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Ford January 2012 Sales Figures


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It's actually right next door to me. Glad to see the Sonic is such a smash hit for the sake of the locals.

 

Fiesta continues to be the struggler in this segment, not sure what went wrong there. At least the Fiesta is a global success, no matter how many Sonics GM sales in the US, it's nothing compared to what Fiesta does globally.

 

The MKX remains a solid hit, but how low can the MKT go?

 

The Focus sales are not up significantly from last month, but they are up significantly from last year.

 

With supplies of Lincoln Town Cars just about up, when do these MKT limos start hitting the street? You would think MKT sales would move up a little with special MKT livery versions arriving. Yeah, Fiesta sales are disappointing with them starting to stack up on lots around here. Price has to be a problem. Just saw a Focus SE sedan for $20,500 sticker and a Fiesta SE hatch with auto for $20,100 sticker. I would take the Focus SE sedan for same price. Ford has a problem with pricing. Focus made here with UAW labor and Fiesta in Mexico with $2/hour labor and Focus is not much more money in SE trim.

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With supplies of Lincoln Town Cars just about up, when do these MKT limos start hitting the street? You would think MKT sales would move up a little with special MKT livery versions arriving. Yeah, Fiesta sales are disappointing with them starting to stack up on lots around here. Price has to be a problem. Just saw a Focus SE sedan for $20,500 sticker and a Fiesta SE hatch with auto for $20,100 sticker. I would take the Focus SE sedan for same price. Ford has a problem with pricing. Focus made here with UAW labor and Fiesta in Mexico with $2/hour labor and Focus is not much more money in SE trim.

 

I believe the MKT Town Car is arriving with the 2013 model, which will be out in Spring. I'm sure it will have a positive impact on MKT sales, if not a direct correlation with the discontinued car.

Edited by BORG
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Reviews for the Sonic have been consistently positive, and launch has been pretty smooth in North America, Korea, and Australia.

 

The Sonic with standard engine is very average with mediocre fuel rating, but with turbo option it's a great little vehicle with very good fuel mileage. In standard trim though, the Fiesta bests it in performance and fuel mileage. I hope the Sonic does well as it's only B segment built in U.S.

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Thanks for the numbers. At least its closer. Now, what in the world is going on at Chrysler/Fiat. They outsold Ford in Canada and US sales are up over 40%. They must be giving that junk away. Old Hemi...C'mon, that 50 Yr Old Hemi is "old school". The Eco boost V-6 kills it in trucks and the Hemi Charger gets spanked by the 5.0 Mustang. Yet, people seems to buy this Chrysler /Fiat stuff. It must be price?

 

 

15,049 Cruze, 5,712 Sonic

 

It's in the PDF on the right labeled "January deliveries"

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Now that Focus has similar incentives and leasing deals as Fusion and Escape, sales have come back to life.

 

It's as though Ford knew what they were doing and engineered plenty of +$22K dealer stock before hand....:stirpot:

 

I bet the ATP on Focus are still looking pretty good, much better than they were 12 months ago....

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Now, what in the world is going on at Chrysler/Fiat. They outsold Ford in Canada and US sales are up over 40%.

One factor is Chrysler's slow ramp up of 2011 model year production for several products in the late part of calendar year 2010 into early 2011. As a result, using January 2011 as a basis for comparison to January 2012 will result in many examples of dramatic sales increases.

 

Don't forget significant product improvements and effective marketing, as well.

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It's actually right next door to me. Glad to see the Sonic is such a smash hit for the sake of the locals.

 

Fiesta continues to be the struggler in this segment, not sure what went wrong there. At least the Fiesta is a global success, no matter how many Sonics GM sells in the US, it's nothing compared to what Fiesta does globally.

 

The MKX remains a solid hit, but how low can the MKT go?

 

The Focus sales are not up significantly from last month, but they are up significantly from last year, which is around the time Focus production was transitioning between MY '11 and '12. I think the excitement on the Focus numbers is a little misleading, but the Focus is making steady progress forward and isn't too far behind the competition this month.

I'll bite: The current Fiesta (2008-12) is starting to date and will get an MCE. Sonic is brand new and getting lots of conventional airtime. I remember the Fiesta was released with an aggressive campaign but it's mostly viral now.

I also think Fiesta has a heck of a lot more brand recognition ROW then NA. It will build in time and IMHO I am happy they kept Fiesta vice Escort. I am also glad the rumored ROCAM 8V engine didn't make it to the Fiesta.

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Chryslers sales dropped like a brick, every month, for about 2 years. Of course they are doing better................ they had no choice.

 

Maybe a better look at Chrysler sales would be incomparison to sales before they went bankrupt. This would give perspective.

 

If I used to sell 100 widgets a year, then for 2 years sold less than 25 widgets per year............... then went back up to 50 widgets a year, it would look like a HUGE increase. Yet, in the overall perspective of the widget business, it is not nearly as impressive. (This is taking into account that the widget industry contracted by about 1/3 in that timeframe)

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I don't know what data you're leaning on Richard, can you share it? Is this anecdotal?

 

I know of someone else who could only get loans for new cars, not used. If he had an explanation I've forgotten what it was, but it didn't involve a particular automaker.

 

http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?/topic/48443-i-helped-my-sister-get-a-chevy-sonic/

 

knowing that GM is financing people with 500 FICO scores is outrageous.

