Ford Shares Profits, Bonus Checks Are Back

Big Three bonus checks were a part of life in Detroit in the 1960s and through the early years of the 1970s. 

Those checks were as much a part of the fabric of the Motor City as were the sounds of Motown on CKLW, underground rock on WABX or reading the latest notes of rebellion in the Fifth Estate.

CKLW and WABX are gone forever. Motown moved. But, the checks are going out again. 

Nearly 46,000 people who work for Ford Motor Co. will be getting profit sharing payments on March 14, 2013, thanks to Ford's 2012 pre-tax profits of $8.3 billion.

The average check will be $8,300 because of the UAW-Ford collective bargaining agreement.

However, full year pre-tax profit of $8 billion, or $1.41 per share, and net income of $5.7 billion, or $1.42 per share, were each lower than a year ago.

Still, Ford had its highest fourth quarter pre-tax profit in more than a decade — when trucks and SUVs were a more significant portion of the U.S. product mix — at $1.7 billion, or $0.31 per share, an increase of $577 million from fourth quarter 2011. Ford has now posted a pre-tax operating profit for 14 consecutive quarters

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2013 Ford Fusion Hyrid

The Manufacturing Renaissance continues as does the reinvention of what we drive and how we drive.

An all-time record of 3,244 Fusion Hybrids were sold in December, compared to the previous mark of 3,010 in August 2010. The car is expected to achieve record January sales when results are announced Feb. 4. Nearly 70 percent of new Fusion Hybrid owners are new to the Ford brand, while Toyota’s conquest rate for its Camry Hybrid is only 53 percent.

“We’re bringing new hybrid buyers into the market, many of whom wouldn’t be considered traditional hybrid buyers,” said Amy Marentic, marketing manager, Global Small and Medium Cars. “There’s a sense hybrid buyers represent a pragmatic or green ethic. Fusion Hybrid is scoring with these audiences, but the car also puts some excitement into the segment through design; it shows hybrids can have beautiful and sophisticated styling. This, in turn, means different buyers.”

Not only are most buyers new to the Ford brand, early data suggest Fusion Hybrid is appealing to younger buyers outside the traditional hybrid vehicle demographic.

Ford reports new Fusion Hybrid buyers are five years younger than buyers of the previous Fusion Hybrid, dropping to 48 years old from an average of 53 years old. 2012 model year Toyota Camry Hybrid buyers have an average age of 54, according to J.D. Power and Associates PIN data. Moreover, 22 percent of Fusion buyers are under the age of 35; only 13 percent of Camry Hybrid buyers are that young.

Not surprisingly, Fusion Hybrid’s best-selling markets are San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., but Ford reports stronger sales in the more traditional buying areas of the Central, Southeast and Great Lakes regions – areas not known for strong hybrid sales. In these areas, retail sales more than tripled in December compared to the previous year.

Fusion Hybrid continues to have the fastest turnover rate (the number of days cars sit on dealer lots waiting to be sold) of any vehicle in the Ford lineup. Fusion Hybrid turns over in just 10 days on average.


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Restore The Roar: Manufacturing Renaissance

The Great Collapse

Manufacturing is Michigan. Michigan is manufacturing. The collapse of its manufacturing sector crippled Michigan for two decades. Finally, the roar is being restored in manufacturing and the state of Michigan. Yet there is much work to be done and there are some serious questions that have to be answered for the future.

The first five books in this ebook series are available at Vook.com and Amazon.