3rd Quarter & 9 Mths Results

Ford Motor Co
17 October 2001



Contact:
Media:
Todd Nissen
1.313.594.4410
[e-mail]

Securities Analysts:
Anne Bork
1.313.323.8221
[e-mail]

Shareholder Inquiries:
1.800.555.5259 or
1.313.845.8540
[e-mail]

Media Information Center
1.800.665.1515 or
1.313.621.0504
[e-mail]

Go to http://media.ford.com
for news releases and
high-resolution photographs.



                      FORD REPORTS THIRD QUARTER LOSS


- European turnaround continues.

- North American restructuring underway.

- Balance sheet remains strong with $15.2 billion of cash.

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 17 - Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) today reported a net 
loss of $692 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 
2001. Excluding special items, Ford lost $502 million, or 28 cents per share. 
Ford earned $994 million, or 50 cents a share, before special items in the third
quarter of 2000.

Ford's third quarter revenues were $36.55 billion, a 9 percent decline from last
year's third quarter. Worldwide vehicle unit sales in the 2001 third quarter 
were 1,513,000, down 10 percent.

'This was a difficult quarter, as our results were affected by an uncertain and 
slowing U.S. economy, compounded by the tragic events of Sept. 11,' said Jacques
Nasser, president and CEO. 'To address these challenging times we have taken 
several steps this year to strengthen our competitiveness. We expect to announce
further actions in December.'

Despite the near-term challenges, Ford continues to benefit from the strongest 
lineup of brands and products in its history. This will be the 15th year in a 
row that Ford Division is the best-selling brand of cars and trucks in the U.S. 
These include the F-Series full-size pickup truck, Explorer and Escape SUVs, and
Taurus, Focus and Mustang cars. Earlier this month, the Escape set a calendar-
year sales record for small SUVs.

In the third quarter, Ford launched the Ford Thunderbird and Jaguar X-Type in 
the U.S., and introduced the Ford Fiesta in Europe. Other new products due in 
the U.S. this year include the Land Rover Freelander, Lincoln Blackwood, Focus 
ZX5 and Think Neighbor.

Third quarter 2001 operating results exclude a previously disclosed non-cash 
charge of $199 million, or 11 cents per share, for the write-down of certain 
investments in e-commerce and automotive-related ventures. They also exclude a 
non-cash credit of $9 million, or about 1 cent a share, for the accounting 
standard on hedging and derivatives. Third quarter 2000 operating earnings 
exclude a one-time charge of $106 million, or 5 cents per share, related to the 
Land Rover acquisition.

The following results exclude special items in both years:

AUTOMOTIVE OPERATIONS

Worldwide automotive operations lost $877 million in the third quarter, compared
to a profit of $497 million year ago. Worldwide automotive revenues were $28.55 
billion, compared with $32.58 billion a year ago.

Automotive gross cash at Sept. 30 totaled $15.2 billion, including $2.2 billion 
of pre-funding employee benefit expenses through a Voluntary Employee 
Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust.

North America: The third quarter loss in North America was $849 million. 
Earnings in the 2000 third quarter were $782 million. The decline was primarily 
a result of lower unit sales volume, down 171,000 units or 15 percent, from last
year, and significantly higher marketing costs.

Europe: Ford lost $24 million in the third quarter in Europe, compared to a loss
of $221 million a year ago. Several new Ford brand vehicles, including the 
Mondeo, Transit and Maverick, contributed to the improved results.

South America: Ford operations in South America lost $56 million, compared to a 
loss of $64 million a year ago. Results from the region continue to be affected 
by weak economic conditions in Brazil and Argentina.

Rest-of-world: Operations from the rest of the world earned a profit of $52 
million, compared to break-even results in the 2000 third quarter.

FORD CREDIT

Ford Credit earned £389 million in the third quarter, up from $386 million a 
year ago.

HERTZ

Hertz reported a third quarter profit of $26 million. Hertz earned $143 million 
in the third quarter a year ago. The decline is attributable to lower volume 
after the events of Sept. 11, as well as slowing economic conditions and a 
reduction in related business and personal travel.

OUTLOOK

'The U.S. economy continues to be marked by uncertainty, making it difficult to 
predict future vehicle sales demand. However, we believe total U.S. sales for 
2001 will be in the range of 16.5-17 million units,' Nasser said.

'Our strong brands and great products, as well as considerable financial 
strength and flexibility, will help us in these difficult times. We are focused 
on managing through the present volatile environment and positioning ourselves 
for a higher level of performance in the future,' Nasser said.

