Ford, My Favorite Auto Company: Cramer

If Henry Ford could somehow meet Ford CEO Alan Mulally, he'd be impressed. So says Jim Cramer.

The Mad Money host credits Mulally with successfully steering Ford away from the throes of financial crisis to its current perch, the envy of the auto industry. "Mulally has simply been the driving force behind Ford's astounding turnaround. Cramer said.

And he accomplished that turnaround by revisiting Henry Ford's objectives when Ford first started the company all those generations ago.

"It goes back to Henry Ford who in 1925 took out an advertisement in the Saturday Evening Post and explained that he wanted to open up the highways to all mankind – so everybody could have great cars and trucks," Mulally told Cramer.

In other words, at Ford quality really is job one.

Recent sales figures seem to confirm that the strategy which worked so well nearly 90 years ago, is again working today.

Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally

Sales at Ford are running ahead of the industry average with a year-over-year gains reaching 13 percent for the first five months of 2013. And overall sales are up an impressive 8.2 percent for the year-to-date.

Meanwhile, business is so brisk that Ford said it plans to add 800 more white-collar workers by the end of 2013 after already signing on 2,200 so far this year.

Going forward, Cramer says there are a slew of reasons to be bullish on this stock.

Well Managed. "First of all, it's the best run auto company in America," said Cramer. "Nobody does it better than Alan Mulally."

Hot Cars. The Ford Focus was the best selling car on earth last year, and when you include the Fiesta and the F-Series pickup, Ford makes three of the top ten best-selling cars worldwide.

Improved Consumer. "We know that home prices are on the rebound, when that happens consumers feel wealthier and they're more likely to spend on a new car," Cramer said.

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Overseas Strategy. Ford has aggressively cut back on its European business and said they're willing to go further in order to become profitable in Europe by the middle of the decade.

Borrowing Costs. "Fitch and Moody's have both upgraded Ford's debt from junk to investment grade," said Cramer. "That gives Ford the ability to borrow much more cheaply."

Other. "Ford's raw costs are coming down and the company's deal with the United Auto Workers gives them stability on labor costs at least through 2015," said Cramer.

"What more can I tell you," Cramer mused, "except I like this stock."

(Click to play video)

Disclosure: On Thursday June 27th, Jim Cramer owned Ford on behalf of his charitable trust.

*Note: Cramer's bullish catalysts for Ford were first published on Jan 2, 2013 in a post titled "Does Cramer's Auto Play Have Superior Acceleration?"

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