Ford Falls. Hard.

• Report this Comment On July 26, 2008, at 11:44 AM, weiwentg wrote:

  For whatever mysterious reason, the good folks at Dodge and Cox disagree. As of last report, they had about 1.5% of assets in the Stock fund in Ford and GM combined. That position is likely smaller by now. Not sure what they're smoking, but I've always maintained that at least one of the Big 3 is going to die within the next decade. That would probably make things better for the Big 2, but they would also have to adapt their product mix to cope with the reality of high gas prices. It isn't totally fair to place all the blame on GM and Ford for insisting on foisting monster trucks off on American consumers - the latter were rather enamored of SUVs and pickups. But the Big 3 have shown a refusal to face reality and adapt, and they will need to do so to make me even consider investing in the future.

• Report this Comment On July 27, 2008, at 8:37 AM, TMFMarlowe wrote:

  David, with all due respect, you've completely missed the story here. Waving your hands and complaining that an industrial giant with eye-popping legacy costs and products that, like most of its competitors, take 24-36 months to go from approved idea to Job One, can't turn on a dime is overly simplistic. As for being "slow to glom on to the idea of fuel efficiency", they've been offering hybrids for several years. Maybe you missed that -- in Ford fashion, they're understated, not hyped as lifestyle objects like TM does -- but they're out there, and the Escape in particular is quite good. (Speaking of TM, you HAVE noticed that Toyota bet heavily on a 370 horsepower pickup truck in the US market just as oil spiked and got burned, haven't you? Of course, their global operations will pad the hit -- just as Ford's are doing.)

  What's really going on here is profound. Led by an insider with a mindset unusual in American business, Ford is remaking its culture top to bottom while leveraging its still-vast global resources and making the whole mess dance as one company for the first time ever. That's huge. Can't you see it?

  I think Ford will not only survive, but thrive. I think Alan Mulally is one of the most interesting CEOs in American business right now, and I really look forward to reading his "How We Saved Ford" book in ten years. This guy is different, very different. Can you see why?

  Whether the stock is a buy right now is a different question -- Cramer's point about the potential for dilution down the road is well taken, for once (stopped clocks, etc) -- but this is a company worth watching very closely. All of a sudden their "turnaround" is far ahead of GM's (Chrysler is teetering on hopeless at this point) -- and ahead of a lot of big overseas players too.

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