GM and Chrysler have argued that they could run out of cash next year if they don't get a bailout from the government. But Ford repeated its previous statement that it believes it can return to profitability without help from Congress and that it is seeking the assistance more as a backstop.

Ford said that, as a result of its turnaround plan, it believes its core North American auto operations will be breakeven or profitable in 2011 on a pre-tax basis.

The company made commitments to speed up the introduction of hybrid and electric vehicles, and added that it believes the consumer shift away from light trucks towards more fuel efficient vehicles is permanent.

And Ford pledged to reverse the decades-long trend of losing money on the production of small cars in the United States. The company said it would increase the production of smaller vehicles such as the Ford Focus to more than 1 million a year and reduce the complexity of the car's parts in order to reduce costs.

Still, the Ford plan is perhaps most notable for what it did not include. The company did not mention that it would be dropping any brand or unprofitable models, beyond Monday's announcement that Ford again looking at possibly selling Volvo.

There was also no announcement of additional plants being closed or capacity being eliminated. Ford said it continues to work with its unions and dealers to achieve additional savings, but it did not set any cost savings targets for those discussions.