Ford Excels As Fletcher Fails

Fletcher says Ford incentives would add to tax breaks

Gov. Ernie Fletcher says his proposal to offer incentives to Ford Motor Co. would involve changing existing tax breaks to include plans to retain jobs rather than add them and consider the company's two Louisville factories as one.

The governor didn't know when the bill would be filed with the legislature, but said its focus would be on expanding existing programs rather than creating new ones. The bill-filing deadline is Friday.

Ford says Super Duty sales better than expected

Ford Motor Co.’s Louisville-built 2008 F-Series Super Duty trucks are off to a fast start with dealerships ordering 70,000 models so far, the automaker said today.

“Every aspect of the truck is the result of spending a great deal of time listening to our customers. There’s no other family of trucks like this,” Mark Fields, Ford’s president for the Americas, said in a news release. Ford called the launch orders better than expected.

Ford sold about 320,000 Super Duty trucks last year, and it hopes to sell more of the redesigned 2008 models. It sold the first 2008 truck last month, but they won’t be widely available until the end of this month.

First, Congratulations Ford!

Second, Fletcher’s proposals are ridiculous. A Republican proposing corporate welfare? Job retention, not expansion? Fletcher is standing on the beach, bailing out the ocean with a teaspoon.