Finally Ford Has Come

To me, a Ford has always been one of those cars you just end up with. It always was a matter of credit and price with most people I know. For one or both of those reasons, they've always been easier to get. I have never owned one myself, but my father and brothers have. They owned Ford trucks from time to time, but never their automobiles. Then the SUV was popular in the Explorer and Expedition models. They were a cheaper alternative to the higher priced Yukon and Suburban. The only time I remember Black folks buying their new cars, was when the "Mustang 5.0" was popular. It was an introduction of sorts, to the sports car market when cars were under $20,000. It was probably one of the cheapest high performance cars on the market at that time. Even then I don't remember them launching any advertisement campaigns aimed at attracting Black buyers. The Taurus was a big seller too, but most people got them used. Through the sale of rental cars and liquidating company fleets, it became the most popular pre-owned car on the market. Considering the fact that some buyers take whatever they can get. They assumed, and rightly so, that some Blacks would buy their cars anyway.

I first noticed their new found presence at the annual "Heritage Classic" football game. Where at the tailgate party, which attracts more people than the game itself. The "Ford Motor Company" gave away a brand new F-150 truck. That might not seem like a lot, but believe me it will gain them loads of publicity. Of course the message will be spread to more than the than 60,000 people that were there. They are going to tell their friends and family members, all about what the Ford company did. Another tidbit of information.... I recently learned something else I thought to be important. This could just be slacking on my part, but I wasn't aware of a Ford warehouse being here in Memphis. They employ several hundred workers who pay major taxes in this city. Any job paying unskilled labor $30 hr. plus benefits, should be more widely known. Needless to say, the plant is now closing down with the slump in sales. It would have been nice to hear more people were employed by them. Now Ford has donated a million dollars to the "National Civil Rights Museum Fund Inc.", who is already having financial troubles. The museum has been in operation for 19 years, where has "Ford Motor Company" been up until now? I'm sure this isn't the first million dollars donors have given to the cause. That's nothing more than a pandering move for Blacks. Why would you just give away a million dollars, no strings attached? Today I think I found out why.

Last year the "Ford Motor Company" lost 18 billion dollars, after being boycotted by some conservative groups. Since Blacks are the biggest consumers in this country, they figured they better try and tap into that. That's a whole lot of money to lose by any one's standards. The best way to get any one's attention is to lighten their pockets. Last year only one quarter was profitable, where they earned a measly 750 million dollars. They had to sell off some assets and stock options to do that. Since they're in the mood to get the Black community on their side, Blacks shouldn't go so cheaply. I'm sure they've done more than just this, but not much. Now that Ford has finally come to the Black community in search of their good graces. Blacks should get more out of this, than a free truck and be a tax write-off.