With General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC striving to stay out of bankruptcy Ford Motor Co. envisions itself as the “last man standing” as a result. Ford’s strategy sees them stealing customers from its weakened crosstown rivals, and separating from GM and Chrysler in the minds of the public, investors and lawmakers.

In reporting a smaller-than-expected loss for the first quarter of 2009 Ford said that a government bailout is not likely needed. To quote Alan Mulally, the company’s CEO, “we do not expect to require a bridge loan from the U.S. government.” This reflects Ford’s optimism in its effort to remake itself as a leaner car company without government oversight.

People, with knowledge of Ford’s thinking, believe that they have a long term vision of forming a new global Big Three with the two largest car makers, Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG.

Ford’s big concern is that an uncontrolled bankruptcy reorganization of GM and Chrysler could possibly take down their shared networks of suppliers and dealers. Another concern the company has, to avoid having to seek a federal handout, would be to accelerate restructuring efforts. A couple of the main issues would be dealing with the United Auto Workers union and a debt-reduction agreement with lenders.

Ford “is successfully differentiating itself from its wounded domestic competitors in operating and with consumers,” Efraim Levy, an auto analyst with Standard & Poor’s, wrote in a note Friday.

Excerpts from an article by Matthew Dolan in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal.