I’d Buy a Ford…
An interesting piece of my family’s history is our relation to Henry Ford. My great-grandmother is Susanna Marie Edington Ford (my sister is her namesake). Her first cousin (the son of her dad’s brother) was Henry, and she could remember times when they played together during the summer when he was about 12 and 13 years old.
But that’s not the reason I’d seriously consider buying a Ford if I was in the market for a new car right now.
The New York Times had a great story the other day about Ford’s forward-looking management team, how they planned ahead for bad fiscal times, and have managed so far to survive — and even to lay the foundation to thrive — even as the bottom fell out of the market for new cars.
Ford’s market share has been holding steady at about 15 percent. But that could move up, particularly if either G.M. or Chrysler is forced into bankruptcy.
A recent national study by the firm AutoPacific found that 72 percent of those surveyed would be more likely to buy a Ford product because the company is not taking government loans.
“This is America, and this is about making products people want and being self-sufficient,” Mr. Mulally said. “Clearly, the reputation of Ford is on the rise in the consumer’s mind.”
You can say that again. Does that kind of attitude about America make you want to do more business with American companies?
