Ford = Junk

[Meddle]

"Moody's downgrades Ford to 'junk' status on weak outlook

"International Business Times|28 minutes ago

"Moody's downgraded Ford's credit rating to speculative or "junk" status on Monday, citing the company's weak financial outlook as it embarks on an ambitious restructuring. Characterizing the auto giant's current overhaul as "unprecedentedly large and ..."

Who am I to argue?

[Ray1936]

Please sign off on the back of all Ford documents you have and send them to me. I'll see that they are taken care of properly.

[EastsideAl]

And they don't shift so good either.

[Smirnoff]

I kinda liked their electric vehicle offering.....forgot the name of it?

[Lowell]

Moody's said Ford's restructuring plans are "expected to extend for several years with $11 billion in charges, and a cash cost of approximately $7 billion." Ford, however, "does have a sound balance sheet and liquidity position from which to operate," said Bruce Clark, senior vice president with Moody's.

My underlining^. Something to remember about Ford is that the family still has enough shares to maintain company control. That allows Ford to make long plays without having to bow to share holder pressure.

The Corktown campus play is such an example as was their ability to avoid bankruptcy in 2009. And if one is looking for income while this plays out, Ford is currently paying a 6%+ dividend vs. 10 year treasury notes that only pay around 1.5%.

[Richard]

I wonder if that is some sort of retaliation for ford signing up with California in order to dictate to the rest of the country when it comes to emission standards.

I would have thought they had learned from the crushing epa stuff from the 1970s,but I guess they still sold cars so it was based on the consumer really had little choice outside of Japan.

All of this is starting to look like GM and the whole busses for street cars manipulation,you are going to get smart cars weather you want them or not,no choice.

Interesting switch,private buisness useing the government to implement regulations,they did say that they were transitioning into the smart car future,what not a better way to seal the deal then to have the regulations in place that forces the consumer to buy ones product.

[CassTechGrad]

A spy photo from the Ford proving grounds on a new low cost personal transportation vehicle that they are working on, The Fordette.

[Pat001]

The only Ford family member who knew how to run the company was the man who founded it: Henry Ford. The only smart thing Bill Ford, Jr. did was to recognize he was in over his head and bring in Allan Mullaly from Boeing in 2006 to turn the company around. The company has been rudderless since Mullaly retired five years ago.

Since 2014, the price of Ford common stock has dropped by 45 percent. Anyone who held Ford stock over the past five years lost more money than they earned from dividends.

https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xnys/f/quote

[Lowell]

Ford and the other automakers are facing huge costs as they race to electrify their fleets and be competitive in the autonomous vehicle field--what the Corktown Michigan Central campus will be pursuing. To that end it has also entered into a powerful alliance with VW.

Until those new products yield value Ford will be, as one insider I know describes, "a truck builder with a sports car" living off the substantial profits from the F150 and Mustang.

It read where it holds $23B in cash, which exceeds its debt, and in today's depressed bond yield markets having to borrow at junk bond rates is not as big of a burden as it might seem.

They still have a long, tough and uncertain road ahead, but so do all the others. I'm cheering for them as I think all of us in Detroit should be.

[rb336]

Agencies like Moody's have precious little understanding of the auto industry. Yes, Ford killed off most cars - most companies break even on cars, and few make a profit except the extreme high end. Electrification is underway - and it involves multiple partnerships, it is not a go-it-alone type of thing.

These people are TERRIFIED of change, and Ford is making the most wholesale structural and product changes any auto company has made in decades. What is truly telling is that the major European auto makers are following Ford's lead on this.

[Lowell]

From today's Free Press here is what Ford's partner VW is aiming for and what, presumably Ford is too...

Volkswagen is betting that the ID.3, with a roomy interior, brisk acceleration and battery range of up to 340 miles for the top model, will change things. It argues that the base price under 30,000 euros [[$33,000) makes the ID.3 “an electric car for everyone.” https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com/?pub...6ac775_13410e2

Those kind of specs put me in the EV market.

[softailrider]

My underlining^. Something to remember about Ford is that the family still has enough shares to maintain company control. That allows Ford to make long plays without having to bow to share holder pressure.

