Shares of Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) were running smoothly this afternoon. At the time of this writing, they were up 3.3% to $87.96. That wasn't too far away from the new 52-week high of $89.31 that was set earlier in the session.

Driving the move was a third-quarter earnings report. According to the Associated Press, net income declined by 39%. While that may not be something investors would want to buy, here's the part of the story that they apparently are giving a bid: management increased its outlook for the full-year profit, expecting it to come in at around $6 billion instead of $4.3 billion.

Did you see the price action in Ford (F) Friday? I shouldn't call it price action; instead, I should refer to what I saw as an act of total carnage. Seriously, down over 13%?

That's what happened. Volume was, as one might expect, huge. The price of the automobile manufacturer settled at the end of day to a quote of $16.27. The 52-week low for the shares is $9.75 while the 52-week high is $18.97. The one-year chart shows a stock that has been doing very well. Investors want to know if this is a simple bump in the road on the way to further capital appreciation.

You've got to hand it to Ford Motor Company (F). The stock has been a great investment this year. All you have to do is examine the one-year chart. Agreed: it isn't the smoothest graphic. No matter; you can't miss the tantalizing ride implied in the image. To those who added the automobile entity to their portfolios when the shares were in the single digits, my hat is off. It must be a wonderful feeling.

That was then, this is now, as they say. How should one view the company today? Admittedly, this name isn't exactly my kind of investment idea. As I said earlier in the year, my tendency is to seek other, safer alternatives before considering committing capital to a company like Ford.

I found a rather interesting article from Wednesday's Washington Post that examined how the U.S. government could recover its investment in General Motors (GM). I decided to try this on a Price Is Right closest-without-going-over basis with my wife. Let's just say that we both missed the real number by quite a bit.

In order for the government to get back all of its $50 billion investment in GM, it must sell its stake at $134 per share. Does that figure seem a bit crazy? Blame it on the special inspector general of the government's bailout programs, that's who came up with the estimate.

Ford (F) looks like a great stock. The one-year chart makes you want to cringe if you didn't get in at either the 52-week low or some lower point, at least. I know I'm kicking myself for not following the price action to profit glory. But if the stock dips, should you take a position in the automaker?

This is a tough one. Technically, I would say yes, buy on a dip. It could be an opportunity to make money on the next run toward the 52-week high of $14.57. There seems to be momentum to the situation, and if it briefly stalls, then all the better for the traders.

The auto industry probably doesn't want to look back on 2009. Ignore the rearview mirror; put it in drive and move forward. At least the dismal year ended on a high note. Despite a total sales decline of 21.2%, to 10.4 million units, the industry gets to celebrate a 15.1% increase in sales for the month of December, according to Autodata.

For the Detroit crowd, Ford (F) led the pack, with December sales up almost a third. General Motors (GRM) ticked 5.7% higher, with Chrysler up 3.7% for the month.

October seems to have been a good month for consumer spending. Unemployment is holding consumers back, but it isn't keeping wallets clamped shut.

A Bloomberg survey reveals that purchases grew 0.5% last month, based on the thoughts of 61 economists. The U.S. Department of Commerce is releasing its report on Wednesday. In advance of this news, Bloomberg's survey suggests that there are signs of slight improvement.

China has taken its first major step into the U.S. car market as General Motors announced it had finalized a deal to sell off its Hummer truck brand to Chinese auto manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery.

Under the deal, GM will continue to make the trucks no later than 2010. While a deal has been reached, it is still going to be up to Chinese regulators to approve the deal and decide if the brand can be profitable and fit into the country's overall national strategy to improve energy efficiency.

On Wednesday, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that he has designed a five-year plan for the automaker (Wall Street Journal, subscription required). Marchionne believes the restructuring will be slow initially, but should improve "significantly" next year.

We should receive the plan by the end of November, and Chrysler will start reporting its quarterly results by the end of the year. Marchionne stated, "We are going to become a normal reporter in the U.S. hopefully by the end of 2009. ... You will see numbers like you see for everyone else." One can only assume that this is one of the "whole pile of surprises" Marchionne promised back in June when Fiat took over Chrysler.

Even with the cash-for-clunkers program in full effect, demand for new automobiles is the lowest it's been in years. This has heightened competition among automakers, who are being forced to both improve their products and discount their prices. Consumers in the market for a new 2010 vehicle may be treated to a discount.

Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM), for example, plans to introduce a less expensive Prius, and the 2010 Nissan (OTC: NSANY) Sentra will see its sticker price drop by anywhere from $130 to $1,080, based on the features the buyer opts for. Other vehicles that will hit the showroom floors at a discount include the Mercedes-Benz E350 mid sized sedan and the Lexus RX 350, discounted by $3,300 and $700, respectively.