Ford Manufacturig Plant Hangs Tough in Illinois

According to a story in today's ChicagoBusiness, production is booming at the Ford assembly plant in southern IL. Sales of the all-new Ford Explorer, built in IL, are flying off dealership lots across the country. The new Explorer is engineered to be more fuel efficient, with many powered by six-cylinder engines. Last year the big vehicle coming out of the IL plant was the Taurus, another recent success for Ford.

Ford SUVs had a high profile at this year's Auto Show in Chicago.

At this year's Chicago Auto Show, Ford had one of the more active exhibits. Ford, the only major American automobile company that did not take government bailout funds, has managed to navigate the changing auto market better than its rivals. Other bestsellers coming from Ford are the Focus and Fiesta. The sales for the two popular economy cars have more than doubled from a year ago.