[Shotimes] OT Ford's Future Plans for 500 and performance cars

[Fred George]

Read it and weep.  In Thursday's Wall Street Journal, "At Ford, Revamp 
Means Rebuilding Wrecked System" provides details of how the 
$162-billion Ford Motor Company went astray, suffered cost and quality 
control set-backs and ended up with a downgraded credit rating from 
Standard & Poors.

Bottom Line?  Look for the firm to shave every last penny from 
production costs, mainly produce bread-and-butter products in the next 
decade and attempt to boost earnings per share. The implication is 
clear. Cost control is king; inpired engineering is out. Don't look for 
new high performance, specialty sedans, such as an SHO-inspired Ford 500 
or Taurus in 2004/05 from the cash strapped company.