Bailout Watch 485: Ford Heading for $11 Billion Bailout

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Ah, the good old days, back when the only automotive bailout on the table consisted of a paltry $25 billion federal loan program to retool old factories (a.k.a. Chrysler, Ford and GM plants) to build fuel efficient cars. At the end of last year, when the NSFW hit the fan, President Bush tried to divert those Department of Energy (DOE) funds to Chrysler and GM, as an end run around an recalcitrant Congress. The DOE said, hey, don’t rush me babe. In the end, Bush shoved aside Congressional and bureacratic dithering—I mean, due diligence, ignored the original intent of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, sent $17.4 billion worth of TARP booty to the two zombie automakers and pissed off to Texas. Since that fateful day, GM alone has blown through the 20 bil barrier. So, what of that $25 billion DOE fund? Well, Chrysler and GM can’t have it; they failed the loan requirement’s viability test. And how. Which leaves. . . Ford. The Detroit Free Press [almost] reports that The Blue Oval Boyz have applied for $11 billion from the federal fund. Will this Uncle Sam suckle punt Ford from the Motown moral high ground, and ding Dearborn’s dead cat bounce? Of course not! It’s a loan.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Fastcars49 Fastcars49 on Apr 07, 2009

    If GM goes into bankruptcy, then I believe that Ford will probably have to also ask for bailout money. The reason is that the parts suppliers who also supply GM and the others, will then also have to go bankrupt, which in turn will also impact Ford. Survival for Ford means making the types of cars they make in Europe. If Ford can't survive here, then they will make a stand in Europe, where their cars are highly rated by the famously fastidious Europeans. Also, how come NO ONE ever talks about the unfairness of our supposed trading partners. Yes, I'm speaking about the Japanese, Koreans, and eventually, the Chinese. These countries use many tricks and made up rules to keep our vehicles out of their countries, but yet, feel it is their god given right to export their cars to ours. And if we don't do anything about it, then the Chinese will ban our cars from their market also, while they pretend to dump their cars here.

  • Dave M. Dave M. on Apr 07, 2009
    Where is Ford’s Corvette, CTS, and Malibu? Corvettes sell....very few overall. Nice halo car though, as is the CTS. Ford has no answer for either. Conversely, where's anyone else's F150, Fusion hybrid, Fiesta? The Fusion and the new Taurus can handle the Malibu....which isn't selling all that well.
  • Npbheights Npbheights on Apr 08, 2009

    Doesn't the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra twins out sell the F150? The F150 is supposedly the "best selling pickup" but you would be hard pressed to call the GM twins different trucks.

  • Matt51 Matt51 on Apr 08, 2009

    GM overall has better product than Ford. Ford has a business advantage, fewer brands. GM should have merged Saturn and Pontiac (Pontiac-Saturn) a long time ago. More dealers selling Saturn would have meant more Saturn sales. They would have saved money by not having to develop Pontiac small cars or Saturn mid size cars. They should have merged Cadillac and Chevrolet (Cadillac-Chevrolet dealers). More dealers selling Cadillacs would have boosted Cadillac sales. Chapter 11 helped the airlines, it will help GM. If Ford stays out while GM files, then Ford will be doomed. So the Ford family is willing to kill the business rather than have someone else run it.

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