Among other
things, Ford is considering the sale of its stake in Volvo as it seeks to raise
cash.
Anthony J. “Tony” Faria, a marketing expert who is
the co-director of the University of Windsor/DaimlerChrysler Canada
Automotive Research and Development Center (ARDC), told the
Windsor Star that the Ford promotion was “interesting”
and “attention-getting,” even though the present value to customers was less
than $300, a small inducement compared to other incentives and rebates.
“I presume Detroit Three dealers probably will be looking for a lot of
creative things they can do to improve traffic through their dealerships,” Faria
said.
Promotional flyers for what the dealership portrayed as “confidence sale”
exhorted local customers to “be a part of history,” proclaiming that “100 shares
is the way forward.” Public interest has already been piqued by the inexpensive
promotion, which customers say they like because of the potential for a big
payoff, the newspaper reported.
“The 100 shares are an absolute bonus,” customer Tina Reed said, just before
she drove away from the dealership in a brand-new charcoal-gray Ford Focus. “I keep an eye on the stock market but now I’ll pay
a little more attention.”
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) credit analysts had rated GM’s distressed debt as a “Buy,” noting that the
company – known for such brands as Chevrolet and Buick – was likely going to
survive.
Interestingly, Ford has a market cap of $6.09 billion – making the company
known for bringing forth such innovations as mass production, the Model T and
the assembly line more than twice as valuable as GM, the market-share leader (of
the U.S. carmakers). Ford had $172.5 billion in sales last year, and $160.1
billion in 2006.
GM had $181.2 billion in sales last year and $205.6 billion in 2006,
according to statistics provided by Google Finance. The company right now has a market value of only
$2.8 billion.
Shares in the embattled automaker hovered near $30 in 2001, but have
nose-dived since that time. GM’s shares closed Monday at $4.59 each, a decline
of 65 cents each, or 12.4%. They have traded as high as $29.95 in the past 12
months.
