Ford Not Pressuring Dealers; Urges Government Stimulus

Special Coverage

Chicago Auto Show

CHICAGO – When it comes to dealer cash, Ford Motor Co. marches to its own drum, says Jim Farley, director-marketing and communications.

“The biggest issue with our competitors is wholesale incentivizing, where they are trying to get dealers to take product,” he says at the Chicago Auto Show here.

While Ford is focusing its stimulus efforts on customers, it’s the government’s potential incentive program that really excites Farley, who notes the auto maker has been prodding the Obama Admin. to include initiatives in its pending stimulus package aimed at encouraging consumers to purchase autos.

Modernizing the federal fleet of vehicles and infrastructure improvements are two ideas being bandied about in Washington that are particularly attractive to Farley, who notes that cement prices are on the rise in anticipation of government programs designed to improve the country’s roads and bridges.

“People are speculating on the price of cement, and that’s good for Ford because we’re the leader in commercial and government (fleet sales),” he says. “They’re going to buy vehicles to help get the job done.”

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