Cars! Cars! Cars!

Ford Puts Chrysler Up As Collateral

The Detroit News reports: Ford could borrow up to $23B.

Ford Motor Co. is super-sizing the financing package it announced last week and now plans to increase its borrowing capacity by more than $5 billion to as much as $23.5 billion.

Ford on Wednesday cited "overwhelming support by lenders" as the reason behind the move, but investor worries about the automaker's debt burden drove its shares down 4.2 percent.

Bloomberg reports:
Ford Boosts Convertible Bond Sale to $4.5 Billion

The sale is the biggest of 30-year convertible bonds ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and is likely to be scooped by shareholders looking to replace the stock dividend that Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford eliminated in September.

``Some of the buyers will be people who own the Ford common stock,'' said Thomas Dinsmore, who passed on the Ford transaction for the $250 million he manages at Davis-Dinsmore Management in Morristown, New Jersey. ``It's going to force them to take a good hard look and say, `If I believe in Ford, but I need the income, this is the way.'''

We really hope this works out for Ford. Sheesh.

Trunk Full Of Junk

Bloomberg reports: Ford's New Notes Rated Junk by Moody's, S&P, Fitch. Ford ain't-a worth nuthin these days. Crap.

Deals! Deals! Deals!

The Detroit News reports: Ford ramps up deals again.

Ford is now offering the bonus cash on 19 models Lincoln and Mercury models. Customers can use the bonus cash on top of existing rebates or interest-rate deals.

While Ford spent $4,231 on average to sell its cars and trucks in November -- a 50 percent increase from a year ago -- the month's sales were down 10.6 percent.

You can use this deal on Mustangs, too. So maybe now's the time to pony on down to Ford and get a look at the car you've sorta been wantin'. Ha, pony!

Meanwhile, didn't Chrysler just do this the other day?

That's a snap of the 2007 Ford Mustang. Schweet!

Ford To Fuse

Leftlane News reports: Spied: Ford Fusion Hybrid. Now we're talkin' money. Why Ford didn't bust ass and make the Fusion a hybrid from the get-go is beyond us. But it looks like it's finally here (ish).

This it will be able to take on these hybrids: Prius, Civic, Camry and Accord? Well, of course it'll be able to take on the Accord hybrid. That one's a turd.

That's a snap of the 2007 Ford Fusion. In all its purtiness.

Truckers: Look Out Below!

The New York Times reports:
As Trucking Rules Are Eased, a Debate on Safety Grows. Gee, truckers will be getting less sleep -- how could anything bad possibly happen? Gee, maybe getting a big ol' truck now makes a bit more sense.

Oddly enough, Edmunds reports: Explorer sales near all-time low. Man, what crappy timing since it's only a matter of time before 18 wheels end up in your back seat. Avoid the third row!

That's a snap of what we'll all get used to seeing more and more in our rear-view mirrors. And our trunk. And our backseat.

Ford To Employees: Don't Let The Door Hit Ya Where The Good Lord Split Ya

The Detroit News reports: HALF TAKE FORD BUYOUT. Wow. The numbers Ford throws around are just impressive. $18 billion in loans, about 35,000 employees leaving... what's next?

More than 35,000 Ford Motor Co. hourly workers -- almost half of the automaker's U.S. factory work force -- have accepted buyouts and will leave the automaker by next September, according to people familiar with the final tally.

That figure, which will be announced as early as this week, exceeds the company's goal of cutting 30,000 hourly positions by 2008 and should provide a major boost to Ford's effort to slash costs and return to profitability by 2009.

"That's a spicy meatball!" you say. "How will Ford continue to build cars and trucks?" you wonder.

The company will have to hire part-time and temporary workers to make sure that does not happen, sources said. Those workers will receive a starting wage of $18.50 an hour and no benefits.

No benefits. No health insurance until at least seven months (maybe longer) on the job. No health benefits? That's the future of America, folks. You are on your own.

Blue-collar workers are not the only ones leaving the company. Ford is also well on its way to cutting some 14,000 white-collar jobs. Thousands of workers were laid off in February; Ford hopes to convince another 10,000 to take voluntary buyouts. If not, the company has said more layoffs will be coming.

Either way, some 50,000 U.S. Ford employees will leave the company over the next year, making this downsizing the biggest in the automaker's 103-year history.

These numbers are just bigger than big.

And it all comes down to what? This: You gonna go buy a Focus or Civic? A Five Hundred or a Camry?

