Ford passes Toyota as #2 seller in U.S.

Ford Passes Toyota in 2010 as #2 seller in the U.S. & has gained market share for the 2nd consecutive year. Here is a link to a NY times article about this with more info: Ford Market Share. It is interesting that Toyota has been losing market share in the auto industry but it is also the management of Ford. They were the only large U.S. automaker that didn't require a government bailout and forced bankruptcy like it's counterparts General Motors and Chrysler did.



That efficiency I think is paying off. While General Motors were manufacturing and pushing large trucks and SUV's, Ford had a more diverse approach to what type of vehicles it offered. For example, the hybrid became even more popular when gas prices rose in 2008 and are rising again now. Although hybrids are made by Toyota as well, recent negative publicity has hurt their image. Recalls for the infamous sticky gas pedals is one example that hurt Toyota's image with consumers.

I've held Ford since early September when I got in at $11.42 a share. I have observed this stock rise steadily since that time. There have been days where the rise seemed to stall and even pull back a little bit. These were natural corrections as I observed the rest of the general markets doing the same. In my view, the fundamentals for continued growth and expanded market share have helped propel this stock forward. I have used the price performance as a fairly reliable forecaster for general stock market movements. I also have been on the look out for the first time I notice this capacity diminish. At that point, I'll look to find another market leader to use for gauging sentiment in the overall stock market. Ford's market share increase has given it good attention among investors. One thing I find interesting, is Fords stock performance seems to be one day ahead of general markets. For example, if the broad market is rising but on that same day, Ford is falling, I've noticed the following day, the general markets will mostly be down.



I also see the reverse of this scenario happen. When General markets are trending down, and that same day Ford is up, Most of the time on the very next day, general markets go up. I learned this through observation day after day of the stock markets. You start to realize that patterns emerge that can be useful in extracting stock market information and gauging public sentiment, becoming valuable information when trading the Market, giving you insights to trade on.