American car drivers are all wondering the same thing: what on earth is going to happen to Ford, GM and Chrysler, and what effect will it all have on car accident statistics.  After introducing our Auto Maker Shakeup Series yesterday, we take a look at Ford Motor Company today.

Our car accident attorneys would like to see Ford find a way to meet the high emission standards of Europe, while concurrently developing a car that meets the U.S. government’s strict crash test standards.  Why not have the best of both worlds?

The only member of the Big Three not to request a bailout, Ford Motor Company is attempting to navigate the trouble recession waters on its own.  It looks like those in charge of this century old car manufacturing company have a plan.

1.      Unload excess assets.

2.      Eliminate gaps between domestic models and their European counterparts.

For part one, Ford is looking to get rid of some of its many different brand names.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Ford Motor Company is looking to unload one of its assets, Volvo, and it will likely receive a bid for the division by a Chinese Car Maker, Geely Holding Group.

Having already sold its Land Rover and Jaguar brands to India’s Tata Motors, Ford is attempting to weather the bad economy by streamlining its business to a “One Ford” strategy that focuses on only the Ford, Mercury and Lincoln brands.  By selling Volvo, Ford — which was the only of the U.S. Big Three Auto Makers to abstain from requesting a government bailout — will be one step closer to its goals.  While there are three other possible bidders, Geely is considered a front-runner.

There might be some safety concerns if this Chinese auto maker moves Volvo production to the Far East to take advantage of that nation’s less-expensive labor.  As car accident lawyers, we would hate to see one of the world’s safest car brands receive less than stellar safety ratings if production quality slips and leads to more automobile accidents.

As for part two of its plan, Ford is also hoping to bridge the gap between its European and domestic models.

Currently, with car crash test and emission standards different in the two continents, Ford and its competitors have been making two designs of each model sold on both ends of the Atlantic.  To limit the extra cost of additional parts, Ford is launching a new Ford Focus in 2010 that will have 80% of its parts in common with the European counterpart.  This is a strategy that Japanese and European auto makers have perfected, and it would be helpful to Ford if it is able to pull off a similar feat.

In conclusion, it would appear that Ford is on the right track in this recession.  While the other two major American auto makers are still having major economic troubles even with bailout money, the company that brought us the Model T is looking like the model car maker in the U.S.

Tomorrow, we will continue with Chrysler and General Motors in Part Three of the Auto Maker Shakeup Series.

Call us now at 1-800-655-6585 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney after you get into a car accident and find out how we can help you. We speak English and Spanish, and we look forward to providing advice for your case. No fee if no recovery.

About Michael Pines

Michael Pines is a former insurance company attorney who specializes in car accident injury. While he was an insurance attorney, he learned from behind the scenes on how insurance companies work and how they decided to pay injured people. Now that he works against insurance companies, Michael's inside knowledge has resulted in significant benefits to his clients injured in car accidents.

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