While the big banks beg to give back their TARP money, automaker Ford Motor Co. continues to enjoy the fact that it never took any money in the first place.
With all the national attention on General Motors Corp. and Chrysler, recipients of $17.4 billion in federal aid and more than a bit of official critique, Ford Motor Co. has for the most part been able to dodge the spotlight. And as this paper noted last week, Ford turns out to thrive in the shade.
Still, Ford believes that Washington could offer it a bit of help. According to Chairman Bill Ford Jr., the administration should create incentives to spur auto sales and enact a gasoline tax that would encourage people to buy more efficient vehicles.
"I think we need help with an autos stimulus plan," said Ford in an interview this week with the Los Angeles Times at a Fortune magazine conference on green business in Laguna Niguel. He believes that a cash-for-clunkers program, coupled with a federal tax that would maintain gas prices above a certain level, would help the U.S. auto industry survive the current crisis.
Although Ford hasn't had to dip its hands into the federal coffer, the Dearborn, Mich., company could definitely use some help. Through March, its U.S. sales are down 42%. And although that's better than the results at GM or Chrysler, it still is worse than the overall industry average, prompting some analysts to wonder whether Ford would be forced into federal arms soon if things don't turn around.
Henry Ford's great-grandson downplayed that notion. Even though Chief Executive Alan Mulally appeared before Congress in the auto hearings last fall, Ford said the company never really seriously considered requesting any money. "It wasn't a long conversation," he said. "We very much value our ability to manage the company without strings attached."
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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/uptospeed/2009/04/bill-ford-f.html
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