As Ford Motor Co. tries to trim spending, one item under close scrutiny is its controversial dealer-improvement program, Blue Oval Certified, according to USA Today.

Reeling from its third consecutive quarterly loss and worst performance since 1992, Ford is frantically looking to cut costs. In January, it will announce a restructuring plan likely to include plant closings, layoffs and other cutbacks.

One area where Ford has invested heavily is in the Blue Oval program, which was introduced last year in an effort to get dealers to improve the way that they sell and service cars, deal with customers, use technology to manage their businesses and maintain their dealerships.

The initiative has cost Ford $704 million since April 2001, when the automaker began reimbursing qualified dealers 1.25 percent of the invoice price for every vehicle sold. At that pace, Blue Oval could cost Ford $1 billion a year, making it an attractive target for cuts. Ford has made no official comment.

Ralph Seekins, a Ford dealer in Fairbanks, Alaska, and chairman of its national dealer council, says many dealers likely would object if they lost the Blue Oval money and Ford didn't concurrently lower invoice prices.

Blue Oval has already damaged relations with so many dealers that Ford might have no choice but to kill it, according to Michell VanVorst, executive director of the Ford Dealer Alliance, a trade group for dealers.