Cougarpower Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Could trucks be making a comeback because its interesting that Ford its keeping the two truck plants working at full speed DETROIT – Chrysler announced Wednesday it is closing all its North American manufacturing plants for at least a month, the starkest move taken by U.S. automakers as they anxiously await word about government loans. All three companies have been taking dramatic steps as they struggle to survive the recession and U.S. sales have dipped to their slowest rate in 26 years. Chrysler and General Motors fear they might not have enough money to pay their bills in a matter of weeks. Attempting to cut costs, GM was halting construction of a plant tied to one of its most important projects, the Volt. Ford also said it will shut down 10 plants for an extra week in January because of sluggish sales. Chrysler said it would extend the normal two-week holiday shutdown that begins Friday to at least Jan. 19 at all 30 of its factories due to slumping sales. The lack of consumer credit is hampering sales and forcing the production cuts, Chrysler LLC said in a statement. Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers say they have willing buyers for vehicles, but they can't close the deals, Chrysler said. "The dealers have stated that they have lost an estimated 20 to 25 percent of their volume because of this credit situation," the statement said. The Bush administration is mulling ways to help the automakers after Congress failed to reach a deal on $14 billion in loans for GM and Chrysler. Ford has applied for a $9 billion line of credit but says it has enough cash to make it through 2009. Funding for the loans is expected to come from the $700 billion Wall Street rescue fund, but many Republicans have objected. "It's clear that the automakers are in a very fragile financial condition and they're taking steps to deal with it," White house press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement. "We're aware of their financial situation and are considering possible policy options to provide assistance in an appropriate way." House Democrats have encouraged Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to adopt accountability provisions included in a House-passed auto bailout bill — the product of a deal with the White House — as a condition to get the loans. The measure would have given a Bush-appointed "car czar" oversight over any major business decisions by the automakers. The Bush administration has signaled that concessions would likely be required of stakeholders in the deal — auto companies, the United Auto Workers union, bondholders and others. Chrysler spokesman Dave Elshoff said four plants will be temporarily closed beyond Jan. 19: two plants in Toledo, Ohio, and one each in Ontario and Detroit. Toledo North, which makes the Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty, and Toledo Supplier Park, which makes the Jeep Wrangler, will be closed until Jan. 26. The Windsor, Ontario, plant, which makes minivans, and Detroit's Conner Avenue plant, which makes the Dodge Viper roadster, will be closed until Feb. 2, Elshoff said. Chrysler sales were off 47 percent last month and are down 28 percent through the first 11 months of the year. At Ford, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday it will shut down 10 of its North American assembly plants for an extra week in January, also due to lower U.S. sales. Spokeswoman Angie Kozleski says the normal two-week holiday shutdown will be extended to Jan. 12 at all operating assembly plants except those in Claycomo, Mo., near Kansas City, and the Dearborn, Mich., truck plant. Ford will also extend the shutdown at some engine, transmission and parts stamping plants, or temporarily shut portions of them to match cuts at the assembly plants, she said. continue at the link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davdog Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Could trucks be making a comeback because its interesting that Ford its keeping the two truck plants working at full speed continue at the link guess it's over call it a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Makes some minor sense if Chrysler is going away or will be merged with GM there will be people in the market that currently have Dodge's that will move to Ford. Chrysler Co. will not be around in a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critic Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Makes some minor sense if Chrysler is going away or will be merged with GM there will be people in the market that currently have Dodge's that will move to Ford. Chrysler Co. will not be around in a year. It's looking dire, no doubt about that.. just glanced at an article that says GM and Chrysler are back talking about a merger. What good that will do, I don't know, possibility of who is going to get what name rights. Definitely '09 is going to see major shakeups in the market. We could now speculate what happens after the very small short term loans are handed out. Yea.. '09, a date that will live in Infamy. As Richard said: Did people think those companies were joking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patate Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I think you are overreacting. GM is doing pretty much the same ,so is Honda, and Ford/Toyota will follow. Have you seen their inventory numbers? It's normal to stop the production to reduce inventory. That's what you do when you don't have part-times to adjust the output of the plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Makes sense when cash is tight, go dormant and avoid as many payments as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Could trucks be making a comeback because its interesting that Ford its keeping the two truck plants working at full speed I think the reason the F-150 plants are still going strong is that they got wiped out and need to build stock back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I think you are overreacting. GM is doing pretty much the same ,so is Honda, and Ford/Toyota will follow. Have you seen their inventory numbers? It's normal to stop the production to reduce inventory. That's what you do when you don't have part-times to adjust the output of the plants. This isn't a matter of slowing output or reducing inventory of a few models. It's EVERY assembly plant. That's not an inventory issue. That's a cash flow issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surgen Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 