1 Area Where Ford Continues to Struggle

Today, industrials editor and analyst Brendan Byrnes discusses recent disappointing auto sales out of -- you guessed it -- Europe. Ford said total sales in Europe for all automakers are set to hit their lowest level since 1994, and sales will probably drop in 2012 for the fifth straight year. Unfortunately for Ford, it's faring even worse than others on the continent in terms of sales right now. Ford sales dropped 9.8% versus last year, while overall industry sales were down 4.8%. Fellow domestic automaker General Motors has even bigger problems in Europe with its more serious overcapacity problems. Check out the following video for more on how Europe is affecting these automakers, and whether Ford and GM look to be solid investments at their current valuations.

Despite its recent struggles in Europe, Ford has been performing well as a company over the past few years -- it's making good vehicles, is consistently profitable, and has done a remarkable job paying down its debt. But Ford's stock has tanked to well below $10 a share recently. Does this create an incredible buying opportunity, or are there other hidden risks with the stock that investors need to know about? To answer that, one of our top equity analysts has compiled a premium research report with in-depth analysis on whether Ford is a buy right now, and why. Simply click here to get instant access to this premium report.

The article 1 Area Where Ford Continues to Struggle originally appeared on Fool.com.

Brendan Byrnes owns shares of Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Ford and General Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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