Ford and Toyota: Wall Street's view.

• Position: GRAPH > NATIONAL

For almost all of the 20th century, the U.S. auto industry was king. Known simply as "Detroit," the industry employed hundreds of thousands of workers on car assembly lines and untold tens of thousands of others in companies that supplied parts to Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors.

Today, foreign competition and the escalating cost of workers' and retirees' benefits have driven American automakers into deep economic difficulties. One result of their troubles has been a big drop in the value of American automakers' stock, as investors have grown wary of the long-term value of these companies.

At the same time, the value of Japanese automakers' stocks have risen, along with the growing popularity of their cars with American drivers.

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

1. Millions of workers' pensions are invested in their companies' stock. Suppose a Ford worker had 600 shares of Ford stock on January 2001. About how much would that stock have been worth then?

   (a) $16,500

   (b) $17,500

   (c) $14,900

   (d) $15,900

2. About how much would that Ford worker's 600 shares of stock have been worth last December?

   (a) $3,900

   (b) $4,100

   (c) $5,100

   (d) $4,800

3. About how much has the value of Ford stock fallen in the 2001-05 time frame?

   (a) 50%

   (b) 65%

   (c) 75%

   (d) 80%

4. If that 2001-05 trend continued to 2010, about how much would Ford stock be worth at that point?

   (a) $5.00

   (b) $2.00

   (c) $7.50

   (d) $6.50

5. What was the difference between the value of Ford stock and Toyota stock in June 2003?

   (a) $35.00

   (b) $29.00

   (c) $46.00

   (d) $41.00

6. About how much would the value of a Toyota worker's stock have risen if she held on to 200 shares she...