This isn't a matter of slowing output or reducing inventory of a few models. It's EVERY assembly plant. That's not an inventory issue. That's a cash flow issue. Keeping the plants running is "best" for cash flow -- assuming the dealers can get financing to floorplan the vehicles. Closing the plants is a HUGE cashflow hit to GM and Chrysler. The only reason they would close the plants is because 1) they have a dealer inventory issue that they need to clean up or 2) they're concerned that dealers won't be able to pay for what they build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSMJ Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 (edited) Keeping the plants running is "best" for cash flow -- assuming the dealers can get financing to floorplan the vehicles. Closing the plants is a HUGE cashflow hit to GM and Chrysler. The only reason they would close the plants is because 1) they have a dealer inventory issue that they need to clean up or 2) they're concerned that dealers won't be able to pay for what they build. WRONG.. go look at Chryslers lot and tell me which car is better then fords models........ There lineup does not compete well with ford or GM/Toyota ect..... F150 or Ram?................. f150 wins Mustang or Charger??.......please we know the answer Evan or dodge van............Ford wins Cherokee or Explorer........Ford wins Durango or Expedition ......ford Escape or Liberty...............ford Caravan is the only good thing they have over ford, or GM for that matter. Edited December 18, 2008 by CSMJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Keeping the plants running is "best" for cash flow -- assuming the dealers can get financing to floorplan the vehicles. Closing the plants is a HUGE cashflow hit to GM and Chrysler. The only reason they would close the plants is because 1) they have a dealer inventory issue that they need to clean up or 2) they're concerned that dealers won't be able to pay for what they build. or 3) the initial hit to cash flow is not as bad as adding another month's worth of production to already outrageous supply levels. Either way, if they had more money, it's very unlikely they would be resorting to this tactic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F150 Man Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Keeping the plants running is "best" for cash flow -- assuming the dealers can get financing to floorplan the vehicles. Closing the plants is a HUGE cashflow hit to GM and Chrysler. The only reason they would close the plants is because 1) they have a dealer inventory issue that they need to clean up or 2) they're concerned that dealers won't be able to pay for what they build. I would suggest you read some old automotive history, specifically, Chrysler circa 1975. Back then, Chrysler was run by two finance types: Lynn Townsend & John Ricardo. Like today with falling sales GM and Ford both cut production schedules, except for Chrysler. They naively held to the belief that their unsold vehicles where asset items, which is true and where they are carried on the balance sheet. However, they seemed to forget the related niggling liabilities - namely "accounts payable" and "overhead expenses". While parts are parts, suppliers generally like to be paid for deliveries in 90 days. After every parking lot was filled with unsold vehicles; the company eventually ran out of cash. If fact they had to lay off virtually all employees from the Thanksgiving break 1974 until April 1, 1975 because they could not meet the payroll (another minor liability). I didn't read this history, I experienced it first hand and while the numbers are bigger today; it sure feels like 1974 all over again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I think you are overreacting. GM is doing pretty much the same It's normal to stop the production to reduce inventory. In the past, GM did not cut production, which resulted in their aggressive price cutting on virtually their entire model lineup. IMO, they are mimicing what Ford has been doing since Mullaly forced the issue, which is to match output to market demand. The other thing preventing GM from continuing to run their plants flat out, aside from the obvious liquidity issues, is their loss of control of GMAC. They can't simply go out with crazy finance schemes for the consumer, since they don't have GMAC to back the play, this limiting their sales even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cocheese Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 WRONG.. go look at Chryslers lot and tell me which car is better then fords models........ There lineup does not compete well with ford or GM/Toyota ect..... F150 or Ram?................. f150 wins Mustang or Charger??.......please we know the answer Having owned both, and having throughly whopped two Stangs with my Charger, I'll respectfully disagree with you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Having owned both, and having throughly whopped two Stangs with my Charger, I'll respectfully disagree with you Which model of Mustang were they? And which model of Charger? Zooming past a V6 Mustang in a Charger SRT-8 would be expected... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickstart346 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 (edited) WRONG.. go look at Chryslers lot and tell me which car is better then fords models........ There lineup does not compete well with ford or GM/Toyota ect..... F150 or Ram?................. f150 wins Mustang or Charger??.......please we know the answer Evan or dodge van............Ford wins Cherokee or Explorer........Ford wins Durango or Expedition ......ford Escape or Liberty...............ford Caravan is the only good thing they have over ford, or GM for that matter. Wow I,ll tell about my Ford pickups 1 was spitting sprark plugs in shop 3 times lemon lawed it.Well bought another Ford Always parked in garage.Went on vacation and my HOUSE burnt down Ford truck recall cruise control. I have also owed my lincoln town car bad intake replaced by me before recall. All in all i,m still waiting on ford to repley I have now gone withA 2005 bought new, Dodge Ram and have had 0 problems Hemi power 75000 miles .For my Town cat I have a Also up graded to 2008 bought new Dodge Charger R.T with a Hemi 5.7 . Bring on the mustang have not lost to 1 yet .And yes they were GT,s I was also Ford mechanic for 10 years in Florida Don reid Ford and also SunState Ford.So i was very much Ford man I Used to bleed Blue now I seen the light and bleed MOPAR or no Car. FORD