A solid quarter for Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) : The automaker reported a fourth-quarter pre-tax profit of $1.7 billion, or $0.31 a share, well ahead of the $0.26 a share consensus analyst estimate.

It was Ford's highest fourth-quarter pre-tax number in over a decade, a substantial improvement over the $1.1 billion (before special items) that it reported in the year-ago quarter. For the full year 2012, Ford earned $8 billion before taxes, or $1.41 per share, down about $800 million from 2011.

Ford still faces substantial challenges, notably in Europe, and those challenges will continue to weigh on earnings for a while. But that said, a lot of things are going well for the Blue Oval right now.

The ups and downs of a decent quarter Ford's good quarterly result isn't really a surprise. The company has been dropping hints for a few weeks now --- starting with a big increase in its quarterly dividend -- suggesting that its results would be strong. But as always, some of Ford's business units were stronger than others:

• North America, as always the "engine" of Ford's business, had a terrific quarter, with pre-tax profit of $1.87 billion. A good number here was widely expected, as strong sales of high-margin pickup trucks and a disciplined approach to incentives kept overall operating margins strong, just as we saw last quarter. This came even as Ford's market share dipped a bit, a dip that CFO Bob Shanks attributed in part to shortages of the all-new Fusion sedan as production lines continued to ramp up during the quarter. Ford's operating margin in North America for the full year 2012 was a record, the company said, and it expects that strength to continue through 2013.
• South America did fairly well, with a $145 million pre-tax profit for the quarter, up from $108 million a year ago. Ford recently launched several new products in the region and business has picked up as those new vehicles have gained market traction. On the downside, exchange rate shifts in places like Brazil hurt results, and other currency challenges in the region cloud the company's outlook for 2013.
• Asia Pacific Africa posted a pre-tax profit of just $39 million, but that's far from the whole story. The market winds are definitely blowing Ford's way throughout the region, as the company found itself with (among other prizes) one of China's best-selling cars in 2012, the Focus. Sales and revenues were up substantially from a year ago – but those gains were largely offset by Ford's big ongoing investments. Ford is on-track to be a major player throughout Asia by mid-decade, and results here are likely to run around break-even for several more quarters as the company invests in ramping up its presence toward that goal.
• Europe's results were ugly, plain and simple, as the company posted a $732 million pre-tax loss. That was somewhat wider than expected, but as Ford said it was "more than explained" by an industrywide drop in vehicle sales, and as Ford began to recognize costs related to the three factories it plans to close in the region, Shanks said. The quarterly sales rate for the 19 markets Ford tracks as "Europe" was the lowest since 1995, as continuing deep recessions in key European countries have kept consumers away from car dealers. The outlook here will be grim for a while, but Ford is taking major steps that should right the ship by mid-decade.
• Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) Credit, the company's captive financing arm, reported a pre-tax profit of $414 million. That was down from $506 million in the year-ago quarter, but that's not a major source of worry. The company said that the decline was explained largely by having fewer lease terminations during the quarter versus last year, meaning fewer lightly used cars to sell.