Investors can hear a review of third quarter results by Martin Inglis, chief 
financial officer, on the Internet at www.streetevents.com or 
www.streetfusion.com. The presentation will start at 9 a.m. EDT, Oct. 17.

Ford Motor Company is the world's second largest automaker, selling vehicles in 
200 markets and with approximately 345,000 employees on six continents. Its 
automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, 
Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Credit, 
Hertz and Quality Care.
  

Statements included herein may constitute 'forward looking statements' within 
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These 
statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that 
could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, including, 
without limitation: greater price competition in the U.S. and Europe resulting 
from currency fluctuations, industry overcapacity or other factors; a 
significant decline in industry sales, particularly in the U.S. or Europe, 
resulting from slowing economic growth; lower-than-anticipated market acceptance
of new or existing products; currency or commodity price fluctuations;
economic difficulties in South America or Asia; higher fuel prices; a market 
shift from truck sales in the U.S; lower-than-anticipated residual values for 
leased vehicles; a credit rating downgrade; labor or other constraints on our 
ability to restructure our business; increased safety or emissions regulation 
resulting in higher costs and/or sales restrictions; work stoppages at key Ford 
or supplier facilities; and the discovery of defects in vehicles resulting in 
recall campaigns, increased warranty costs or litigation.


                               Ford Motor Company
                          SELECTED CONSOLIDATED DETAIL
                             2001 Compared with 2000


                                     Third Quarter         Nine Months
                                    2001       2000      2001         2000
Worldwide vehicle unit sales of
cars and trucks (in thousands)
- North America                      933      1,104     3,178        3,724
- Outside North America              580        572     2,005        1,861
   Total                           1,513      1,676     5,183        5,585

Sales and revenues (Mils.)
- Automotive                    $ 28,554   $ 32,582 $  97,756    $ 106,123
- Financial services               7,998      7,473    23,556       21,335
   Total                        $ 36,552   $ 40,055 $ 121,312    $ 127,458

Net income (Mils.)
- Automotive                    $ (1,054)  $    391 $  (1,559)   $   2,995
- Financial Services                 362        497     1,174        1,338
   Income from continuing
   operations                       (692)       888      (385)       4,333
- Discontinued operation
   (Visteon)                           -          -         -          309
- Loss on spin-off of Visteon          -          -         -       (2,252)
   Total net income             $   (692)  $    888 $    (385)   $   2,390

Adjusted net income from
 continuing operations
 (Mils.) a/                     $   (502)  $    994 $      78    $   5,458

Unusual items (Mils.)
- SFAS 133                      $      9   $      - $    (150)   $       -
- E-commerce and Automotive
   -related ventures                (199)         -      (199)           -
- Mazda restructuring actions          -          -      (114)           -
- Land Rover inventory
   profit reduction                    -       (106)        -         (106)
- European charges                     -          -         -       (1,019)
   Total unusual items          $   (190)  $   (106) $   (463)   $  (1,125)

Capital expenditures (Mils.)
- Automotive                    $  1,408   $  1,932  $  3,994    $   4,884
- Financial Services                 199        102       428          565
   Total                        $  1,607   $  2,034  $  4,422    $   5,449

Automotive capital expenditures as a
 percentage of sales                 4.9%       5.9%      4.1%        4.6%

Automotive net cash at September 30 (mils.)
- Cash and marketable
   securities                   $ 13,002   $ 18,599  $ 13,002    $  18,599
- VEBA                             2,213      2,879     2,213        2,879
  Gross cash including VEBA       15,215     21,478    15,215       21,478
- Debt                            12,087     11,987    12,087       11,987
  Automotive net cash
   including VEBA               $  3,128   $  9,491  $  3,128    $   9,491

After-tax return on sales
- North American Automotive         (5.2)%      3.3%     (2.2)%        5.5%
- Total Automotive                  (3.7)%      1.2%     (1.6)%        2.9%

AMOUNTS PER SHARE OF COMMON AND CLASS B
STOCK AFTER PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS
Income assuming dilution
- Automotive                    $   (0.58) $   0.23  $  (0.85)  $     2.17
- Financial Services                 0.20      0.30      0.64         0.97
  subtotal                          (0.38)     0.53     (0.21)        3.14
- Discontinued operation
   (Visteon)                            -         -         -         0.23
- Loss on spin-off of Visteon           -         -         -        (1.64)
    Total                           (0.38) $   0.53  $  (0.21)  $     1.73

Adjusted net income from
 continuing operations a/      $    (0.28) $   0.50 b/ $ 0.04   $     2.61 b/

