I don't know what to make of this but Ford made a profit in the second
quarter of this year.  They earned $0.31 per share when the analysts
expected them to lose $0.35 per share.  Also, Ford improved market share
by 0.5% from the first quarter to the second.  Maybe they can turn
things around.  Here's the article:

AP
Ford Posts $750M 2Q Profit
Thursday July 26, 9:32 am ET
By Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer
Ford Surprises Wall Street With $750M Second-Quarter Earning, First
Profit in 2 Years

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. surprised Wall Street Thursday
with second-quarter earnings of $750 million, its first profitable
quarter in two years.

The company also confirmed it is exploring the sale of its Jaguar and
Land Rover subsidiaries and said its U.S. market share rose during the
quarter.

The profit of 31 cents per share compares with a net loss of $317
million, or 17 cents per share, in the same quarter of last year.

The company attributed the gains to significant year-over-year
improvement in all of its automotive operations, and to cost reductions
-- including job cuts -- due to restructuring and positive special items
that totaled $443 million. That includes a $206 million gain related to
sale of its Aston Martin unit. Even its struggling North American
division showed progress.

Ford has shed 27,000 hourly and about 10,000 salaried jobs since
September 2006 through early retirement and buyout offers as it tries to
shrink itself to match lower demand for its cars and trucks.

The positive earnings, though, surprised 15 analysts polled by Thomson
Financial who expected the company to lose 35 cents per share excluding
special items.

Ford shares gained 14 cents, or about 1.8 percent, to $8.11 in early
trading Thursday after the earnings news.

Ford said it is exploring the potential sale of Jaguar and Land Rover
based on discussions with parties that have expressed interest in the
British units. And the company said it is conducting a strategic review
of Volvo "that likely will conclude prior to year end."

Despite the quarterly earnings, the company said it still doesn't expect
to post an annual profit until 2009, although it is burning cash at a
slower rate than the $17 billion through 2009 that the company had
predicted.

Even without the positive special items, the company still made money in
the quarter, posting a profit of $258 million, or 13 cents per share.
That compares with a loss of $118 million, or 6 cents per share, in the
year-ago quarter.

"Our team is very encouraged by the significant progress we are making.
We recognize the challenges that lie ahead and remain fully committed to
delivering our plan," Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said in a
statement.

Dearborn-based Ford reported revenue of $44.2 billion for the quarter, a
5.5 percent gain over the $41.6 billion reported in the year-ago period.

Ford said its automotive sector made $378 million for the quarter,
compared with a pretax loss of $716 million during the second quarter of
last year.

Although its core North American operations showed improvement, they
still posted a pretax loss of $279 million. That compares with a pretax
loss of $789 million a year ago.

The company reported cost reductions of $600 million for the quarter, or
$1.1 billion for the full year, primarily due to health-care cost
concessions negotiated with the United Auto Workers, the reduced work
force and lower warranty repair costs.

It also reported that its U.S. market share rose to 15.6 percent for the
quarter from 15.1 percent in the first quarter. The share had been
dropping. It was 16.7 percent in the second quarter of 2006.

Ford's Premier Automotive Group, which includes Jaguar, Land Rover and
Volvo, reported a pretax profit of $140 million for the quarter, an
improvement over the pretax loss of $162 million for the same period in
2006. The company said all brands improved. The profit comes at a time
when all three are under consideration for sale as Ford tries to raise
cash needed to fund its restructuring plan.

Argus Research Corp. senior automotive analyst Kevin Tynan said analysts
were off in their earlier assessments because they were looking at a
wide band of estimates for Ford, but added that the automaker still
hasn't turned the corner to profitability.

"The $279 million loss in North America is still a problem," Tynan said.

Operating profit from Premier Automotive Group is a good sign "but
essentially all of those brands are on the block and up for sale," Tynan
said. "Going forward, you will be eliminating that profit."

Other signs of lingering trouble is the drop in Ford Motor Credit's
profit from last year's second quarter and the already massive
restructuring of Ford in North America, he added.

"Ford has driven a lot of the costs out of the system already and it's
still not profitable," Tynan said. "It really does get more difficult
from here. The easy costs are already out. Now, if you need more
cost-reduction, especially in North America, where do you get them?"

The automaker's Asia Pacific and Africa unit made a pretax profit of $26
million, and Ford made $255 million pretax in South America. In Europe,
Ford made $262 million, and its financial services arm turned a pretax
profit of $105 million, down from $425 million in the same quarter last
year.

Associated Press Writer Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this
report.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070726/earns_ford.html?.v=10