Now we're back to mere "incentives".
Headline: Ford sweetens pot to sell gas-thirsty SUV:
Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday said it was offering consumers interest-free loans for six years in a bid to clear out inventories of some of its gas-thirsty sport utility vehicles from the 2005 model-year.
More:
Through the end of the month, Ford said the interest-free, 72-month loans would be available to buyers of the Ford Expedition, Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Mercury Mountaineer SUVs, and to buyers of the Ford F-150 pickup truck.
Cash rebates on the 2005 model SUVs total $5,000, and $3,000 on the F-150. Ford said buyers would have to choose either between the cash or the cheap loan deal.
And this isn't a great time to be offering another interest-free loan program. The Wall St. Journal is really ahead of the curve with this article--'Era of Low Rates
Around the Globe May Soon Be Over'
In Japan, a fish-products manufacturer has raised prices 10% thanks to booming overseas sales and costlier boat fuel. In Germany, the national railway plans to raise some fares more than 4%. In one Chinese city, lines formed around grocery stores after a local supplier said it would lift salt prices as much as 50%. And in North America, luxury hotel chains are jacking up room rates.
As signs of inflation, spurred in part by soaring energy prices, surface around the world, central banks are signaling that the era of unusually cheap credit is coming to an end. The implications for markets and the world economy are significant: Investors may retreat from risky assets and air could leak out of the global housing boom. A recession seems unlikely but can't be ruled out since world central bankers seem determined to raise rates as much as needed to keep inflation low.
The Bank of Japan, by early next year, may end its policy of cramming extra cash into the banking system in hopes of boosting lending, governor Toshihiko Fukui indicated yesterday. Japanese interest rates, now effectively zero, may start to rise later in the year. Last week, the European Central Bank strongly hinted it was leaning toward raising rates, which have been flat for over two years. The Federal Reserve has been raising rates for 15 months now, and minutes to its Sept. 20 meeting released Tuesday suggest it will raise them further. South Korea's central bank raised interest rates for the first time in three years on Tuesday, in part because of higher U.S. rates, which threatened to draw capital away from Korea.
Hmm....could Ford be in trouble here?
I don't think Ford is ever in trouble here. I mean, this manufacturer has been successful for many years now. I think they just got something up for a surprise soon.
Posted by: CGS intake | September 06, 2011 at 10:57 PM