CBJ – April 25 – Ford Motor Co. could announce its strongest first quarter in more than 11 years, according to reports.

With tomorrow's announcement of 2011 first quarter profits, several analysts are projecting the strongest first quarter since 1998 for the automotive manufacturer.

A shift toward more fuel efficient models is believed to have triggered the company's sales surge. Growing gasoline prices across the nation have only helped the company in selling its new models like the Ford Fiesta, subcompact, and the Ford Explorer, SUV, which both emphasis fuel efficiency.

Alan Mulally, Ford CEO, believes Ford is now better positioned to deal with growing fuel prices than it was during the 2008 fuel spike.

"With the fuel prices moving up, we now have the vehicles that people want," Mulally said. "The largest vehicles are slowing down a little bit, but all these smaller ones from Ford are now available."

March sales surpassed those of rival General Motors Co., as Ford sales topped GM sales for only the second time in 13 years. However, unlike GM, Ford was not a bailout recipient during the 2009 global financial crisis, and the company feels that its funding plan during that time of economic uncertainty was critical to its redevelopment and marketing of its new fuel efficiency lineup.

"The most important thing about our plan is profitable growth," Mulally said in a report. "We will always be very disciplined about our production and our pricing and have the pricing reflect the real demand and inherent value of the product."