Autos: A Year in Ford’s Past

Besides fidgeting through an auto-industry sales dip last year, the Ford Motor Co. had to sweat out a seven-week national strike by the United Automobile Workers. Totting up the toll, the nation’s second biggest automaker last week reported 1967 sales of $10.5 billion, down from $12.2 billion in 1966. The earnings picture was even bleaker. With the strike accounting for a fourth-quarter loss of $109.1 million, Ford’s overall profits last year skidded from $621 million in 1966 to $84.1 million —a drop of 86.4%.