In the next six months the Ford Motor Co. will amplify its current marketing and advertising campaign to maintain and build momentum behind its existing vehicle lineup.

In an interview with Automotive News Jim Farley, Ford marketing chief said, "We have a new lineup, and people have been driving those products, the Tauruses, the F-150s, the Flexes, for a year now or more in some cases. And it's our chance to tell people what they think about the products on the road."

"Our competitors are having to do this because they lost share or they've got to regain confidence," he added. "We're in a completely different place in the sense that people are interested in Ford, and so our job is to educate them more."

Ford has the distinction of being the only U.S. automaker that has avoided bankruptcy proceedings in the dramatic downturn of the automotive market. The new ads are intended to keep the public watching Ford's success until it debuts the 2011 Ford Fiesta, a small car on which the company is placing big hopes.

The news ads will carry the Ford tagline, "Drive One," but beyond that, Farley did not disclose any details about the campaign's content. He did say the ramped up media presence would begin in the fourth quarter of 2009 and continue into the first quarter of 2010.

Toyota plans to boost production by 65,000 more units of its Camry, Corolla, Sienna, RAV4, Tacoma and Tundra models, according to Automotive News. Bob Carter, general manager of Toyota's North American Division expressed optimism at the sales numbers for May, having improved over the month before. Toyota's retail market experienced a 25% increase in May compared to April.

The entire industry saw an improvement in sales in May, with Toyota's Camry sales up 23.7 percent and Corolla up 27.2 percent. Another carmaker who perceived relief on the horizon was Ford Motor Company, which recently announced that it would increase production by 10 percent.

Compared to last year, the automaker is still almost 40 percent off the mark this year, actually worse than that of Chevrolet, Ford and Nissan. Honda, at a loss of 42 percent of its revenue, was the worst of the top five automakers. With reserves of the Toyota Division down to just 41 days, an increase in production seemed timely.

In an evening vote on Wednesday, December 10, the House of Representatives approved $14 million in emergency loans to prevent the collapse of General Motors and Chrysler, but the fate of the aid package in the Senate is more uncertain.

In a vote of 237 to 170 in favor, the bailout easily passed the House. Prior to the vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "This legislation is about offering Detroit and America a chance to get back on track. It gets down to a question of tough love."

In a statement reacting to the vote, General Motors said, "We thank the House and its leadership for their bipartisan vote to support America's domestic automakers at this most critical time for the nation's
economy.

"The House vote brings us closer to saving jobs and to creating a more competitive U.S. auto industry in order to maintain America's economic vitality.

"We encourage the Senate to act soon so that we can continue at full speed on the restructuring and advanced technologies plans that will form a stronger, more viable GM."

According to Sen. George Voinovich, R.-Ohio, speaking to the press on Wednesday, there are currently insufficient Republican votes in the Senate to pass the measure, which may require further revision for passage, which could be deferred until Saturday or Sunday.

In an article by Lindsay Chappell for Automotive News, a Nissan executive said the company's special task force on financial losses will be disbanded soon with its mission fully accomplished.

Colin Dodge, a Nissan executive vice president, said, We're not losing money anymore. We can't stay in recovery mode forever. [Nissan CEO Carlos] . . . Ghosn told me to use my best judgment about when to stop, and I think that might be pretty soon.

Dodge was charged with the mission of making global changes to halt the company's growing losses, which totaled $2.4 billion for the fiscal year ending on March 30, 2009.

Consequently, Dodge and his task force halted programs to develop new vehicles, declined to participate in major car shows, slowed the rate of new investments, worked on resourcing vehicle components, and relocated production operations among their many cost-saving cuts.

Dodge told Automotive News that the rate of financial loss was a powerful motivator for corporate change. When you're scared, you can do things you don't normally do, he said.

We got quicker in making changes, Dodge continued. The industry has made hard work out of decisions like this. It doesn't have to be so studied. You'd be surprised how quickly you can move a vehicle when you're losing money.

Although Dodge could not disclose Nissan's current financial numbers before the company's regularly scheduled legal reporting, the interview suggested those results will show significant improvement.