I don’t think that’s a good idea, then again, I’m not a financial analyst.

Sounds interesting though. No one has ever tried it yet, have they? At least not a large manufacturer anyway. I don’t know if it will work or not, but then they at least would not be worried about the shareholders, and could focus on getting back on track. It could also make it easier to fail and disappear all together (think about it…they destroy themselves and there would not have to be any kind of Congrteesional investigation into the bankrupt shareholders, etc.)

Good Luck to them. They need it.

Not sure about the auto industry, but a few years back the Cox family took their broadcasting company private, Cox Communications — one of the country’s largest broadcast groups (TV stations, Cox Cable, newspapers). The family, like the Ford family suggests, was publically tired of regulatory oversight/etc. After a few years of privacy, the family returned it to public investors — brilliant move as the float made them multi-millionaires well beyond what they had re-purchased their company for!

Wow. That is shocking actually. It sure would be a unique way to try to regroup. I’m pretty sure they’ll never totally shut down Ford so why not try it?

Not that much of a shock. Some people have been talking about this for a few months, like this guy’s rant: http://carscarscars.blogs.com/index/2006/06/bankruptcy_is_a.html.

Ford going private would be an interesting thing to watch. Doesn’t look like the government wants to bail out the car industry this time, which is good because Detroit has become complacent and bailouts only reinforce that complacency. Maybe with a private Ford we’ll see a more competative Ford. Sometimes being a public company isn’t a great thing.

40% of Ford shares area already owned by the Ford family correct? Buying up the other 60% would not be that hard.

i may just take back all my negative comments about bill ford!

this is a VERY smart move – one that will allow ford to rebuild itself without investment bankers (also known as People Who Have Never Done Anything Constructive EVER In Their Entire Lives Except Live Off The Labor Of Others) harraunging them at every turn.

with their stock in the ****ter, this makes total sense. and as DetroitInsider noted, the Cox family cleaned up when they refloated shares some years after going private.

Fix
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I’m not suprised nobody wants their big fat inefficient junk

DetroitInsider, Cox Communications is still private and becoming more so. The Cox finances itself by selling-off parts of itself. You may read more about the company on its website.

As for Ford, this is a strange bird. The company the No. 2 spot from Chrysler in the USA back in the 1950’s because of Chrysler’s bad moves, not because of anything that it did correctly. Back when Lee Iacocca ran the company, its profits came its products in Europe. Its USA operations did not make money. Little has changed.

As for any GM fan, it is nice to make fun of Ford. However, we need a Ford to make fun of. When we think of the origins of the automobile, we think of Ford. It would be a major tragedy if we lost it.

This is utterly brilliant. THIS is a bold move.

The only reason a company goes public in the first place is to raise funds for further development. It is the only way to raise millions to billions in capital by way of one avenue. Going public however, comes with many drawbacks. There is heavy responsibility to investors, and the controlling share of the company is dilluted. What you get is investors muddling like GM has with Kirkorian. So Ford goes private, and they begin to make the drastic changes they are thinking about. Something as drastic as going private means they have some real zingers up their sleeves. I would not be surprised one bit if they were thinking about deunionizing Ford. Doing so would relieve them of so many health care problems and quality issues. Instant competitiveness! To do so will definitely cause a lapse in productivity which would be a major reason for going private. I am also guessing they are talking about some serious restructuring as in emerging almost unrecognizeable. Maybe the new acronym could be Free Of Retarded Degenerates! This could get extremely interesting! So when all is said and done, Ford goes public again and shares which were once a measly$7-8/share could easily be $30/share. And the rest of the major transformation can be funded once their controversial legwork is complete.

I love it! This is a shakeup in the business world. This could be a signal of a rennaisance in corporate America.

It might be good for Ford to be private while they get their stuff in order and resturcture. Then, they can sell the shares again once they are in a better position. I am by no means a financial expert (I can barely keep my own finances in order) so I can’t really say anything one way or the other. It would be a bold move.

At the end of the the day and beyond the financial wrangling is the product. Does Ford have products people want to buy and which are competitive with other products in the marketplace? Not to me.

Excellent move I think. Look at Apple with all the stockholders attempting to put thier hands in Apple’s pockets over faulty accounting as if they hadn’t made any money in the past 6 quarters. Get these greedy “know it all” stock holders out the trough and concentrate on making good product. No more worries about what you’re spending or such regulatory nonsense. Focus on the business at hand.

In my opinion this is a move that would allow Ford Motor Company the oportunity to not only rid its self of the UAW and the “Legacy costs associated with it”. It would also would allow the company to uproot production from the United States and Canada all together. Why not take all production to Mexico, China, etc. building bran new state of the art plants and labor costs that are a pitance. Then they can export these newly designed vehicles back to the United States to sell at huge profits. Ford could be the only American car Company no longer in AMERICA.

Sound far fetched? Maybe, but it is possible!!!!!!

Paul

Fix Or Repair Daily?

Since buying our Focus from new we’ve never had to have it fixed or repaired… :/ 6 Years still strong, touch wood.

Hey Johny “touch wood”! shouldn’t it be “Knock on wood”.

“Fix Or Repair Daily”? Let’s get serious…no car is perfect, so forget that old joke.

And Ford would be smart to go private..it would allow them to recoup, reorganize and it would be financially feasible for them to do so…… it would also make for good theater as GM would probably consider the move if Ford is wildly successful in this move…provided they (Ford) produces some drop-dead seriously good cars in the outcome…

But make no mistake, they cannot afford to drop the ball at this point. It is not out of the realm of possiblity for them to go into oblivion…..

I am not a financial expert or anything, but listening to everyone elses comments and considering it would allow them to rebuild much easier, I guess this would be a good idea. Manster, I’m sure someone someday if Ford went ablunder someone would buy them, they are probably the most notable automanufacturer in the world, beside Mercedes and GM.

Ford: Going Private?

Could it be that the troubled automaker is planning to go private as some analysts suggest? Earlier this year TheCarConnection has reported what some analysts say – that the Ford family might be interested in taking the company private by buying out …