GM may have stood for "Government Motors," but in fiscal 2010 the feds bought more cars and trucks from Ford Motor, which got through the 2009 industry meltdown without a taxpayer bailout. Until GM's stock offering a couple weeks ago, the government owned 61% and nows holds about a third.
Despite Ford's win, the feds' most-bought vehicle was Chevy's Impala, likethis one, but more likely white and sans the big wheels and spoiler.
By GM, Wieck
The feds bought 21,980 vehicles directly from Ford in the year ended Sept. 30 -- 540 more than from General Motors, according to a Bloomberg News report based on data it got with a Freedom of Information request from the General Services Administration. The GSA bought 13,063 from Chrysler Group, in which the government also owns a stake.
There was widespread fear that Uncle Sam would favor the in-house car companies. "There was a paranoia that the government was going to buy GM and Chrysler models to help them out because they had a foot in the door," Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at IHS Automotive, told Bloomberg. "There was a definite concern for Ford."
In fact, 2010 was the first time since 2005 that Ford was the No. 1 seller to the government.
What else the data shows about Uncle Sam's car buying:
* Ford's top vehicles in government sales: Fusion sedans, Ranger pickups and Explorer SUVs. The Dodge Caravan minivan was Chrysler's top government purchase.
* The GSA's most-bought vehicle overall, however, was GM's Chevy Impala, the ninth best-selling vehicle in the U.S. market. The Chevy Tahoe SUV, often seen in D.C. with black-out windows in VIP motorcades, was fourth. Ford's F-150 was No. 5.
* The GSA bought 406,679 vehicles in the past six fiscal years -- $8.59 billion worth.
* Out of the past six years, the government bought the most vehicles in fiscal 2009 as GM and Chrysler went through U.S.-backed bankruptcies -- 89,380 cars and trucks at a cost of $1.95 billion.
* The GSA spent an average of $22,672 per vehicle over the past three fiscal years, ranging from $6,800 buses to $937,505 fire-fighting vehicles.
* The GSA bought nearly one in four of every hybrid Detroit makers have sold since President Obama took office. See separate post here.
USA TODAY
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/12/government-owns-gm-but-buys-fords/1
