Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) will be receiving a $5.9 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to make sure some of its most strategic production facilities will be equipped to continue manufacturing the most fuel-efficient vehicles Ford can make.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), after reporting a profit on the back of debt reductions and aggressive cost cutting, (it's still losing money manufacturing vehicles), does have many things going its way these days. For one, it's the only domestic automaker left in the U.S. that's solvent; and, without government aid to boot. Another bragging point: the automaker sincerely looks like it is trying to go as green as possible by ramping up fuel efficiency and heavily promoting those vehicles over gas hoggers.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) has been doing better than formerly-bankrupt competitors Chrysler and General Motors (after years of re-tooling and planning), and in an age where the auto market is being fundamentally re-shaped, the American icon continues its re-invention from the ground up. Ford and its longtime partner, Mazda, have opened a $500 million automobile manufacturing plant in Thailand.

The domestic automakers have all but given up and declared bankruptcy in an effort to survive in some form. Chrysler is about through its process, and GM is well on its way to becoming a completely new company. The standout: Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F).

Ford is not only doing much better than the competition (and has been for a few years now), but it's actually increasing auto production while the bankrupt competitors are having a hard time getting rid of old inventory and shutting down dealers.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), while suffering through the largest auto industry malaise in generations, won't be closing legions of dealerships like General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) or Chrysler. In fact, Ford indicated that it will benefit from the closure of 2,000 auto showrooms from its domestic competitors -- one that has already filed for bankruptcy and another that is expected to shortly.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) may not need any help from the U.S. federal government, but it doesn't want any part of Chrysler should that automaker go through bankruptcy protection and/or be broken up into pieces. Ford also has no interest in Chrysler's brands such as Jeep and Dodge. Ford's Mark Fields indicated at the International Auto Show this week that Ford is only focused on Ford at this time, and the possibility of Chrysler being history could be shockingly near.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), which has not accepted federal bailout money at this time, wants to ensure its parts vendors don't go down if General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler end up in bankruptcy. As such, the automaker is loaning money to parts suppliers to help shield it from what is probably an impending bankruptcy from its two domestic competitors.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and all the other foreign and domestic automakers witnessed a 37% drop in U.S. auto sales in March compared to the year-ago period. The good news: that was a better-than-expected decline. When a 37% decline is considered good, there's the sign of a deeply-troubled economy (as if we didn't all know that already).

When Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) decided not to ask for federal bailout money and General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) did decide to take it (out of necessity), one of the truths that finally, finally came out about the state of the U.S. auto industry was the need to match employee costs with our foreign rivals.

This was much to the chagrin of auto unions, but now that the entire American auto industry is a few blinks away from oblivion, apparently labor costs are, well, at the top of the survival guide.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is at least positioned better than its U.S. based competition, but that doesn't mean it's doing well. Indeed, the recession is costing the automaker plenty in terms of deep losses and other hurt. Now we can add a production decrease in the second quarter of 2009 to that list.

While rival automaker General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) was monopolizing headlines this morning with its quarterly earnings report, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) quietly slashed its forecast for 2009 auto sales. However, unlike GM, Ford says it has "no substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ford predicted that total U.S. car and truck sales could tumble to 10.5 million in 2009. The new figure represents a drop of 1 million vehicles from Ford's previous estimate. On the plus side, the automaker thinks sales could arrive as high as 12.5 million vehicles if demand begins to recover in the second half of the year.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) CEO Alan Mulally indicated this week that he will bow to a 30% pay cut in 2009 while the troubled automaker's salaried workers will forgo all bonuses. Not only that, but the UAW approved buyout concessions targeted for a March 9 strike date for other workers. Although Ford has not yet taken federal buyout funds like other Detroit automakers, the company still has massive financial hurdles to overcome.

Ford Motor (NYSE: F) recently indicated that it doesn't anticipate needing federal bailout money. The automaker is in the same heap of trouble as its competitors, but has handled costs and other infrastructure items better with CEO Alan Mulally at the wheel in recent years.

But everything may come to a pass later this year, according to Barclays' analyst Brian Johnson. Johnson indicated that even Ford will need to tap the federal spigot at some point. That is, unless a miraculous revival in new auto sales happens...starting yesterday. Johnson even cut his price on Ford shares to $1 from the previous $4 mark. That's bed sentiment I think -- right?

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) runs a pretty interesting shop. Unlike most manufacturers, almost all of its products are web-based, so it doesn't need to have roads to get its product to customers. It can release products in beta testing to ensure they don't break in the real world.

Customers are involved in the making of the products, from the point of design until final release. But could automakers design, test and release products like that, or are there more variable to consider?

Now that the big three CEOs are sealing up their second week on Capitol Hill trying to convince U.S. lawmakers that their companies collectively need tens of billions to survive, what do they plan on doing internally? As in, what changes could be made to the product lines of all three automakers to fit a changed marketplace and a consumer and business populace that has hit the reset switch on what they want out of an automobile? How about jettisoning some brands that aren't core assets? That's the ticket -- or at least a big part of it.

Just which brands are at serious risk of going away? Brands from all three domestic automakers have been bandied about this week, and with 112 models offered from 15 brands just from the three domestic automakers, the industry clearly needs some fat trimmed. The three U.S. automakers now have only a 47% market share in the U.S., down from 62% just five years ago. Just imagine the design, engineering and support a complex product portfolio like that requires in terms of investment. Is that sustainable? Apparently not, and the big three are fighting for their lives in part because of it.

Right off the bat is General Motors Corp.'s (NYSE: GM) Hummer brand. The king of masculine brands has shriveled into virtual nothingness over the past year as consumers stayed away due to higher gas prices, which have now fallen heavily back down. Still, the damage to Hummer is most likely irreversible, and it will be one of GM's first brands to go away. Ford Motor Corp.'s (NYSE: F) luxury Volvo brand is also a prime contender. Volvo sales have fallen 28% this year as customers flock to lower-priced vehicles while tightening those wallets and purse strings.