May 22, 2012

Here's how you do it - Ford

From The Bellingham Herald:
Ford to get blue oval back after second upgrade
Ford Motor Co. is getting its blue oval logo back.

Moody's Investors Service raised Ford's debt ratings to investment-grade Tuesday for the first time in seven years. The upgrade means that all of Ford's U.S. assets, including factories, the blue oval and the trademarks for the F-150 pickup and Mustang sports car, are back in the company's hands and will no longer be used to secure the company's debt.

Ford never stopped using its logo or factories, but posted them as collateral in 2006 in order to get a $23.5 billion loan and avoid bankruptcy. Executive Chairman Bill Ford, the great grandson of company founder Henry Ford, said Tuesday that giving up the rights to the oval was "enormously emotional for me personally and for my family."

"This is one of the best days that I can remember," Bill Ford said in a conference call with reporters.
What happened:
Ford lost its investment grade status in 2005 when it was racking up billions in losses as the SUV boom went bust. The company decided that a massive restructuring loan was worth risking its logo. The influx of cash helped Ford to revamp its cars and trucks and - unlike rivals GM and Chrysler Group - avoid bankruptcy protection.

Ford began its turnaround in 2006 when Bill Ford fired himself as CEO and hired Alan Mulally from aviation giant Boeing. The automaker used the billions it borrowed - which Mulally often calls a "giant home improvement loan" - to close plants, shed brands and cut its global workforce by one-third.

Ford has paid back much of that debt. The company had $13.7 billion in debt at the end of the first quarter and expects to lower that to $10 billion by 2015. In March, it resumed paying a dividend, which it hadn't done since September 2006.
That is how you do it -- Ford bit the bullet and fixed themselves. They emerged leaner and stronger. Government General Motors and Chevrolet drank the big-government kool-ade and took the bailout. This does nothing to encourage any real structural changes in their organization and when the govt. largess runs out, they will be back in the same heap-o-crap(tm). I had been a long time Chevy owner (40 years) but when it was time to upgrade my Dakota truck, I went to Ford and am extremely happy. My F-350 is a wonderful truck to drive and has some engineering features that I really love. Trouble-free. I would buy another one in a heartbeat. Posted by DaveH at May 22, 2012 6:13 PM
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