Word: forded
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
There are rumblings that Ford could lose up to $700 million on its U.S. car business in 1979. In the first half, earnings from domestic operations were 51% lower than in the same period in 1978. Once U.S. car and truck sales accounted for well over half of Ford's automotive profits; now they produce less than one-third, and all of that comes from trucks. In fact, Ford suffers from a milder case of the problem that afflicts Chrysler: Americans have not been buying big, heavy cars. But unlike Chrysler, Ford is earning money because it has hugely...
...Ford's share of the U.S. auto market has dropped from 23.5% at the end of 1978 to 20.9%, its lowest in a decade. It is selling 15% fewer cars than it did last year (vs. 9% for Chrysler). With a 75-day backlog of unsold cars, Ford has had to lay off indefinitely 22,600 hourly workers, about 10% of its labor force...
Like their colleagues at Chrysler, Ford executives blame most of their troubles on the 1979 fuel crisis. Says Caldwell: "Those gas lines did more than anything else to turn our industry upside down." But a major problem was what Henry Ford concedes to be "poor planning," and he accepts much of the blame. Four years ago, he said no to arguments that Ford should build a front-wheel-drive subcompact for the 1979 model year; front-wheel drive means shorter hoods, lighter weight and, consequently, less use of fuel. Concerned by the size of the investment gamble, Henry Ford demurred...
...Ford will introduce a front-wheel-drive subcompact code-named Erika by next fall. In the meantime it has just completed a costly effort to downsize its big gas-gulping Lincoln Mark VIs, Cougar XR-7s and Thunderbirds for the 1980 model year and to boost its fleet average fuel economy 13% to an industry high of 21.6 m.p.g. But for a while, Ford's only real strong points will be its overseas operations and its brisk truck business...
There is little chance of a Chrysler-type financial Armageddon. Ford remains a globe-girdling, diversified corporation with 1978 earnings of $1.6 billion on revenues of $43 billion. Its glass, steel and aerospace operations boast record earnings, as does its international automotive business, which ranks second only to Volkswagen outside North America. And Caldwell is a cool, analytical manager who is credited with turning around international operations, which produce two-thirds of Ford's profits. Can he rebuild domestic sales? Cautions Caldwell: "This is a long-lead business. A lot will come two to three years from...