Ford, the free market company, is making money, unlike Government Motors and Chrysler

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - One of the troubled Detroit Three automakers, Ford, is making money again and looking for better times in no more than two years.

Emerging from a three-year makeover with popular cars and trucks, Ford said Monday it earned nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and will be solidly profitable by 2011, a more optimistic forecast than earlier.

While heavy debt and lean times for American car shoppers threaten the comeback, the report puts Ford in a far better position than General Motors or Chrysler, which are still finding their bearings after emerging from bankruptcy.

Ford's cars are winning popular and critical acclaim, like the Fusion midsize sedan and more gas-efficient Focus compact. And years of painful cost-cutting, which have halved its work force, have looked prophetic since the recession struck, hurting demand.

Even in North America, the company's biggest market, Ford turned a profit after losing money there for four years.

GM and Chrysler, meanwhile, are still trying to cut jobs and win back customers, many of whom are steering toward their healthier rival.

Three years ago, Ford was considered in the worst shape of the Detroit Three after posting what was at the time the worst annual loss in its history. The big quarterly profit is the fruit of changes Ford has been making for several years.

Americans prefer unbailed-out Ford over GM and C

"Forty-six percent (46%) of Americans say they’re more likely to buy a Ford because it did not take a federal bailout. Two-thirds of Americans (66%) have a favorable opinion of Ford. Ratings for GM and Chrysler are much lower."

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

Ford's refusal of bailout may become marketing hit

Ford Motor Co's. rejection of government handouts may turn out to be a shrewd marketing decision.

Already, Michiganders are telling talk radio hosts they will buy Ford next time round, rejecting bailed-out Government Motors and Chrysler. In effect, they say they will cast proxy votes against President Obama instead of waiting until 2012 to oppose him through the ballot box.

Millions of Americans might line up to apply for Ford advertising jobs, where the potential for snappy slogans appears limitless:

Buy Nobama. Restore America. Liberty, not fascism. Why would you think a GM car would actually run? Buy one that takes us to freedom, not fascism. Serve yourself, not the government. Drive yourself to liberty, not to servitude. Sock it to the government. Government-made cars have no brakes. GM and Chrysler: it's all about the hood ornament. If you buy GM or Chrysler, check first to see if anyone will insure it.

This won't ensure the survival of American capitalism and free markets but it'll give us another chance to vote against Obama.