Ford (F) is the motor company that didn’t cost the American taxpayer billions in bailout money. If the taxpayer were not sure about this fact, then the commercial that was never shown, but has received a huge amount of coverage because it was pulled, would have cemented that fact. At this financially sensitive time, when taxes may have to rise, credit is tight, and banks and loan institutions are under pressure, maybe the management of Ford wanted to remind its customers of its financial strength. Of course the publicity surrounding the pulled commercial also served to remind prospective customers of other car manufacturers that took bailout money – including main rivals Chrysler (now part of a group majority owned by Fiat) and General Motors (GM) – that Ford did no such thing.

Moody’s, the rating agency, raised its credit rating of Ford on October 27, to Ba1 – the highest non investment grade level. It also gave a positive outlook on the company, and analysts now expect it to regain investment grade status as early as the first half of next year. This upgrade followed Standard and Poor’s upgrade to BB+ from BB-.

The company’s financial arm, Ford Credit, posted net income of $350 million in the third quarter of 2011. This was amongst results that showed a third quarter net income for the company as a whole of $1.65 billion. At the time of the report, Ford’s management said it continues to seek to cut its debt to less than $10 billion by 2015. It currently stands at around $12.7 billion. To continue reading, click here