GM-Owning Feds Buy Rival Fords

The federal government isn't letting its stake in General Motors and Chrysler stop it from doing business with rivals, the New York Times reports. Ford, the only one of the Big Three not to receive bailout funds, won the biggest order in the General Services Administration's recent stimulus-funded $287 million purchase of fuel-efficient cars for the federal fleet.

The agency, which manages more than 200,000 vehicles for the government, bought 7,924 Fords for $129 million, 6,348 GM vehicles at $105 million, and 2,993 Chryslers for $53 million. A GSA spokeswoman said that the vehicles were bought through existing contracts, and the government didn't get any freebies or special owner's discounts on the GM and Chrysler vehicles.
(More General Services Administration stories.)