On Thursday, February 26, Ford said it had enough cash on hand to survive 2009 without federal assistance even if sales in the United States drop to the 9 million level for light vehicles.

Auditors signed off on the annual report for U.S. regulators without attaching a "going concern" statement, unlike the auditors for General Motors, which posted its sixth consecutive quarterly loss and may not survive the year.

Ford has cash and securities totaling $15.7 billion, a considerable decline from the $33 billion it held at the end of 2007, but still sufficient to keep the company afloat while the American auto industry as a whole flounders.

Ford did add the caution that it might face greater expenditures to help suppliers and to make sure parts get delivered. "It is reasonably possible that our costs to ensure an uninterrupted supply of materials and components could be higher than our present planning assumptions by a material amount."

But even in the face of negative scenarios like bail-outs for suppliers and continuing falling sales, Ford seems confident, saying, ". . . we do not believe that these reasonably possible scenarios cause substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for the next year."

General Motors posted a net loss of $30.9 billion for 2008 on top of its $38.7 billion deficit for 2007.