Round Two

Ford has announced additional cuts, bowing to the market's pressuring in the form of huge losses and horrible sales:

In a sign it will no longer cling to market share at the expense of profit, Ford Motor Co. on Friday announced deep production cuts designed to bring its supply of vehicles in line with withering demand for its biggest sellers _ pickups and SUVs.

Management finally got the memo earlier in the year when they announced a first round of plant closings and job cuts. Yes, Virginia...it's not 1998 and oil is not $11 a barrel.

Ford is not mean, they are not evil. They're just stupid. Gas prices have doubled since 2003 and when Ford could have made decisions when it mattered about continuing to pump out SUV's like it was 1999, they continued to produce the large beasties and now they've fallen behind the curve. Sales are down, demand for large SUV's and trucks is down and their production lines are married to the production of such gas guzzlers.

No, Virginia...it's not 1998 and oil is not $11 a barrel.