The Reincarnation Of Ford?

Implications: Ford's financials may be atrocious and their market share may be down, but there may be some hope for the automaker in the form of an industry outsider, Alan Mulally and an industry insider, Jim Farley.

Analysis: An investment with Ford is similar to investing in Sears Holding when K Mart went public with Eddie Lampert, after bankruptcy. You are buying the leadership, not the business.

In the year and a half that he has been at the helm, Ford chief executive Alan Mulally has downsized Ford's North American operations and negotiated a game-changing contract with the UAW. He is selling off what he calls "non-core assets" like Jaguar and Land Rover and has mortgaged much of what is left to secure what he calls "the largest home loan in history" to pay for it. He has assembled a global leadership team, outlined his vision for integrating Ford's global operations and is leading a cultural transformation that is changing the old ways of doing business at Ford.

There is a growing sense of optimism in Dearborn. There are impressive quality gains the automaker has achieved, despite one of the most painful downsizings in its 104 year history. There are customers Ford is reclaiming in key markets like California, and the new products it is preparing to launch later this year.

Ford insiders also point to the smaller victories beng won at every level of the company: a few dollars shaved from the cost of a truck by using common components, a few days cut from the development time of a new crossover by virtual manufacturing analysis, a few million saved by new work rules approved by union members at an assembly plant.

The financial results Ford releases April 24 will likely show the company's sixth consecutive year-over-year improvement.