In Need of Big Ideas, Ford Thinks Small

Company may move some production of small cars to US
By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 19, 2008 4:28 PM CDT
In Need of Big Ideas, Ford Thinks Small
Unsold 2008 F-150 pickup trucks sit at a Ford dealership in the southeast Denver suburb of Centennial, Colo. Ford Motor reported steep drops in sales of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.    (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Ford Motor Company will be repurposing some of its US plants to manufacture smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, the Wall Street Journal reports. As rising gas prices drive falling sales of behemoths like the F-150, insiders say the company will move toward making more of the passenger cars, like the Mondeo, that are mainly sold in Europe.

While domestic sales dropped 14% in the first half of the year, European sales went up by 2%. Ford has posted billions in losses in the past 2 years, and expects to remain in the red through 2008. Plans to break even in 2009 no longer look so rosy, either, and the company has pushed back the release of the new F-150. (More Ford stories.)

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