Car blogs

While General Motors and Chrysler plead to Congress for a bailout, William C. Ford Jr. (right), the executive chairman and scion of the founding family of the Ford Motor Co., has reached out to President-elect Barack Obama in hopes that his company can benefit from the administration's longer-term strategies for the auto industry.


Ford has been working behind the scenes, meeting one-on-one with Obama in August, conferring with his senior economic advisers, and teaming up with Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan to push a vision of a leaner, greener auto industry, The New York Times reported today.


With Detroit on the brink of disaster, the great-grandson of Henry Ford could play a critical role in how the Obama administration decides to assist the companies financially and shape broader energy policies.


"One of the things that I feel very encouraged about is the president-elect and where he'd like to take this country in terms of energy, and I completely buy into his vision," Ford said in an interview with the Times.


He can afford to take a longer view because Ford, unlike GM and Chrysler, does not need an immediate infusion of government aid to stay in business.


While Ford's chief executive, Alan R. Mulally, joined his counterparts from GM and Chrysler in testifying before Congress last week, Ford is not asking for an immediate bailout from Washington for now.


The company has enough cash on hand--$18.9 billion, as well as a $10.7 billion line of credit with private lenders, the Times reported--that will keep it running through 2009 without cutting development of its next generation of more fuel-efficient cars.
Continue reading...

Tags: Batteries, Chrysler, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Bailout, Batteries, Battery, Chrysler, Ford, Fuel Economy, Fuel Efficient, General Motor, GM, Hybrid

---

Bill Ford Looks Beyond Bailout to Fuel-Efficient Cars to Secure Automaker's Future was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.