Vrooom At The Top

"Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black," decreed an entrepreneur named Henry Ford in 1909. Nowadays shoppers browsing through a Ford showroom can choose models in everything from basic blue to racy red, but the founder's favorite color remains popular with the company's executives and shareholders. And with good reason: the profit-and- loss statements of Ford Motor Co. have lately come only in black.

Since 1986, when the firm's annual earnings topped those of General Motors for the first time in 62 years, Ford has kept its accelerator to the floor. In 1987 it posted an all-time industry high of $4.6 billion in profits, with sales of $71.6 billion. In 1988 Ford is already ahead of last year's blistering pace. First-quarter earnings rose by 8.9% from the same period in 1987, to $1.62 billion, topping the combined profits of GM ($1.1 billion) and Chrysler ($184 million). Though 75% of Ford's earnings come from the U.S., it is also doing well around the world. Revenues in Western Europe went up by 25% last year, to $15.7 billion, and even in Japan, Ford has scored persistent, if modest, sales increases. Looking at the figures, Auto Analyst Ann Knight of Paine Webber observes, "It would be hard to imagine them doing a better job."

Almost everything Ford produces these days seems to fly out of showrooms. The smoothly styled Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable midsize sedans and wagons (nearly 460,000 sold in the U.S. last year at prices starting at about $11,800) remain among the most popular cars on the road. The revamped Lincoln Continental ($26,600 and up) is in such demand that some customers must wait as long as five months for delivery. To appease impatient Continental buyers, Ford has started to send them $20 Cross pen-and-pencil sets along with an apologetic note; one customer returned the gift, expressing a preference for the car. Hottest of all are Ford's trucks: last year more than 550,000 of the F-Series pickups (base price: $10,176) were sold, putting them ahead of any other truck or car line in the U.S.

Under the innovative leadership of Chairman Donald Petersen, Ford is not simply coasting with its established models. Last month it introduced the Probe, a sporty two-door hatchback that may turn out to be nearly as successful as the Taurus. For a base price of $10,459, the Probe offers front- wheel drive, a zippy but economical four-cylinder engine and the sleek, aerodynamic look of a European or Japanese import. That should not be surprising, because Ford designed and developed the Probe in a joint project with Mazda, the Japanese company in which Ford owns a 25% interest. Mazda's plant in Flat Rock, Mich., will be turning out 600 Probes a day by September. All the cars that can be produced through next October have already been sold to dealers. The product seems to be attracting young buyers who have previously leaned toward such imports as the Honda Prelude ($13,640) or the Toyota Celica ($11,548). Ford and Mazda are so confident of the Probe's quality and appeal that they plan to export 6,000 of the cars to Japan this year.