Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Ford is in the Black

Matthew Dolan and Jeff Bennett reported on January 29th in the Wall Street Journal "Ford Posts First Full-Year Profit Since 2005." Ford earned $2.7 billion in 2009. Any number greater than zero is a miracle in Detroit. This despite the fact that Ford is burdened with a much greater debt burden than Chrysler and GM for whom the federal government rolled its bondholders.


The easy interpretation is that is one for capitalism as opposed to socialism.  Any student of the decline of American car making will realize that Detroit's inward focused culture and its willingness to run to Washington when in trouble are better. A deeper analysis shows that Ford, by bringing in an outsider, Alan Mulally, they committed themselves to remedying the root problem: Detroit's culture.

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