FORD'S POST-BOYCOTT SALES ARE STILL SINKING BUT . . .

"Truth with Speedzzter" is now the 1,072,771th rated blog in the World, according to Technorati.

It wasn't that long ago that "Truth With Speedzzter" was merely the "the incredibly popular 3,022,190th most popular blog in the world."

[And Speedzzter is quick to note that almost none of the "brilliant Gearhead TV" ideas mentioned in the "3,022,190th most popular blog" post have yet to reach American television viewers. Apparently, not enough TV producers are reading "Truth With Speedzzter"]

Speedzzter's careful, analytical readers will, however, note that much of what "pumps up" "Truth With Speedzzter" in the Technorati rankings are apparently robo-blog links used by others simply to improve search engine rank.

In other words, "Truth With Speedzzter" in reality is still probably one of the World's most obscure and underappreciated blogs, notwithstanding Technorati's higher ranking.

As to Ford's disappointing March 2008 sales (off fourteen percent for the month and nine percent for the first quarter): The continuing slumping U.S. economy/fuel price-driven declines in light trucks and SUVs were more than enough to offset FoMoCo's small car/CUV sales. Or, as the Clintonistas used to say, "It's the economy, Stupid."

Ford clearly needs the upcoming redesign of the F-150 and the rumored turbo diesel pronto to stop this slide. (Of course, with diesel selling at about a $0.50/gallon premium to unleaded, the success of the "diesel fix" isn't clear) And a redesigned Ranger clearly seems in order.

Apparently, merely the lifting of the American Family Association-led boycott of FoMoCo wasn't enough to spark a huge sales rally.

[According to the AFA,

During the 24 months the boycott was in effect, Ford sales dropped an average of 8% per month. The boycott was not entirely responsible for the drop in sales, but it played a very significant role.

A total of 780,365 individuals signed AFA's Boycott Ford petition.

]


Of course the devout "Fishers-of-men" at the AFA now have bigger, stronger "Filet-O-Fish" to fry. And the AFA's "Straight Eye" is apparently focusing now away from the Glass House in Dearborn and towards Detroit's Renaissance Center:

"General Motors Supports The Gay Agenda"


"General Motors has made a decision to help promote the homosexual agenda. The automaker supports the gay agenda with advertising in homosexual publications and on the gay TV cable channel LOGO."

"GM's Cadillac regularly places full-page ads in The Advocate, a magazine dedicated to pushing the homosexual agenda. The LOGO TV network carries programs promoting the lifestyle."

"Jon Brancheau, director of media operations for Saturn (a subsidiary of General Motors), left no doubt about General Motors' support for the homosexual lifestyle. In a letter to someone who complained about GM's sponsorship of an episode of the LOGO program "Adam and Steve," Mr. Brancheau wrote."


"'Given that this film aired on the LOGO network, which is widely know(n) to offer content oriented for a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender audience, we feel comfortable with our decision to advertise during LOGO's broadcast of the film.'"

"Mr. Brancheau's comments make it very clear that GM knew the content and nature of the programs on LOGO, and they have no reservations about sponsoring the "Steve and Adam" program and supporting the homosexual network."

Hey, NASCAR may be "dead," the Country falling into the grip of Jeremiah Wright's disciples, George Soros, and radical, pro-homosexual rights liberals, and Ford's sales shrinking faster than the proverbial snowball in Hades, but at least Truth with Speedzzter" is now the 1,072,771th rated blog in the World!

CPA ESTIMATES THAT FORD MOTOR COMPANY COULD RUN OUT OF CASH IN 2009!

Taking a break from promoting Mike Huckabee for president (and sounding the warning about the Gucci Chamelion, Bishop "Slick" Willard Mitt Romney), Pajamas media has posted an alarming article about Ford Motor Company's continuing losses. [In non-election years, this IS normally a pro-Ford blog, after all]

Certified Public Accountant Tom Blumer suggests that Ford's ill-advised showdown with the American Family Association and 30 other conservative groups over FoMoCo's active promotion of the homosexual rights agenda is placing the company at grave financial risk.

"For those who doubt the AFA boycott’s relevance, consider this — Assuming there are 17 million boycott participants [extrapolated from the number of known AFA supporters times a factor of five, assuming that each AFA "true believer" influences five others not to buy Ford products (a reasonable assumption based on Speedzzter's observations)], and that only 1/2 of 1% of them (85,000) had bought a Ford vehicle during the fourth quarter, the margin earned on those additional sales (assuming a product mix and incremental profit margins before fixed costs consistent with those identified at this July 2007 Forbes article on the auto industry) would have turned that $620 million fourth-quarter loss from continuing operations into a $63 million gain . . . ."


"That’s an awfully high price to pay for political correctness."

"Now consider this: Last September, Ford had $27.4 billion in cash. The Truth About Cars blog, bringing back a nearly forgotten term from the late-1990s bubble, estimates that the company’s cash “burn rate” is $12-$14 billion per year. At that rate (excluding possible sales of assets, etc.), the company, which has already utterly mortgaged itself, could run out of money by the end of 2009."

