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Ford Motor Company October 2011 Sales up 6%


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HeyFordmanptw:

 

I had a 1985 Bronco ll with 2.8 V6 and sold it in 1996 for $1500 with 225,000 miles. Same engine, one new trans (the French built trans was fragile) and main seal started leaking at about 185,000 miles and did good job of slinging oil onto tailgate at times. Engine started burning oil at about 205,000 miles, and new owner after buying it from me put new engine in it and drove it another 10 years. So I certainly got my money's worth out of that vehicle. It spend a lot of time in Norhern MI with heavy snow from October to April. Only got stuck once in it up North and never down here. Sorry to hear you had nothing but problems with your 2.9L V6. Only other problem I had with truck is those big side folding mirrors rusted badly at connection points to both doors. Otherwise, I loved that Bronco despite the lack of power up hills and so so fuel mileage.

 

Yeah, I have a soft spot for my Bronco II since it was my first vehicle, even though I spent quite a bit to keep it running. I'm sure it would have run fine with the second engine had I just kept putting more antifreeze/water in it regularly, but I like my vehicles to run as expected and not have the fear of being stranded. If I still had it today, it would have a V8 and be a fun little off-road toy.

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Having just bought a 2012 Focus SE that had a MSRP of $22,375, I can attest that it is VERY hard to find the right mix of Focus out there. The dealers that have tons all have the steel wheeled SEs, and the Sport Package seems common on gray and silver Focuses, of all choices. Red Candy and Blue Candy (mine) are seemingly nonexistent.

 

I would not be surprised to see the 2013 Focus add a new style 16" aluminium wheel as standard, and drop the price of the Rapid Spec 203A (over $1,000 for cruise and Sync?? I thought Sync was supposed to be coming down in price!). Also, Focuses with moonroofs seem nonexistent as well, although that's fine by me, I didn't want one.

 

Yeah, Fusion is cheaper and that's no doubt helping, but I can't imagine a Focus buyer would really consider a Fusion - they're dramatic opposites in personality.

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Again, and I cannot stress this enough:

 

This is a seasonal business.

 

Why is the boxy Escape 19,046 sale slow +30%, Lowly classic RWD F-Series (Fords Profit Generator) 52,511 sales number & Explorer dead in the water with +225% with sales increases, when the BRAND NEW Focus sales have dropped Richard?

 

Surely if its fresh faced brand NEW to the market latest bit of kit, it should be on a sales boom figures for the first year at least ?

Edited by Ford Jellymoulds
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Why is the boxy Escape 19,046 sale slow +30%, classic RWD F-Series 52,511 sales & Explorer dead with +225% with sales increasing, when the NEW Focus sales have dropped Richard?

 

Surely if its fresh faced brand NEW to the market latest bit of kit, it should be on a sales boom figures for the first year at least?

:sigh:

 

FJM, those are year over year numbers, not month over month. Seasonal adjustments do not apply.

 

Further, the previous Focus carried much more appealing fleet pricing. Focus retail sales are up year over year.

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I just you didn't catch the sacasm in my post.

 

But honestly what is the point of having the Flex at this point? Add a higher trim Explorer with an Eco-Boost option if you feel that you need to reach customers even higher and (or) add a Lincoln version as well. Designing and marketing 2 vehicle lines that cater to the same if not almost the same customers makes no sense. The market has spoken and what they want is Explorer... Not Flex.

 

People buy a Flex precisely because of the styling - they don't want an Explorer or other traditional SUV and they like them fully loaded. And vice versa on the styling. This is not the same as the Fusion/Milan where the differences are very minor.

 

The only question is whether they're making enough profit on the Flex to continue it, and nobody here actually knows. If they keep building it then the answer is yes - if they kill it the answer is no. It's that simple.

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Why is the boxy Escape 19,046 sale slow +30%, Lowly classic RWD F-Series (Fords Profit Generator) 52,511 sales number & Explorer dead in the water with +225% with sales increases, when the BRAND NEW Focus sales have dropped Richard?

 

Surely if its fresh faced brand NEW to the market latest bit of kit, it should be on a sales boom figures for the first year at least ?

 

More to it than that. Ford really pushes F-150 sales with advertising, and heavy incentives with Chevy pickup incentives even higher. Last year for present Escape and represents good bang for the buck in this economy. I believe the Escape is the most value priced of all the sport utes and the oldest. So natural for the Escape to sell so well as it does represent good value and Ford runs a lot of special lease deals on it also.

 

Focus, on other hand, is new, consumers still getting used to higher price points, and incentives slim. Focus sales will grow over time as Ford makes adjustments in lots of ways to increase sales over time. New Fusion will also increase price differences between the two. New EV Focus and Focus ST will also add to sales next year.

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Why is the boxy Escape 19,046 sale slow +30%, Lowly classic RWD F-Series (Fords Profit Generator) 52,511 sales number & Explorer dead in the water with +225% with sales increases, when the BRAND NEW Focus sales have dropped Richard?