Unusual items
- SFAS 133                     $     0.01  $      -    $(0.08)  $        -
- E-commerce and Automotive-
   related ventures                 (0.11)              (0.11)
- Mazda restructuring actions           -         -     (0.06)           -
- Land Rover inventory profit
   reduction                            -     (0.05) b/     -        (0.05) b/  
- European charges                      -         -         -        (0.49) b/
    Total unusual items        $    (0.10) $  (0.05) b/$(0.25)  $    (0.54) b/

Cash dividends                 $     0.30  $   0.50    $ 0.90   $     1.50


a/ Excludes unusual items disclosed by the Company.
b/ In addition to excluding unusual items affecting income, also treats the
   Value Enhancement Plan like a stock split and share repurchase.

Prior periods have been restated.



                     Ford Motor Company and Subsidiaries

                         VEHICLE UNIT SALES DETAIL
                          
                          2001 compared with 2000

                               Third Quarter              Nine Months
                             2001         2000        2001         2000
                              (in thousands)            (in thousands)

North America
United States
 Cars                         286          412       1,046        1,342
 Trucks                       561          602       1,853        2,068
  Total United States         847        1,014       2,899        3,410

Canada                         46           59         166          218
Mexico                         40           31         113           96

  Total North America         933        1,104       3,178        3,724

Europe
Britain                       140          114         492          368
Germany                        72           66         289          241
Italy                          47           50         174          157
Spain                          43           36         136          130
France                         36           36         118          119
Other countries               113          112         399          384

   Total Europe               451          414       1,608        1,399

Other international
Brazil                         24           33          99           96
Australia                      29           34          85           95
Taiwan                         14           13          43           54
Argentina                       8           12          23           39
Japan                           4            5          14           21
Other countries                50           61         133          157

 Total other international    l29          158         397          462

Total worldwide vehicle
 unit sales                 1,513        1,676       5,183        5,585


Vehicle unit sales generally are reported worldwide on a 'where sold' basis and
include sales of all Ford-badged units, as well as units manufactured by Ford
and sold to other manufacturers.

Prior periods were restated to correct unit sales.


Excludes SFAS 133 Effect,
Visteon & One-Time Factors

                 AUTOMOTIVE GEOGRAPHIC AND COST OF SALES DETAIL
                            2001 COMPARED WITH 2000

GEOGRAPHIC DATA

                       3rd Quarter                 First Nine Months
                                      01 B/(W)                        01 B/(W)
                    2001      2000    than 00    2001      2000       than 00
pbt (Mils.)
U.S.              ($1,351)   $1,256   ($2,607)  ($2,259)  $6,059    ($8,318)
Canada/Mexico          55      (117)      172       374      395        (21)
 North America    ($1,296)   $1,139   ($2,435)  ($1,885)  $6,454    ($8,339)

Europe                (30)     (344)      314       320     (128)       448
South America         (86)     (100)       14      (276)    (324)        48
Rest of World          80        (5)       85       123      100         23
  Worldwide       ($1,332)     $690   ($2,022)  ($1,718)  $6,102    ($7,820)

Net Income (Mils.)
U.S.                 ($872)    $859    ($1,731)  ($1,462) $4,038    ($5,500)
Canada/Mexico           23      (77)       100       224     254        (30)
 North America       ($849)    $782    ($1,631   ($1,238) $4,292    ($5,530)

Europe                 (24)    (221)       197       205     (68)       273
South America          (56)     (64)         8      (179)   (209)        30
Rest of World           52        0         52        58     105        (47)
  Worldwide          ($877)    $497    ($1,374)  ($1,154)  $4,120   ($5,274)

Sale (Mils.)
 U.S.              ($18,253) $21,824   ($3,571) ($62,921) $72,728  ($9,807)
Canada/Mexico         1,516    1,561       (45)    4,769    5,544     (775)
 North America     ($19,769) $23,385   ($3,616) ($67,690) $78,272 ($10,582)

Europe                6,705    6,612       93     23,469   21,342    2,127
South America           518      653     (135)     1,763    1,894     (131)
Rest of World         1,562    1,932     (370)     4,834    4,615      219
  Worldwide         $28,554  $32,582  ($4,028)   $97,756 $106,123  ($8,367)


COST OF SALES              3rd Quarter                 First Nine Months
                                      01 B (W)                       01 B/(W)
                    2001      2000    than 00    2001      2000      than 00
                   (Mils)    (Mils)   (Mils)    (Mils)    (Mils)     (Mils)

