That's not the only way to do it, but, yeah, it's a good idea in general. Or I'd really recommend regular people not try to buy individual stocks. Remember that gains from the market as a whole generally come from a small number of extreme outperformers, and it's very hard to predict which ones they will be.
BTW, I wasn't sold on Perry before (I predicted he'd top out as a lower top-10 type who is fun to watch after his fight with Roberts), but I'm starting to buy him as a top prospect.
Sounds like a good idea.
I can't really comment on Ford or any other company without doing a lot of work. I will say that I don't like their governance, and that you should take a close look at working capital. At a glance, looks like some real issues there...