As we watch the US automotive fiasco unfold before our very eyes, the consumer is faced with a new set of very interesting choices. Do I buy from a foreign owned company? Do I buy from a government owned company? Or, do I support a struggling US based company trying to turn the business around without the benefits of a “controlled bankruptcy” and government funds? Respectively the choices are Chrysler, GM and Ford. While President Obama recently defended and supported the many benefits and necessities of the Chrysler and GM aid saying, “General Motors will reemerge from financial turmoil a ‘strong company’ and that permitting it and Chrysler LLC to collapse could have triggered an economic depression,” I am just not there. And even if that was the right decision, what about Ford?
Quite frankly, even though I am technically going to be an owner of the new GM (Government Motors), I feel that as consumers we must strive to find value in the Ford product line-up. At least, we need to be looking to buy Ford first. Why? It is quite simple. How Ford has worked itself through this economic disaster, without any type of bankruptcy or federal money, represents the foundation of our free enterprise, capitalist society. As a result, their road is tougher and riskier. According to Paul Ingrassia in a recent Wall Street Journal article, “while General Motors and Chrysler will emerge from the government restructuring wringer with significantly reduced debt, Ford will still likely be obliged to repay its lenders. This could put Ford at a competitive disadvantage — an unfortunate irony for the one Detroit car company that has gotten the decisions mostly right in the last few years.” For that reason alone, we as consumers, need to take a long look at Ford. If Ford does not offer the products you desire, that is Ford’s problem. But, we need to give Ford a chance. I think they have earned it.