Monday, May 22, 2017

US Automakers Are Taking A Beating

I honestly can not fathom how anyone can afford to buy a brand new car in the first place anymore to begin with.
Almost everyone is being paid shit for wages and that money is pretty much spent on rent, utilities and all the other bullshit that sucks money these days, like health insurance.

According to this article all of the Big 3 are fighting for market share and Ford especially seems to be taking a good thumping to the point that they are going to save about 22 million alone next year by shit canning their CEO.

Ford set to fire CEO Mark Fields as shares founder: source


By Laurence Frost and David Shepardson | PARIS/DETROIT


Ford Motor Co is expected to announce the departure of Chief Executive Mark Fields in a broad management shake-up, a company source said - a move that reflects growing investor unease over the company's stock market performance and outlook.

Forbes and the New York Times reported that James Hackett, 62 and chairman of the Ford unit that works on autonomous vehicles, would take the helm. An announcement could come as early as Monday.

Ford shares are down nearly 40 percent since Fields, 56, took over three years ago, at the peak of the U.S. auto industry's recovery. Now, U.S. auto sales are slipping, and Ford's profit margins are trailing those of larger rival General Motors Co.

Ford's board of directors and Chairman Bill Ford Jr. have been unhappy with the company's performance, and sought more reassurance that investments in self-driving cars, electric vehicles and ride services would pay off. Details of further executive moves were not immediately clear. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the company was considering new assignments for some of Fields' top lieutenants.

"We are staying focused on our plan for creating value and profitable growth," a Ford spokesman in Europe said in response to the reports, declining to comment "on speculation or rumors".

The turbulence at Ford comes as all three Detroit automakers are under pressure to prove they can avoid losses as the U.S.auto market, source of the bulk of their profits, is slowing down after last year's record sales.

GM Chief Executive Mary Barra is fending off attacks from hedge fund Greenlight Capital and its leader, David Einhorn, who wants to install three new directors on the automaker's board, and split GM's stock into two classes. FiatChrysler Automobiles NV is fighting accusations by U.S. and California regulators that it used software to cheat on diesel emissions tests, and Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has so far been unsuccessful in his effort to find a merger partner for the company.

What is really hard to believe is that Tesla has somehow managed to blow right past Ford in total value.
On Friday, Silicon Valley electric car maker Tesla Inc was valued at $51 billion, more than Ford's $43 billion. The contrast is a dramatic sign of how little confidence investors have that old-line automakers can transition to a future where software substitutes for pistons and transportation is sold by the mile or the minute.

I'm sorry but there is no fucking way that Tesla comes anywhere near the output of Ford Motor Company so that figure absolutely mystifies me.

I can count on one hand how many Tesla cars I have ever seen on the road and still have enough fingers to pick both sides of my nose with at the same time.
It's not like I live out in the boonies either.
I see all kinds of high end cars around here all the time but no fucking Teslas.

4 comments:

Sixbears said...

I know darn few people who can afford a new car. They buy them anyway, but they can't afford them. Two years ago we bought a new car, the cheapest econobanger manual shift, crank down windows model they make -and it wasn't a domestic car either. Don't feel bad about that as US models could not compete. Besides, the low end "domestic" cars are made in Mexico.

Ford is also in denial about electric cars. Just wait until the cheap electric imports come in.

Tim said...

Sure would like to see some natural gas powered options.

R. Douglas said...

I think the valuation for Tesla includes all the infrastructure investment...the high dollar technowizbang ecofriendly factories must cost a fortune, and add to the value of the company, even if they ROI is pathetically small. I think Ford is missing the boat by veering away from providing reliable, affordable work vehicles and instead focussing on silliness like "military grade Aluminum", cameras, auto parking, and steps in the bumpers.

RGRANT said...

Also about when Ford came out with the "ECOBOOST" tech when the value went down.

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