Will Ford Become Target of Windfall Profit Tax?

[Indy Coug]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/bu...o.html?_r=1&hp

[il Padrino Ute]

Imagine that - making a profit without the involvement of the government. Who'd a thunk it?

[KillerDog]

Imagine that - making a profit without the involvement of the government. Who'd a thunk it?

Yeah, Cash for Clunkers wasn't government involvement.

[Flystripper]

Yeah, Cash for Clunkers wasn't government involvement.

Cash for Clunkers pisses me off....only because I traded in my car one month too soon.

[Donuthole]

Cash for Clunkers pisses me off....only because I traded in my car one month too soon.

It pisses me off because my clunker got too many MPG to qualify. Sure, penalize me because I've been environmentally friendly for the last 9 years.

[RobinFinderson]

Cash for Clunkers pisses me off....only because I traded in my car one month too soon.

It pissed me off because I had a clunker, but no money to buy a new car.

[KillerDog]

Cash for Clunkers pissed me off because, although my cars are not environmentally friendly, the cars I want are equally large in their carbon footprint.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Again, I wanted to thank all of you for helping to subsidize the purchase of my new car.

[il Padrino Ute]

Yeah, Cash for Clunkers wasn't government involvement.

Point taken. How much of that profit was a direct result for the ridiculous waste of money known as Cash for Clunkers?

[mUUser]

Point taken. How much of that profit was a direct result for the ridiculous waste of money known as Cash for Clunkers?

Edmunds.com claims the incremental cost to taxpayers for C4C is about $24,000 per vehicle sold.

[il Padrino Ute]

Edmunds.com claims the incremental cost to taxpayers for C4C is about $24,000 per vehicle sold.

Exactly. It was a colossal waste of taxpayer money and I'd guess that very little of it is actually a part of Ford's profits.

The Barber Brothers - I'm sure you're familiar with their dealerships here - were on the radio with Tom Barbieri over the weekend and they were talking about of the sales of the vehicles from the cash for clunkers was a little boost, but most of the sales were to people that would have bought a car anyway. And as soon as it was over, sales dipped again, so it really did nothing for the industry.

[Surfah]

Exactly. It was a colossal waste of taxpayer money and I'd guess that very little of it is actually a part of Ford's profits.

The Barber Brothers - I'm sure you're familiar with their dealerships here - were on the radio with Tom Barbieri over the weekend and they were talking about of the sales of the vehicles from the cash for clunkers was a little boost, but most of the sales were to people that would have bought a car anyway. And as soon as it was over, sales dipped again, so it really did nothing for the industry.

I used to listen to that show on Saturdays.

[il Padrino Ute]

I used to listen to that show on Saturdays.

I've only caught it a few times, but I think I'll try to listen more often. I like what I've heard.

[mUUser]

The Barber Brothers - I'm sure you're familiar with their dealerships here.

I'm not familiar with them, or don't remember them -- its been almost 2 decades since living in Utah -- but their story rings true to Edmunds' findings.

[KillerDog]

Point taken. How much of that profit was a direct result for the ridiculous waste of money known as Cash for Clunkers?

Reading the article, it seems the "profits" are primarily restructuring of debt and other things. I think you would need to be an accountant to be able to determine whether it is actually profit and whether it is C4C driven.