A group of Ford's dealers (who are closer to the customers than the Glass House Gang) tried to avert this disaster a couple of years ago by working a deal for FoMoCo to stay neutral in the culture war. But Bill Ford decided instead to gamble with the investments and the lives of the millions who depend on Ford.

History may yet prove this as Bill Ford's biggest mistake of all.

At least FoMoCo hasn't abandoned motorsports. At the Rolex 24, Ford-powered Daytona prototypes made a strong showing, grabbing the front row and leading much of the event (until non-powerplant issues deprived Ford of the win). FoMoCo has also taken some of Speedzzter's advice and begun aggressive advertising of the "Aluminator" crate engine.

And on the 2008 NASCAR Media Tour, Edsel B. Ford II (the Ford heir that should have gotten tapped to run FoMoCo) appeared and gave strong support for Ford's motorsports efforts.
"There's been a lot of talk in the Ford Motor Company in the media in the past year, much of it negative," Ford said. "People have wanted to write us off, to say we couldn't compete in the marketplace or on the race track.

"I'm here to tell you one thing today: don't underestimate our resolve."

It would be tragic if FoMoCo's "resolve" to offend social conservatives and champion political correctness outstrips its "resolve" to win motor races, sell more vehicles (i.e. "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday"), provide good jobs for thousands, and reasonable shareholder returns.

But if Tom Blumer, C.P.A., is right, Ford is needlessly racing to the poorhouse.

FORD'S RETAIL DOWN 15% IN SEPTEMBER

While the Ford spinmeisters put their best face on it, Ford Motor Company's (F) September 2007 sales results were simply dismal. They put the "F" in F, so to speak.

Ford's PR Department blamed the housing credit crunch and a 62 percent cut in daily rental sales for a 21 percent overall sales decline.

They also trumpeted the minor strength of the crossover utility vehicle niche. In September, Ford Edge sold 11,632 units and Lincoln MKX climbed to 3,805, which were both nameplate records. Ford Escape sales were up 10 percent to 11,632. Mercury Mariner sales climbed 4 percent to a minuscule 2,699 units.

F Series Super Duty sales are such a disappointment (notwithstanding the minor restyling and the new twin-turbo PowerStroke engine) that the Automotive News is reporting Ford will shut down production for a couple of weeks beginning October 8. Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers and critical PowerStroke engine supplier International continue to haggle over a new contract (meaning a strike isn't out of the question). Obviously, if the UAW and International disrupt production for any length of time in the future, Super Duty supplies could be adversely affected.

The real trouble in September's numbers is further down the sales chart.

1. The "new" Taurus is an unqualified flop. With only 3,562 units moved in September, as compared to 6,054 underpowered Five Hundred sales in September 2006, it is clear that the market simply is not responding to the name change, new three-bar grille, the mid-pack 3.5 V6, and the "safest car" ad campaign.

2. The restyled Focus also is capturing fewer buyers, with sales off a massive 30 percent for September (9,885 units compared to 14,160 a year ago) and a blistering 5.5 percent decline for the year. Obviously, FoMoCo's failure to keep the Focus fresh and competitive continues to pay out in sales reductions and market share loss. Ford simply must achieve more diversity in its small car lineup and must meet or exceed the de facto industry standard four-year redesign cycle established by the Japanese.

3. The real heartbreaker is the Mustang. Down 28.4 percent for the month (10,266 units, compared to 14,341 last September) and a startling 17.6 percent for the year (109,803 compared to 133,269 in 2006), FoMoCo is simply not supplying the pony cars America wants at a price it can afford.

The problems are legion. Not enough styling updates . . . No small engine "tuner" model . . . too much dealer gouging on the Shelby GT500 . . . no high M.P.G. "green" model . . . not enough "bang for the buck" for the Mustang GT or the grossly overpriced Shelby GT.

The Mustang platform is simply too good to let it languish without a more diverse and targeted model lineup. Moreover, FoMoCo obviously needs to serve BOTH the retro and modern-style niches with the Mustang platform. Keeping the car purely retro and mostly unchanged for years at a time is hurting sales and unnecessarily graying the customer base.

Of course, the dismal results have prompted the American Family Association to assert partial credit:

"Ford Motor Company sales dropped 21% in September compared to that month's sales a year ago. Ford sales have dropped in 17 of the 19 months since AFA began a boycott of the company. AFA began boycotting Ford in March 2006 when the company reneged on a pledge to stop supporting homosexual organizations and same-sex marriage."

While it is impossible to determine whether or not the AFA boycott has reduced FoMoCo sales a percent or two, it certainly has not helped.

The real problems are product and perception.

Although industry juggernaut Toyota was off a few percent for September, many of the other Japanese brands continued to climb on the strength of redesigned products. And even General Motors(GM)--hampered by a two-day strike and a similar truck/SUV heavy sales mix-- managed to eke out a tiny sales gain on the surprising demand for their new truck line (if not GM's continued "Sell on Monday" dominance in NASCAR).

Well-targeted and marketed NEW cars sell. Stale, overpriced products (Mustang) and tepid reheats (Focus and the "new" Taurus) flounder. Hopefully Alan Mulally's Glass House Gang is finally getting this message.