 

Surely if its fresh faced brand NEW to the market latest bit of kit, it should be on a sales boom figures for the first year at least ?

 

Why were "klassic kool RWD Mustang" sales only 4898? Seriously. Just stop it.

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One of those Focuses was mine! :happy feet: :happy feet:

 

Inventory seems to be building up, but they're all gray SE sedans with the steel wheels around here. Hatches are rare, and I'd bet they'd sell more overall if aluminium wheels weren't so darn expensive on the SE (and not available at all with Frosted Glass Metallic - why?).

 

me toohappy%20feet.gifhappy%20feet.gif

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While Focus production was way up last month, in many areas, the cars have not hit the ground. My local dealer hasn't had a Focus for 2 months. Increased production takes alot longer to make it out here.

 

The Flex is a style conscious purchase. Style conscious vehicles have a notoriously short shelf life (Camaro being the exception due to 7 years of pent up demand). When the Flex is updated, the sales will go up. However, it will never sell in huge numbers. Ford is obviously happy with what Flex is returning to them, or it would not be getting a MCE.

 

As for the constant complaints about sales numbers......................... must this once again be mentioned?? Ford no longer cares about numbers over profit. I guarantee that the new Focus is making Ford a much better ROI than the old one. Instead of primarily being a fleet vehicle, it is a retail vehicle. This is a good thing.

 

Oh, Mustang sales would be better if inventory was better. There are few out there, and our local dealership hasn't been able to get a non GT500 for 3+ months. You can't sell what you don't have.

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One good thing is the Focus and Fiesta are selling in Detroit hating California! That makes up enough for lower #'s in Midwest states.

 

California is not Detroit hating. We just hate horrible cars. Now that Ford is making decent cars, it is selling again in California. Not rocket science.

 

Ford trucks have always had great retail presence in California. SUVs too... we buy what's great, not what badge is on the hood because there is not a whole lot of Big3 employees and family with A-plan PIN.

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While Focus production was way up last month, in many areas, the cars have not hit the ground. My local dealer hasn't had a Focus for 2 months. Increased production takes alot longer to make it out here.

 

Oh, Mustang sales would be better if inventory was better. There are few out there, and our local dealership hasn't been able to get a non GT500 for 3+ months. You can't sell what you don't have.

Very interesting. My dealer alone has 19 2012 Focus's (mix of wagon and sedan) on their lot.

 

And my dealer has Two Boss 302's (one is a Leguna Seca), 3 GT500's, 5-3.7L and 5-5.0L (15 Mustangs total). All are 2012 models. So it's weird your dealer would have issues with availability but mine doesn't.

 

Based on my market anyways, the inventory is there.

Edited by V8-X
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This is exactly what I am talking about. Availability is very spotty. Also, do you know that those cars are actually on the ground?? The way that many of the dealership websites read, they show vehicles that are in transit and being available. With many dealerships in the Valley, you have to decipher their inventory to try to get a true number available.

 

For instance, when looking at Ecoboost F150's, pretty much half that were listed, are not actually there yet. Same with Foci. Thus, it makes it really hard to know exactly what is available. One dealership was really bad. They showed 36 Foci, of which, 19 were 2012 models. They actually have 1 car at the dealership, and it is on the showroom floor.

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Drive past the dealership everyday, plus was in there last week. I can say all 15 Stangs are there, or at least were last week. Now all 19 Focus I can't say for sure, but it looked like it. Plus, they still have the images of each one on their webpage (specific vehicle images, not stock photos, as they are on their showroom floor). So unless they sold today or yesterday, I'd have to assume they are still there, as their Online Sales Manager has sold vehicles typically off the site within 24hrs.

Edited by V8-X
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Otherwise, I loved that Bronco despite the lack of power up hills and so so fuel mileage.

 

Wasn't it also just a tad bit top heavy? LOL

 

The funny thing is the models we discuss most are probably not the key product that keeps the lights on and the money rolling in. I know how hard Ford has worked to increase fuel efficiency and really push the smaller vehicles, but it makes you wonder if Ford could live without a huge volume of F-Series? I don't believe so. In fact I bet the F-Series generates as much profit if not more then all the other model lines combined.

Edited by 2005Explorer
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Wasn't it also just a tad bit top heavy? LOL

 

Very! But that's why you didn't drive it like a sports car. Of course, with no guts, you definitely didn't mistake a Bronco II for a sports car! :hysterical:

 

The funny thing is the models we discuss most are probably not the key product that keeps the lights on and the money rolling in. I know how hard Ford has worked to increase fuel efficiency and really push the smaller vehicles, but it makes you wonder if Ford could live without a huge volume of F-Series? I don't believe so. In fact I bet the F-Series generates as much profit if not more then all the other model lines combined.

 

At one point, the F-Series did bring in more profit than the entire rest of the Ford lineup. I'm not sure if that is still the case today, though, with the D3 cars/S©UVs, the Fusion, Escape, etc.

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