True.  It has been profitable on a worldwide basis.  However, when you
look at the automotive sector alone, they have lost money the last
three years at least.  In 2005 the loss was nearly $4 Billion (before
tax effects).  Lost nearly $2 Billion in 2003.  North American
operations and the Premium Auto Group account for a lot of that.

All depends on what you call trouble.  While FoMoCo as a global
company is doing fair to partly cloudy, the American Cars Division
definitely has Thunder Clouds on its horizon.

How about a couple of Billions with a "B" lost domestically.  One
cannot make up losses in the Billions by volume.

While I don't expect it, but I do highly suspect that something is
going to have to be done about UAW contracts.  If not more then just
the Domestic part of GM is going to go down the tubes.  All US Auto
Manufacturers have been mortgaging their future with the current
rebates & price rollbacks.  

Prior to Christmas I bought my darling wife an `05 Lincoln Aviator for
$15k off MSRP.  I yes I know it is nothing much more then a gussied up
Explorer, but she is a tad of a label whore, and it is a pretty sweet
ride with the heated & A/C seats, Factory THX navigation &
entertainment system.  It also rides fair more superiorly to an
Explorer or Mountaineer.  Now if I can get a vehicle with a $50k+
sticker for a touch over $35k out the door with Tax, Tag, Title & a
pre-paid Scheduled Service contract included.  This deal was without
almost no bargaining effort what so ever.  Was it a buy at below
production cost?  I don't know, but I doubt that there was a $15K
profit margin built into the damn thing.  After just springing $35K
for a vehicle, which my wife as not a car person absolutely loves to
drive, I don't think there are many more new FoMoCo product purchases
in my near future and with the pre-paid scheduled service contract for
the length of the Warranty I won't being spending all that much at the
dealership as well.

If the UAW does in fact walk, I hope the hell that the US
Manufacturers simply lock the gates on the unionized plants and never
ever unlock them for the SOB's again.  It would serve them right.

What would be even worse then any of the Big 3 converting their
retirement programs to 401K's is abandoning them as un/under-funded
liability.  Ford is in much better shape then GM in this area, but if
it happens it might be you & I, Joe Average Taxpayer, that gets stuck
with the un/under-funded retirement liability.

Two words: declining marketshare
Unless they can at least stop losing market share they will be in more
and more trouble.

Yeah I was just going to modify my '97 GT. Well, it's still almost stock.
See, I was driving it, so I couldn't have the downtime or the nagging
problems and fixes that come with modification.

I just don't want to mess with it. By the time the GT has a super charger
and suspension mods and brakes it's going to be over 30 grand anyway.
Throw in the other bits here and there that get upgraded and the
difference between building the mustang GT up and GT500 MSRP is going be
what? 5 grand or so? Maybe less... Don't install the mods yourself and
there's no savings at all. I've got too many other projects
demanding my time than to spend all that effort to risk the reliability
and damaging other parts of a new car in the trial and error of the
process.

Ford should just build the GT500 to demand, I don't care if it's worth
something in 30 years or not. I'll take good care of it like I have my GT
and if it's a collectable car, great. If not, so what, it's not like I
was going to sell it anyway if I've had it that long.

Well ya know what they say about depreciating assets.  If it floats,
flys or F**ks, lease it.