backwards spells DRIVER RETURNS ON FOOT Ford should stick to football.That,s what they know BEST Edited December 30, 2008 by kickstart346 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Wow I,ll tell about my Ford pickups 1 was spitting sprark plugs in shop 3 times lemon lawed it.Well bought another Ford Always parked in garage.Went on vacation and my HOUSE burnt down Ford truck recall cruise control. I have also owed my lincoln town car bad intake replaced by me before recall. All in all i,m still waiting on ford to repley I have now gone withA 2005 bought new, Dodge Ram and have had 0 problems Hemi power 75000 miles .For my Town cat I have a Also up graded to 2008 bought new Dodge Charger R.T with a Hemi 5.7 . Bring on the mustang have not lost to 1 yet .And yes they were GT,sI was also Ford mechanic for 10 years in Florida Don reid Ford and also SunState Ford.So i was very much Ford man I Used to bleed Blue now I seen the light and bleed MOPAR or no Car. FORD backwards spells DRIVER RETURNS ON FOOT Ford should stick to football.That,s what they know BEST Stick to being a mechanic. Writing and humor definitely aren't career paths in your future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickstart346 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Stick to being a mechanic. Writing and humor definitely aren't career paths in your future. Sorry i,m only 71 years old . So I,m retired now so that sounds like your attacking me.If you have problem i live in Springhill Fl.I send you my address to you so come on down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 (edited) Sorry i,m only 71 years old . So I,m retired now so that sounds like your attacking me.If you have problem i live in Springhill Fl.I send you my address to you so come on down 71? Sure you don't mean 17? I don't see any other reason why you would be attempting to pick a fight over the Internet. You are either a liar or the unluckiest SOB I've ever known. I'm surprised you didn't have an Explorer that flipped over after a blowout too. I never thought I would say this to a 71-year-old: Grow up. :poke: :lol: Edited December 30, 2008 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Sorry i,m only 71 years old . So I,m retired now so that sounds like your attacking me.If you have problem i live in Springhill Fl.I send you my address to you so come on down my Dad can beat up your Dad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 (edited) Wow I,ll tell about my Ford pickups 1 was spitting sprark plugs in shop 3 times lemon lawed it.Well bought another Ford Always parked in garage.Went on vacation and my HOUSE burnt down Ford truck recall cruise control. I have also owed my lincoln town car bad intake replaced by me before recall. All in all i,m still waiting on ford to repley I have now gone withA 2005 bought new, Dodge Ram and have had 0 problems Hemi power 75000 miles .For my Town cat I have a Also up graded to 2008 bought new Dodge Charger R.T with a Hemi 5.7 . Bring on the mustang have not lost to 1 yet .And yes they were GT,sI was also Ford mechanic for 10 years in Florida Don reid Ford and also SunState Ford.So i was very much Ford man I Used to bleed Blue now I seen the light and bleed MOPAR or no Car. FORD backwards spells DRIVER RETURNS ON FOOT Ford should stick to football.That,s what they know BEST Wow. Every possible problem a Ford could have, and you had them. So now a 71 year old in FLA bought a Hemi Ram and a Charger RT. Yeah, right. Sorry. I call BS. Edited December 31, 2008 by J-150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Seems a bit suspicious to me too.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_spaniard Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Wow. Every possible problem a Ford could have, and you had them.So now a 71 year old in FLA bought a Hemi Ram and a Charger RT. Yeah, right. Sorry. I call BS. Yeah I noticed that too. Bad tires on your Explorer, too? How about those pesky Pinto fires? C'mon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jobu37 Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 (edited) You guys on this forum are so quick to call someone a troll or a liar when they present evidence to suggest that Ford is subpar to most other makes. Why can't you people be more tolerant? I happen to know kickstart346 through a family member. While I don't know how accurate his portrayal of his Town Car and F150 problems is I do know that before he was a mechanic he was a state trooper in FL. And one night while writing a citation for a motorist that was speeding, his cruiser was rear ended by Ram pickup at speeds in excess of 85 mph. The cruiser burst into flames and yes it was a Crown Vic. The driver of the Ram just backed up with no damage other than a little bit of singed paint from the burning Ford. Ole Kickstart wrote him a citation for his excessive speed and commeded him on the Ram Tough nature of his pickup. It was subsequent to that night that he started saying repeatedly MOPAR or NOCAR. Maybe a thousand times a day to the annoyance of anyone within listening distance of him. He resigned from the force fearing that his life was in danger and I met him through a cousin of mine who attends, along with Kickstart, a weekly meeting called Pillowbiters Anonymous. I don't know what that meeting is all about except that my cousin who is now a florist learned his flower arranging skills in that meeting. According to my cousin, ole Kickstart is supposedly the oldest active member. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that ole Kickstart has had much more than just one negative experience with Fords and we should not blame him for his bad luck. We should instead try and comfort him and accept his reasoning for supporting a manufacturer that may very well be out of business by the end of January. Welcome to the Forum Kickstart! Moderators please excuse any innuendo that may have crossed the line. It won't happen again. Edited December 31, 2008 by jobu37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 (edited) And one night while writing a citation for a motorist that was speeding, his cruiser was rear ended by Ram pickup at speeds in excess of 85 mph. The cruiser burst into flames and yes it was a Crown Vic. The driver of the Ram just backed up with no damage other than a little bit of singed paint from the burning Ford. 85 MPH into a stationary object, and no damage? :lol: Edited December 31, 2008 by Pioneer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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