Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Commitments and contingencies consist primarily of guarantees and indemnifications, litigation and claims, and lease commitments.

Guarantees and Indemnifications

The carrying value of recorded liabilities related to guarantees was de minimis at March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The following guarantees and indemnifications were issued and outstanding at March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012:

Guarantees of Certain Obligations of Unconsolidated and Other Affiliates. In some cases, we have guaranteed debt and other financial obligations of unconsolidated affiliates, including Ford. Expiration dates vary, and guarantees will terminate on payment and/or cancellation of the obligation. A payment by us would be triggered by failure of the guaranteed party to fulfill its obligation covered by the guarantee. In some circumstances, we are entitled to recover from Ford or an affiliate of Ford amounts paid by us under the guarantee. However, our ability to enforce these rights is sometimes stayed until the guaranteed party is paid in full. The maximum potential payments under these guarantees totaled $70 million and $78 million at March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively. Of these values, $62 million and $70 million at March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively, were counter-guaranteed by Ford to us.

Indemnifications. In the ordinary course of business, we execute contracts involving indemnifications standard in the industry and indemnifications specific to a transaction. These indemnifications might include and are not limited to claims relating to any of the following: environmental, tax, and shareholder matters; intellectual property rights; governmental regulations and employment-related matters; dealers and other commercial contractual relationships; and financial matters, such as securitizations. Performance under these indemnities generally would be triggered by a breach of terms of the contract or by a third-party claim. We also are party to numerous indemnifications which do not limit potential payment; therefore, we are unable to estimate a maximum amount of potential future payments that could result from claims made under these indemnities.

Litigation and Claims

Various legal actions, proceedings, and claims (generally, "matters") are pending or may be instituted or asserted against us. These include but are not limited to matters arising out of governmental regulations relating to other matters;

tax matters; alleged illegal acts; financial services; employment-related matters; dealers and other contractual relationships; personal injury matters; investor matters; and financial reporting matters. Certain of the pending legal actions are, or purport to be, class actions. Some of the matters involve or may involve claims for compensatory, punitive, or antitrust or treble damages in very large amounts, sanctions, assessments, fines, penalties, or other relief, which, if granted, would require very large expenditures.

The extent of our financial exposure to these matters is difficult to estimate. Many matters do not specify a dollar amount for damages, and many others specify only a jurisdictional minimum. To the extent an amount is asserted, our historical experience suggests that in most instances the amount asserted is not a reliable indicator of the ultimate outcome.

In evaluating for accrual and disclosure purposes matters filed against us, we take into consideration factors such as our historical experience with matters of a similar nature, the specific facts and circumstances asserted, the likelihood of our prevailing, and the severity of any potential loss. We reevaluate and update our accruals as matters progress over time.

NOTE 14. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Continued)

For nearly all of our matters, where our historical experience with similar matters is of limited value (i.e., "non-pattern matters"), we evaluate matters based on the individual facts and circumstances. For non-pattern matters, we evaluate whether there is a reasonable possibility of a material loss in excess of any accrual that can be estimated. It is reasonably possible that some of the matters for which accruals have not been established could be decided unfavorably to us and could require us to pay damages or make other expenditures in amounts or a range of amounts that cannot be estimated at March 31, 2013. We do not reasonably expect, based on our analysis, that such matters would have a material effect on future financial statements for a particular year, although such an outcome is possible.

As noted, the litigation process is subject to many uncertainties, and the outcome of individual litigated matters is not predictable with assurance. Our assessments are based on our knowledge and experience, but the ultimate outcome of any matter could require payment substantially in excess of the amount that we have accrued and/or disclosed.