At a time when many American companies are cutting back, Ford Motor Company is investing 550 million dollars retooling one of it’s Michigan based truck factories to manufacture smaller, fuel efficient cars and an electric version of the Focus sedan. The question is whether consumers will make the investment return if financial and political tides return fuel prices to previous lows.
This reporter does not know how Ford (whose Explorer line helped spark the S.U.V. craze) was able to avoid taking government bailout money while GM had to take billions to keep from going under, but this news is made even “greener” considering that the factory Ford is retooling is the same one that produced the gas guzzling Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. While Ford did not take federal aid, it is Michigan State and local government tax incentives and grants that allowed Ford to make the investment. Ford is also retooling two other plants to meet the current global demand for more fuel-efficient cars.
This article appears in May 6-12, 2009.