The Corktown campus play is such an example as was their ability to avoid bankruptcy in 2009. And if one is looking for income while this plays out, Ford is currently paying a 6%+ dividend vs. 10 year treasury notes that only pay around 1.5%.

There are other real good dividend paying stocks out there that are on their way up, AT&T would be a good choice IMO. It’s dividend isn’t 6 but it’s close.

[rb336]

Better pic of the Id.3:
https://cdn2.autoexpress.co.uk/sites...w_id3_r_02.jpg

From today's Free Press here is what Ford's partner VW is aiming for and what, presumably Ford is too...

Volkswagen is betting that the ID.3, with a roomy interior, brisk acceleration and battery range of up to 340 miles for the top model, will change things. It argues that the base price under 30,000 euros [[$33,000) makes the ID.3 “an electric car for everyone.” https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com/?pub...6ac775_13410e2


Those kind of specs put me in the EV market.

[313WX]

This damning story today in the Free Press about Ford's manufacturing problems would certainly give credence to Moody's downgrade.

You would swear the whole operation was a train wreck reading the accounts in the article.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...ry/2292795001/

[313WX]

Between them and Machete Mary across town, FCA is looking like a well-oiled machine in comparison these days.

And even that's sad and concerning, because their fleet dumping, limited cash flow, woefully outdated platforms/architectures and lack of product diversity will all eventually catch up to them as well.

[rb336]

Hardly - the new vehicles are based on an entirely new architecture. The Toyota Supra was delayed almost a year because of the same sorts of issues - and that was on a revised architecture.

This damning story today in the Free Press about Ford's manufacturing problems would certainly give credence to Moody's downgrade.

You would swear the whole operation was a train wreck reading the accounts in the article.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...ry/2292795001/

[313WX]

Hardly - the new vehicles are based on an entirely new architecture. The Toyota Supra was delayed almost a year because of the same sorts of issues - and that was on a revised architecture.

Toyota obviously did a much better job of managing those issues, because you didn't hear about it in the media.

[Richard]

This damning story today in the Free Press about Ford's manufacturing problems would certainly give credence to Moody's downgrade.

You would swear the whole operation was a train wreck reading the accounts in the article.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...ry/2292795001/

I would not call it a damning story,it is Fix Or Repair Daily we are referring to,so no surprise there.

[softailrider]

Nothing against domestic vehicle but when you purchase first year redesigns you’re asking for problems. A left over 2019 Explorer would be a great choice IMO.

[Richard]

Nothing against domestic vehicle but when you purchase first year redesigns you’re asking for problems. A left over 2019 Explorer would be a great choice IMO.

Remember when it was that you did not want a car that was assembled on a Friday or Monday?

But yea,Ford cannot hold that exclusively,look at the Brit cars that never got the electrical gremlins out no matter how many years they built cars.

[313WX]

I would not call it a damning story,it is Fix Or Repair Daily we are referring to,so no surprise there.

As a proud owner of 2 Ford vehicles, I resent that.

I, for one, am fervently loyal to our train wreck of a hometown company.

[Richard]

^ they are not car companies anymore,they just make widgets to sell,nothing really new and exciting,just things to sell in order to make profit,kinda like a shoe or underwear factory.

[Zacha341]

The Ford Contour for lived up to that moniker! Ick!!

I would not call it a damning story,it is Fix Or Repair Daily we are referring to,so no surprise there.

[davewindsor]

As a proud owner of 2 Ford vehicles, I resent that.

I, for one, am fervently loyal to our train wreck of a hometown company.

X2.

Own a Mustang and a F150. Very solidly built. Owned the Mustang for over a decade and the only things I've had to replace on it were worn brake pads & rotors, aftermarket tires, blinker lights, a worn out clutch after 100K km and the occasional dented body panels.

[313WX]

X2.

Own a Mustang and a F150. Very solidly built. Owned the Mustang for over a decade and the only things I've had to replace on it were worn brake pads & rotors, aftermarket tires, blinker lights, a worn out clutch after 100K km and the occasional dented body panels.

Those are the 2 vehicles I own as well.

I suppose it would make sense for their flagship vehicles to have the least amount of problems.