Daniel Howes: Ford poised for big changes

You can bet Ford Motor Co. will deliver three things when it reports its second-quarter financials Thursday morning: First, the numbers will be ugly, analysts predict. The Dearborn automaker, whose sales of trucks and SUVs have withered under the weight of $4-a-gallon gas, will book fat so-called "impairment charges" for its under-utilized truck plants and further cut production of pickups and gas-guzzling SUVs even as it pushes to ramp up production of cars and crossovers. Second, but arguably far more important, Ford will detail the most sweeping realignment to its product portfolio and U.S. production plans in at least a generation, say three sources familiar with the situation. That includes converting three truck plants to car production, as first reported by The Detroit News in early June, and speeding the introduction... [read full story]