TTAC News Round-up: Ford Soothes Investors, Dodge Gets Its DiCaprio Moment, and Kentucky Aims for Volkswagen's Center Mass

Ford is doing so well, you’d be a damn fool to ever think of not investing in Ford, says Ford.

That, hiring a crop of cranky old people paid off for Dodge, Kentucky joins the let’s-sue-Volkswagen party, Honda gets a Hoosier boost, and ethanol continues to suck … after the break!

Big Blue isn’t leaking green

Hey, whoa, where do you think you’re going?

Ford Motor Company is looking to calm investors who worry that people will stop buying cars, causing the money to run out at the Big Blue Oval, Automotive News reports:

Investors traded down Ford shares 3.1 percent this year through yesterday on concern that the U.S. auto expansion has peaked and earnings will be pressured. Ford, which reported record pretax profit of $10.8 billion for last year, is viewed as vulnerable to repeating its near-death experience of seven years ago when it had to close plants, cut thousands of jobs and mortgage all its assets to get life-saving loans.

Not so fast, said Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks.

Ford could now break even financially if annual U.S. auto sales fell to 11 million, a 37 percent decline from last year’s record 17.5 million cars and light trucks, Shanks said.

You heard the man. Call your broker right now.

The 2015 Superbowl commercial that marked Dodge’s 100th birthday by featuring a crop of bad-ass Centenarians was last year’s top automotive ad, reports Automotive News:

Neilson placed the ad, titled “Wisdom,” in the top spot based on an online survey of five million TV watchers.

The weathered — yet still vibrant — faces of the centenarians provided compelling imagery, said Mark Sneathen, managing director of Nielsen Automotive. The ad stirs emotion as well, he said, making it especially impactful in memory formation.

The ad started out as a press conference video shown at the 2014 New York Auto Show, before it found new life as a viral Internet video. Executives at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles knew they had something good, so they decided to air it during the most-watched event of the year.

You’ll pay … Oh, you’ll pay: Kentucky

The state of Kentucky has filed suit against Volkswagen and its luxury divisions, claiming it violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act with its its emissions-rigged vehicles, Reuters reports:

“Volkswagen must be held accountable for its false and misleading promotion and sales of its vehicles in the Commonwealth,” [Kentucky Attorney General Andy] Beshear said in a statement.

Beshear’s suit filed in Franklin Circuit Court also names VW’s Porsche and Audi units and seeks civil penalties for violations of the state’s Consumer Protection Act and an injunction barring similar future practices by the company.

Volkswagen hasn’t responded to the suit. Kentucky now joins four other states that are suing the automaker for installing a defeat device in its diesel vehicles designed to fool emissions-testing procedures.

Honda drops money on CR-V facility

Honda Manufacturing of Indiana really likes making its cars in the Hoosier state, so much so that it’s planning a $52 million investment in its Greensburg production facility, reports the Indianapolis Star:

The jobs and investment will support the production of the Honda CR-V, which the company announced in January would be moved to Indiana from Mexico …

“This new investment in our Indiana facility will enhance our manufacturing flexibility and better position Honda to meet customer demand for our lineup of innovative and fuel-efficient passenger cars and light trucks,” said Bob Nelson, president of Honda Manufacturing of Indiana.

Honda says 100 new jobs will be created at the facility, which began producing the Civic in 2008.