FOMOCO HOPES TO LEVERAGE S. AMERICA, EUROPE GAINS IN CHINA
(Get the latest "Truth With Speedzzter" here)

Comment: While "Truth With Speedzzter" would rather see FoMoCo investing more in America, (e.g. new large and small RWD platforms, "right-sized" EcoBoost and twincharged DOHC V8s), it’s understandable that the Glass House Gang is looking to Latin America and China for growth.

HERE’S ANOTHER REASON WHY WE ALL MISS FORD’S BRILLIANT GT

FORD MAY REPORT $1 BILLION PROFIT ON HIGHER VOLUMES, PRICES

Comment: Market share back over 17 percent and four positive quarters – could it be that Ford has finally turned the corner? Or is it too early to tell? Before celebrating too much, let’s see how the Fiesta, new in-house PowerStroke, Police Interceptor, and Coyote Mustang launches go.

THE NEW B-CAR KING? U.S.-SPEC FORD FIESTA WOWS AUTOBLOG TESTER

If there's any overarching sensation in the new Fiesta, it's the exceptional
feeling of solidity from behind the wheel – most of the competition feels
like cardboard boxes left to rot in the rain by comparison.

Comment: Too bad Ford doesn’t have a EcoBoost or Twincharged "Fiesta GT" ready for U.S. launch. And Truth With Speedzzter wonders if the Fiesta will be "Kugelized."

MITSUOKA GALUE CONVERTIBLE – HOW TO RUIN A PERFECTLY GOOD MUSTANG

Comment: Although some believe that the Mustang platform would be a great basis for a high-performance RWD "Mark IX" Lincoln, the Mitsuoka Galue conversion ought to be a cautionary tale. While it’s not as awful as a Zimmer, it does stand for the proposition that no Mustang should ever be fitted with a "pimpmobile" stand-up grille.

GM COULD BE IN HOT WATER WITH FTC OVER TRUTH IN ADVERTISING

Comment: Did "Dial Tone" Ed repay the bailout loans with TARP money? The truth may be more complicated than "Ed said" in his Texas twangy thirty-second spot. And it’s likely that Campbell-Ewald won’t be the ad agency to sort this emerging mess out

CARMAKER UNIONS MAY NEED MORE TAXPAYER MONEY

Within five years, they will have to pay $15.7 billion into the carmakers' union pensions to comply with federal funding requirements, ($12.3 billion to GM’s pensions, $3.4 billion to Chrysler’s plans), according to the GAO report.

Comment: Bankruptcy may have "pushed the ball" a little further down the court, but UAW VEBA obligations are still hanging around the necks of the Detroit automakers. Of course this is but a tiny fraction of the trillion-dollar "pension debt bomb" that faces the U.S.

TALLADEGA: NOT SO "PERFECT" FOR FORD

A NASCAR record 88 lead changes among 29 drivers. But when it came down to the checkered flag, no Fords were seriously contending for the win. NASCAR is STILL DEAD.

FORD INCREASES PARTNERSHIP WITH GRAND-AM

Ford is on a roll in Grand-Am, with two of the top three Daytona Prototype finishers at Virginia International Raceway powered by Ford! Hopefully contingency money and more promotional tie-ins will improve things both on and off-track.