DISCLAIMER! I'm a Ford shareholder.
I just downloaded the shareholder's report for Ford Motor Company. I bought the stock at $6 a share on the theory that the stock can't just become worthless. I figured that maybe, eventually, management would turn things around -- either because they wised up on their own, or because an activist shareholder came in and demanded sweeping changes. I began to panic when I heard they were selling Land Rover. But now it looks like they're making sweeping changes. Sweeping, progressive changes.
More below the fold.
I admit that I didn't believe it when I heard what they were doing, and I had to read the shareholder's report twice before I did.
Here's what's going down:
• Ford is putting $10m into Tesla Motors, in the hopes of incorporating their electric sports car technology into their Jaguar and Ford Thunderbird products.
• They're also putting significant research effort into building trucks that use the Tesla technology for towing power. Of course, the batteries are an issue.
• Starting with the next model year, all truck and SUV lines have the option of running on diesel or biodiesel. That includes hybrids. In 2010 this will be standard on ALL Ford models.
• They're partnering with Honda to put CVT and hybrid motor technology into their Volvo line. I like this move a LOT. Nothing pulls the yuppie and hipster dollars like Volvo, and throwing hybrid on that means they'll eat Toyota for dinner.
• The biggest thing hurting Ford right now is health care costs for current and retired employees. In response, Ford is forming a joint partnership with the UAW and the Teamsters to lobby for single payer health care. If implemented, they estimate that it would save Ford Motor Company $25 billion a year -- enough to make them very, very profitable.
Of course, this is all preliminary, forward-looking statements, and all kinds of things can go wrong. But could you imagine? Could you just imagine?
Again, the shareholder's report is here. Read it for yourselves. Save it as an historical document. This is a great day for progressives in America!