Throwing down the gauntlet to its crosstown rival, Ford Motor Co. Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. vowed March 5 to match General Motors Corp. dollar-for-dollar in the ongoing financial

battle for precious share of the U.S. market, according to a Detroit News story by Daniel Howes.

"We're into the next round so let's have at it," Bill Ford said in an interview at the Geneva International Auto Show. "We'll play it as long as we have to. Ultimately, marketing costs as an industry have to come down. But we will be competitive."

Ford's defiance comes just days after GM -- pressing its advantage against struggling Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group --

reinstated zero percent financing and big rebates on certain models to stoke sales and stabilize its share of the American market.

Ford and Chrysler have reluctantly increased rebates and low-cost financing deals to counteract the marketing initiative from GM, while complaining that incentives are unsustainable at current levels. But none of Detroit's automakers appear willing to blink at this time, according to the News.

Chrysler, Ford and GM executives said at Geneva they will do whatever is necessary to protect current market share and attempt to increase it at the expense of rivals. The entrenched attitudes signal that Detroit's bitter and protracted incentive war won't let up as the crucial spring selling season gets underway.