The loss, equal to $3.88 a share, was mostly the result of $8 billion in write-downs because of falling demand for and resale values of gas-thirsty pickups and sport utility vehicles in the United States. Ford took charges of $5.3 billion charge related to lower asset values in North America and $2.1 billion on the lease portfolio at its financing arm, the Ford Motor Credit Company.

The news sent Ford shares tumbling nearly 10 percent in morning trading.

Excluding the write-downs and other charges, the company lost $1 billion from continuing operations, down from a profit of $483 million a year ago. It lost $1.3 billion in North America, where $4-a-gallon gasoline has caused consumers to clamor for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Ford said it would cut production for the rest of the year by an additional 105,000 vehicles, for a total reduction of 26 percent compared with the second half of 2007.

Then, it plans to overhaul three truck factories in North America so they can build small cars and double production of gas-electric hybrid vehicles next year.

Among the cars that Ford will start building and selling in North America are six small cars from Europe, where years of high gasoline have educated automakers how to earn larger profits on those vehicles than they have historically generated in the United States.

“External conditions in North America have changed dramatically in a very short period of time,” said Mark Fields, the president of Ford’s Americas division. “While we have no intention of giving up our longtime truck leadership, we are creating a new Ford in North America on a foundation of small, fuel-efficient cars and crossovers.”

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