Total Costs and 
 Expenses         $29,649   $31,846   $2,197   $98,787   $100,084   $1,297
Less:
Depreciation          632       734      102     1,989      2,146      157
Amortization          482       574       92     1,832      1,776      (56)
Selling and Admin.  2,276     2,294       18     7,025      6,926      (99)
Pension Benefit Exp. (108)       74      182      (269)        87      356

Net Cost of Sales  $26,367  $28,170   $ 1,803   $88,210   $89,149     $939

Memo: Gross Margin    7.7%     13.5%    -5.9 pts   9.8%      16.0%   -6.2 pts




                         THIRD QUARTER 2001 DATA SHEET
                             2001 COMPARED WITH 2000


                       2nd Qtr     3rd Qtr                  2000
                       2001        2001            3rd Qtr        Full Year
Market Share Data (%)
U.S.
Car                      18.4%       17.1             18.0%          19.1%
Truck                    28.1%       27.1%            27.8%          28.2%
Total                    23.2%       22.2%            22.8%          23.7%

Europe
Car                      10.9%       11.3%            11.0%          10.3%
Truck                     8.5%        9.1%             8.8%           7.8%
Total                    10.6%       11.0%            10.7%           9.9%

U.S. Total Marketing Costs (Ford/LM)
- Variable and Fixed
(% of Gross Revenue      14.1%      16.0%            11.1%           11.1%

U.S. Sales Mix (Ford/LM)
Fleet Sales (% of Total)  30%        18%              21%             26%
Red Carpet Lease 
 (% of Total)             17%        18%              21%             18%
Red Carpet Lease 
 (% of Retail)            24%        22%              26%             25%

U.S. Inventory (Days' Supply)
Car                       53         53               54              81
Truck                     66         66               64              92
Average                   61         61               61              88

Avg. Portfolio Borrowing Rate
 Ford Credit (%)         6.2%      5.9%              6.5%             6.4%

Worldwide Taxes
 Effective Tax Rate     32.5%     32.5%             31.1%            32.5%

Common and Class B
Share outstanding (Mils.)
Average - actual         1,819   1,812              1,649            1,483
Average - Assuming
   full dilution         1,848   1,833              1,678 a/        1,504 a/
Period ended - actual    1,812   1,811              1,896           1,854

Common Stock price (per share)
(Adjusted to reflect Visteon spin-off)
 High                   $30.71   $25.76           $26.63          $30.13
 Low                     24.00    15.34            24.19           21.63

a/ If the Value Enhancement plan was treated as a stock split followed by a 
share repurchase, the shares would have been 2,136 for 2nd quarter 2000 and 
2,041 for full year 2000.

                           Ford Motor Company

            2001 NORTH AMERICAN PRODUCTION AND OVERSEAS SALES

                                                                2001 Planned
                            First   Second  Third    Fourth    Full
                            Quarter Quarter Quarter  Quarter    Year
                            (000)  (000)    (000)    (000)      (000)

North American Production and Imports
Car                           373     426     247      328       1,374
Truck                         705     704     566      637       2,612
 North American Production  1,078   1,130     813      965       3,986

Mexican Domestic Units       Incl.   Incl.   Incl.     Incl.     Incl.
                             Above   Above   Above     Above     Above

imports (Volvo, Jaguar, 
 Land Rover, Fiesta)           50       71      55       93        269
  Total North America 
  (Incl. Imports)           1,128    1,201     868    1,058      4,255
Overseas Vehicle Unit Sales   699      716     580      688      2,683
Ford Worldwide              1,827    1,917   1,448    1,746      6,938

Over/(Under) Prior
  North America
         Units:
           Issue                        0    (120)     (17)
           Quarter            (9)      73    (333)      190
           Year             (202)    (176)   (237)      (79)

         Percentage:
           Issue                        0%    (12)%     (2)%
           Quarter            (1)%      6%    (28)%      22%
           Year              (15)%    (13)%   (21)%     (7)%

  Overseas
         Units:
           Issue                        0     (21)       15
           Quarter            72       17    (136)      108
           Year              105       34      12        61

         Percentage:
           Issue                        0%     (3)%       2%
           Quarter             11%      2%    (19)%      19%
           Year                18%      5%       2%      10%

 Worldwide
         Units:
           Issue                         0     (141)     (2)
           Quarter              63      90     (469)     298
           Year                (97)   (142)    (225)    (18)

         Percentage:
           Issue                        0%     (9)%     (0)%
           Quarter              4%      5%     (24)%     21%
           Year                (5)%    (7)%    (13)%     (1)%