NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 10, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its rating and outlook on Ford Motor Co. (BB-/Positive/--) are not affected by Ford's announcement that it plans to reduce debt by $3 billion by redeeming its 6.50% cumulative convertible trust preferred securities outstanding with cash. We view the action as consistent with Ford's ongoing focus on debt reduction, which we consider a positive credit factor. Parent-level cash balances were about $20.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2010, which we believe provides sufficient flexibility to complete the redemption and maintain adequate liquidity. We raised the corporate credit rating on Ford to BB-/Positive/-- from B+/Positive/-- on Feb. 1, 2011, reflecting our reassessments of the company's improved
