Ford’s chairman: we don’t need no stinking bailout!

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While the big banks beg to give back their TARP money, automaker Ford Motor Co. continues to enjoy the fact that it never took any dough in the first place.

With all the national attention on General Motors Corp. and Chrysler, recipients of $17.4 billion in federal aid and more than a bit of official critique, Ford Motor Co. has for the most part been able to dodge the spotlight. And as this paper noted last week, Ford turns out to thrive in the shade.

Still, Ford believes that Washington could offer it a bit of help. According to Chairman Bill Ford Jr., the administration should create incentives to spur auto sales and enact a gasoline tax that would encourage people to buy more efficient vehicles.

‘I think we need help with an autos stimulus plan,’ said Ford in an interview this week with the Los Angeles Times at a Fortune magazine conference on green business in Laguna Niguel. He believes that a cash-for-clunkers program, coupled with a federal tax that would maintain gas prices above a certain level, would help the U.S. auto industry survive the current crisis.

Although Ford hasn’t had to dip its hands into the federal coffer, the Dearborn, Mich., company could definitely use some help. Through March, its U.S. sales are down 42%. And although that’s better than the results at GM or Chrysler, it still is worse than the overall industry average, prompting some analysts to wonder whether Ford would be forced into federal arms soon if things don’t turn around.

Henry Ford’s great-grandson downplayed that notion.

Even though Chief Executive Alan Mulally appeared before Congress in the auto hearings last fall, Ford said the company never really seriously considered requesting any money. ‘It wasn’t a long conversation,’ he said. ‘We very much value our ability to manage the company without strings attached.’

So as GM and Chrysler have struggled to negotiate government-approved deals with the United Auto Workers and holders of billions of dollars in debt, Ford has managed to cut its debt by nearly 30% and rework costly union contracts. ‘We’ve moved very quickly to address both operating and balance sheet issues,’ Ford said.

Chrysler has until May 1 to draw up merger plans with Italian automaker Fiat and restructure $7 billion in secured debt. GM has until June 1 to show the government it can be viable on its own by cutting unsecured debt and reducing obligations to the union.

It’s a process that’s been carefully watched by Ford, the company’s chairman said. He said that three executives -- Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth, global purchasing manager Tony Brown, and Joe Hinrichs, the company’s head of manufacturing and labor relations -- had traveled to Washington to meet with the Treasury Department’s auto task force, and that Ford was carefully monitoring the progress of negotiations.

Ford said he was ‘very impressed’ with the team that President Obama had assembled, particularly Ron Bloom, known for his experience in labor relations. In a separate speech given at the ‘Brainstorm’ conference, Ford said that while a bankruptcy process could give GM some immediate advantages over his company, it could drag on for far longer than expected.

And it’s clear that Ford hopes to avoid interactions with the task force that go beyond what he characterized as ‘color and background.’

The automaker has a better cash position than its Michigan rivals and has been pushing that advantage, coming out with new vehicle introductions here and abroad, and sticking to what Ford and other executives refer to as ‘the plan.’

That involves a more unified global product lineup and reducing production enough to allow the company to cut or eliminate costly incentives. A proposed government plan that gives credits for trading used cars in for new vehicles would also help, said Ford, who argues it could help the company produce more fuel-efficient vehicles.

In coming years, Ford is planning to bring advanced internal combustion engine technology, more hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric cars and vehicles that run on new biofuels to the U.S. market. A gas tax, Ford said, would ensure that public appetite for such vehicles remains strong.

--Ken Bensinger