Ford rehiring 1,000 workers to build F-150; will buyers with short term memory appear?

With the recent drop in gas prices (did I just see $2.20 on the sign?) and the possibility of GM and Chrysler merging, Ford's sales chief believes that there is a "pent-up demand" for his company's new F-150. Putting some money where its mouth is, Ford is getting ready to rehire 1,000 workers at the F-150 plant in Dearborn, Michigan, according to the Wall Street Journal. The workers were let go over the summer when gas prices were in the $4/gallon range and demand for big trucks was just tanking. The workers are being called back to start building the big trucks in January. There's no guarantee that "pent-up demand" is out there, but having a new SFE version of the iconic truck will not hurt the F-150's chances of climbing back to where sales once were. Whether those chances rise above the snowball in hell threshold is something I'm not going to be much money on.

[Source: WSJ / Salon via Tom Tomorrow]