Ford has been a bit of an odd ball in this time of bailouts.  Ford has not been grabbing for money they way Chrysler and GM have been, and I don’t think that I am mistaken in assuming that Ford is trying to pass themselves off as the American car company that didn’t hold a gun to the tax payers heads.  A large part of whether that gun will ever be pointed at the head of the tax payers is likely to depend on the success of their new car models.  Ford is putting out three new car models, notably including the Ford Fusion Hybrid model.  According to nytimes.com Ford is trying to operate, “in the now”:

Ford also hopes its Fusion hybrid will help separate the automaker in the public’s mind from its crosstown rivals General Motors and Chrysler, which both need more government loans to avoid bankruptcy. Ford has so far refrained from seeking federal aid.

“We are not about waiting for tomorrow and what it’s going to bring,” said James Farley, Ford’s global marketing chief. “It’s about what we’re doing today to bring out car after car after car.”

One thing is certain, gas prices will rise.  Obama’s administration knows that the fate of US car companies depend on high gas prices to drive consumers, no pun intended, to small fuel efficient cars the likes of which US automakers have been paid to produce.  I think these new Ford models will be a modest success, but it will be at the cost of much higher gas prices.

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