For the record, through 2006, sales have been:

Focus: 152,242
Civic: 272,886

Five Hundred: 74,092
Camry: 374,717

Good luck to Ford. This is going to be an uphill drive.

Hey, before you go get all bent out of shape and say the Five Hundred is more like the Avalon than the Camry we say (well, first we say "Ha!" because the Avalon is far more upscale than the Five Hundred) OK, the sales of the Avalon through 2006: 73,929. Ford sold 163 more Five Hundreds. Still not enough to make a difference. Oh, we hear you still bitchin': The Camry is more like the Fusion. OK, OK, pal. Ford sold 120,994 Fusions so far in '06. Sheesh.

Lifting the Curtain

We mentioned they were going to do it and dammit if they didn't do it: The Detroit News reports: Workers get sneak peek at future cars. So past and present workers got a looky-look at concept cars:

Topping the list of surprises was a prototype for a Ford subcompact car that would fill a glaring hole in the automaker's lineup.

Mark Fields, president of Ford's Americas group, has been talking about building a small, stylish and fuel-efficient "B-car" since taking over the automaker's domestic operations last fall. But he had yet to offer so much as a sketch of what that vehicle would look like until Monday.

The four-door sedan features a three-bar grille and wraparound headlamps. It's powered by a four-cylinder, 1.8-liter engine already used in Europe, though new options could be available by the time the car goes into production in 2009 or 2010. It is designed to compete with the Honda Fit.

"If they brought it out now, it might hit the mark," said analyst Jim Hall of AutoPacific Inc. in Troy, who is familiar with the vehicle. "But they can't bring it out now."

Designed to compete with the Honda Fit, eh? You mean the Honda Fit that is currently shipping? You mean the one you can buy now? You mean the one that will super-refined by the time the first Ford small dealie comes out?

Time isn't something Ford has on its side. Real men ship product.

That's a snapadoo of 2007 Honda Fit. It was behind the curtain at Ford headquarters. OK, we made that up. But you know Ford bought one. And got all bummed.

Ford Should Make This

Winding Road reports: Ford’s Giugiaro Mustang Concept Revealed Ahead Of L.A. Debut. Mercy!

Think Ford should make this? Would you buy it?

Ford Tries To Roll Hard Six

Whoa! The Detroit News reports: FORD BETS THE HOUSE.

Ford Motor Co. is going all in on a bet-the-company financing strategy that will put virtually all of its U.S. assets -- including factories, office buildings and technology -- up as collateral in a multibillion-dollar credit deal designed to buy time to execute a North American restructuring.

The struggling automaker hopes to obtain $18 billion in financing to fund its turnaround and shore up its liquidity as protection against unanticipated events, such as a recession, the company said in a statement Monday.

Bloomberg News reports: Ford Plans $18 Billion in Debt, Backed by Factories.

Ford Motor Co., struggling to overcome record losses this year, plans to borrow as much as $18 billion to pay for U.S. job cuts and factory shutdowns and will back its loans with collateral for the first time.

New Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally must raise cash to revamp the North American auto unit as he works to boost sales and recover from a $6.99 billion loss in the first nine months of the year. Ford's switch to asset-backed loans is a sign investors are demanding protection from a default.

Dude, they put it all up. Everything. The friggin' desks, pencils, the whole kit and caboodle.

What's going to happen when sales go down further? Oh, not from Ford failing at making relevant products (they'll probably do that some, too), but when we stop buying as many cars and trucks?

Hey, before you get all puffy and stuff, this wasn't our idea: The Car Connection reports: 2007 Sales Could Slump, Analysts Warn. We're bettin that's on the money, too. No one we know is looking to buy a new car right now and we're getting the sneaking suspicion that our acknowledged small sample would scale to the rest of the country.

Here's to Ford: Please make some kick-ass products.

Go, Ford, Go

So the reviewer dude at Jalopnik is a racer boy and after taking the Fusion out for a mild-mannered and safe test drive he's given it a thumbs-up. Check it: Jalopnik reports: Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Ford Fusion SE, Part 3.

We think if Ford keeps its eye on the ball (Honda) and continues to improve the Fusion every year, the Fusion has a bright future ahead.

What needs to improve:

1. Engine. The old 6-cylinder is, uh, old and should be upgraded.
2. Interior is still weak compared to Accord, Camry.

And each year Ford should figure out what parts could be improved and redo them. This is something we don't feel Ford does but should. A Fusion from 2009 should feel significantly better than the 2006 model.

We linked to the third part of the series since there were links to the first two parts... we care!