No One Seems to Care!

At the top of every hour on news talk radio, the lead story is about Chrysler and GM and their impending bankruptcy. Despite the Obama administration's influx of cash, our cash, and 'leadership' from the President, GM and Chrysler cannot keep their companies from bankruptcy. The American auto maker is dieing. Now what? Most Americans, financial advisers, and even we, the taxpayer have been very vigilant in crying out about a bailout. What was going to happen in September and October still happened. It didn't matter. We still gave Chrysler and GM billions and billions of cash to keep their businesses afloat, and now what? They are going to go into bankruptcy with billions of OUR money. Our investment wasn't on the line. If I wanted to invest in GM, I would have bought their junk stock. I didn't, but I guess that isn't true, we all bought into GM against our will.

Where are the TEA parties now? Why aren't we more pissed off about this. The mainstream media has yet to hammer this point home. What the hell?

Right behind this lead off story about the eminent demise of GM and Chrysler, is angry UAW workers chastising Americans for buying foreign cars. Who gives a hell what KIND of car it is, as long as it Americans who are building it. Quick economic lesson. If you buy a car in Ohio [insert your state here] you pay something called sales tax. It is usually 6-8% of the total value of your purchase. So if you buy your car in my county in Ohio, you pay 6.75% sales tax. You buy a foreign car, with an average sticker price of $14,800, you are paying $925.00 to the state of Ohio. Do you know how much you pay if the same car was made by GM or Chrysler because it was made in America? The same exact amount. Do you know how many Ohioans are employed by Honda vs. GM? The same exact amount. How many Ohioans have Honda laid off? Zero. How many has GM laid off? Too many to count, but they have also shut down their plant in Lordstown for 3 more weeks than normal.

Why do I want to buy a GM or Chrysler car again? Oh right, it's American.

Well let's talk about what American made is all about. American made is not getting handout, which is something the current administration is getting all too familiar at giving. From welfare, to bank bailouts, Obama's administration has given more of the taxpayers money away in bailouts, so that those companies can still fail. Some might say that it was inherited and he is just trying to do the right thing. Well let's talk about principals and convictions. If I was walked into a situation where the previous person was doing something I was fundamentally opposed to, I would stop that practice, scrap it, and start over. Let those who built their businesses upon sand fall, and let those who built their businesses on rock, stand. It's Darwin's theory of natural selection, economy style. We are a free market, and let the market manage itself. Sure we have gone into Depression based on poor business practices of greedy CEO's and monopolies. So if Obama thought what Bush was doing was wrong, then why is he still writing checks with money he has yet to print?

In all of this, no one in the media has commented on a HUGE story. The Ford Motor company announced today that, it posted a loss of $1.4 billion dollars. That doesn't sound like a success, but when you look at what the analysts were saying the loss was going to be, it beat their forecast. That is great news. Once you look into what Ford has done, it can be considered nothing less than a success. Sure, posting a loss of $1.4 billion dollars is horrible, but you have to look into what kind of money they lost. Their own. They have accepted absolutely zero tax payer dollars to stay afloat. The leadership of Ford was able to restructure their debt by renegotiating their contract with UAW and restructuring their debt. They cut back on everything. They did something not a single other car manufacturer did, they refocused. They turned away from dumping money into the SUV bandwagon and moved back into the European model, small fuel efficient cars. Phase 1. Stop burning through cash. They did that. Phase 2. Refocus on the Focus. Fuel efficient, small, compact, cheap. Notice the Focus is a better looking car now. That isn't an accident. Let's check Phase 2 off. Phase 3. Reintroduce the cars that were successful before the SUV. Enter the new Taurus sedan. It will launch in '10 line-up. Phase 4. Hybrid technology. '10 is bringing in the year of the Fusion Hybrid. Already in the line-up, but they are heavily investing to ensure the success. Sure Ford knows Hybrid technology is much like putting a nice dress on an ugly woman. It is what we want to see, but you still might not want to buy it, but this is what WE are asking for.

Now let's bring it all together. There are unhappy people working at GM and Chrysler who think that Americans need to buy American. Their ignorance astounds me because it doesn't matter what kind of car you buy, the government gets the same % on taxes. Sure the profits go overseas to foreign owners, but shit, look what the American car makers are doing with their profits. They fucked it up. We are ignoring the fact that Ford Motor has taken losses year over year, but still have not gotten a penny in bailout money. Where are the high five's? No where.

So what can WE do to help? Buy a Ford. Ford has done their part by not taking our money. Now we need to do our part and support their product. Before I get into my pitch for Ford, you can also buy a Camry from Toyota, Accord from Honda, and Civic from Honda, as they are all made in the United States as well.

Now why buy Ford? There are a number of different reasons. First and foremost, their CEO's have recognized what it did wrong and are making their adjustments to change to the demand in their products. From spinning off subsidiary brands such as Volvo, Land Rover, and Jaguar they have simplified their portfolio to cut their cash expenditures.

They are using technology and green technology better than any other company. They are using the ideas that I have told you about by consolidating many different devices into 1 device using an investment from Microsoft and their SYNC system. SYNC is a bluetooth package that allows you to play your tunes from your phone, through your car speakers. It also allows you to take phone calls from your car as well. Did you know they have over 100 pending patents in their 'full' hybrid technology?

Innovation. From Henry Ford's assembly lines to the Fusions 3 different interior packages, Ford is redefining what it is to drive American. Their ability to change to the demand of the public is much better and more nimble that other American car makers and even forgein cars. Did you know Mercedes doesn't even have a stereo bluetooth technology in it? Honda doesn't have it either.

Ford is the way to go anymore. They have what it takes to make it through this recession. This is the redefinition of the American car maker. Their cut backs have made it easier to position itself for a bounce back. By the time GM and Chrysler finish their bankruptcy proceedings, Ford will be turning a profit.

As of this post, Ford's stock price was up 11.36%.