October 24th, 2006
Ford Motor worst quarterly result in 14 years
Ford Motors will have to act quickly to stay liquid. In their latest report, they are selling their ultra-luxury Aston Martin business and a $5.98 billion loss for this year’s third quarter.
With Ford Motor reporting its worst quarterly results in 14 years on Monday, there was a growing sense that the auto giant will need to take drastic steps to stay liquid as it struggles to turn itself around. The company has said that its ultra-luxury Aston Martin business is for sale, and it is believed to be seeking buyers for Land Rover and Jaguar as well. Ford reported a $5.8 billion loss for the third quarter, as well as a $593 million pretax loss at its Premier Automotive Group, which includes Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin. In a research note, a Merrill Lynch analyst said the Premier loss "highlights the need to rationalize" the brands in the group, The Chicago Tribune reported. "Ford can do two things: borrow more money and sell assets" to buy time until their operations problems are fixed, John Casesa, a longtime auto industry analyst, told The New York Times.
I, for one, would prefer to buy a Toyota Fortuner than spend more on a Ford automobile. Toyota cars are cheaper and parts are always available. If Ford can only lower their price there would be lots of everyday motorists who are dying to ride a Ford car :)
