to where it was explained to you by another posted. I jumped the gun so to speak, I am sorry, I usally don't get so defensive, but I belong to a ford truck forum and the ranger surviving is all thats been talked about for the last month and ford up and comming truck line up. I thought the ranger surviving was common knowledge by now, however, I guess everyone doesn't sleep, eat and drink ford 24 hours a day like I do, I'm a ford nut, I bleed ford blue ha ha. Blue oval news is a good site to keep up to date on what ford is doing, check it out some time. Once again I'm sorry for jumping the gun before reading all the posts.
1990Coupe
Founding Member
Yes don't all jump up on red05 he didn't know they were extending the production run
Up until recently however, Red you were correct, Ford had slated on ending ranger production end of 09 early 2010. But like Ranger04 said since the people still need trucks, and this is going to be the time of the "small truck", ford would further blunder things up if they cancelled the Ranger.
Up until recently however, Red you were correct, Ford had slated on ending ranger production end of 09 early 2010. But like Ranger04 said since the people still need trucks, and this is going to be the time of the "small truck", ford would further blunder things up if they cancelled the Ranger.
m4a1mustang
New Member
Yep, it always is 20/20. Still, there are some mistakes Ford has made (not exclusive to them... really to the big three) along the lines that I feel could have been avoided if forward thinking minds were in place.
The big problem with Ford (and again, not exclusive to them) is that they always seem to be one or two steps behind the curve. They could afford to be sluggish and cumbersome when the only competition they had to worry about was Chrysler and GM, but when the foreign makes really started to penetrate the US market the business climate really changed. Instead of trying to produce some innovative cars they pushed on with their "tried and true" strategy. That didn't work out too well and companies like Toyota and Honda really gained market share which I don't think Ford was expecting.
I do think they're learning from the mistakes and will eventually start to perform well again, but it's going to continue to be a painful and bloody road for the short term (at least). The whole point I was trying to make is that they lost a lot of ground over the past 30 or so years by not only resting on their laurels but by developing flawed strategies using foolish expectations (the whole truck/SUV thing I talked about before.)
red05bullitgt
Member
I just want you to know Ranger, that I had also apologized for my previous remarks towards you. And btw: I usually do keep up to date with Blue Oval News.
It was just unfortunate that I didn't get a chance to check the latest info, before submitting my post, so once again. I do apologize for that, in which 1990Coupe was absolutely correct, when he had posted that I just simply did not know that Ford extended the Ranger's production run.
At any rate, thanks once again for accepting my apology, and realizing that we as human beings, all make mistakes sometimes, and are far from being perfect
Rocky
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