 

And that's the part that's troubling. GM wouldn't be buying 500 FICO paper as a 'favor for a friend'. They'd be buying it as a matter of policy. It's an instance where you can, IMO, infer some defensible conclusions about corporate policy from an anecdote.

 

Maybe they're not buying a lot of crappy paper from these dealers. Maybe this was just a one-time deal to try and meet some sales target at the end of the month.

 

However, I'm inclined to doubt that. GM sought and received approval to buy a company that specializes in subprime car loans in order to augment its ability to extend credit to buyers.

 

Hence, my skepticism.

Edited by RichardJensen
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http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?/topic/48443-i-helped-my-sister-get-a-chevy-sonic/

 

 

 

And that's the part that's troubling. GM wouldn't be buying 500 FICO paper as a 'favor for a friend'. They'd be buying it as a matter of policy. It's an instance where you can, IMO, infer some defensible conclusions about corporate policy from an anecdote.

 

Maybe they're not buying a lot of crappy paper from these dealers. Maybe this was just a one-time deal to try and meet some sales target at the end of the month.

 

However, I'm inclined to doubt that. GM sought and received approval to buy a company that specializes in subprime car loans in order to augment its ability to extend credit to buyers.

 

Hence, my skepticism.

if, as stated they are "carrying their own paper", its actually pretty simple....the parameters will be time in residence and job ( to aleviate any fears of SCNL...Subscriber cannot be located, ie skip hazard ) debt to income ratio, and the BIG one should the car have to be repo'ed.....Downpayment.....( if it comes back and the car is in an equitable position for resale ) if those are met its a money making machine...ie Finance reserve, warranties amnd Bank Fees....theres an old addage...beggars cant be choosers....this is an elaborate twist on those little sled lots carrying 3-$5000 cars that advertise they can finanance anyone

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Plenty of good news to report here, but what is up with the Flex and MKT? Those things are dead men walking and I don't think the little facelift they have planned for them is going to do much to bring them back to life. Maybe the fleet market will save the MKT, but if it drops much lower then it's current sales rate of 279 units for the month I don't see how there is a business case to be made.

 

Look how well the Explorer is doing. A attractively re-styled Lincoln version could be doing SO MUCH better then 279 units a month. It's time to switch focus for the large Lincoln CUV.

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279 for the MKT? Wow....well that's always the Pink Elephant on the 1st day of every month...well around this place that is. Fleet might be the only thing to help it, and even that has been talked about for probably half a year, yet I'm not seeing the numbers get better...

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279 for the MKT? Wow....well that's always the Pink Elephant on the 1st day of every month...well around this place that is. Fleet might be the only thing to help it, and even that has been talked about for probably half a year, yet I'm not seeing the numbers get better...

 

It's really too bad, because the MKT is without a doubt the finest vehicle Lincoln has, it just looks like a farce. I would seriously consider one if it wasn't so flipping hideous. That's why I'm anxious to see what Lincoln does with a D4, if it's doing anything at all.

Edited by BORG
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Escape and Explorer continue to amaze me. F series trucks are the best of the best and sale consistantly show it.

 

The Mustang is getting murdered with 3K on the hoods. I was flat out wrong about the Camaro. I give Gm credit and only two things come to my mind about why. Its a new unique styling that you love or hate and those that are Camaro loyalists. The MT82 has not helped the Mustang either. Ford has updated this thing several times and its getting better but damn thats what you get for letting the Chinese build it. Its a real sore spot for many Mustangers. Its a sore spot for me after reading the horror stories. They can do better than this and their response to the problems didnt help them either. They basically blamed the owners for not knowing how to drive a stick.

 

You can pull stuff like that in a Fiesta or Focus but you cant fool the Mustang faithful. I think its a great car and most of the transmissions dont have issues but the quality control out of China is suspect at best.

 

And my last thought. The pent up demand (I guess) for the last Rangers dang near out sold the Lincoln division. :yahoo: Low margins maybe but lets kill it off with no plan for the future. But lets pour the coal to Lincoln to make it a fancy Ford.

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Escape and Explorer continue to amaze me. F series trucks are the best of the best and sale consistantly show it.

 

The Mustang is getting murdered with 3K on the hoods. I was flat out wrong about the Camaro. I give Gm credit and only two things come to my mind about why. Its a new unique styling that you love or hate and those that are Camaro loyalists. The MT82 has not helped the Mustang either. Ford has updated this thing several times and its getting better but damn thats what you get for letting the Chinese build it. Its a real sore spot for many Mustangers. Its a sore spot for me after reading the horror stories. They can do better than this and their response to the problems didnt help them either. They basically blamed the owners for not knowing how to drive a stick.

 

You can pull stuff like that in a Fiesta or Focus but you cant fool the Mustang faithful. I think its a great car and most of the transmissions dont have issues but the quality control out of China is suspect at best.

 

And my last thought. The pent up demand (I guess) for the last Rangers dang near out sold the Lincoln division. :yahoo: Low margins maybe but lets kill it off with no plan for the future. But lets pour the coal to Lincoln to make it a fancy Ford.

 

The Mustang doesn't have any real systemic quality issues or perception problems, it's just an aging product and there are newer choices out there now. It's a fickle segment.

 

As for the Ranger vs Lincoln, they are investing in products in a growing segment that attract higher margin retail customers. This is the Ford we want, not a white-goods supplier.

Edited by BORG
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The Mustang doesn't have any real systemic quality issues or perception problems, it's just an aging product and there are newer choices out there now. It's a fickle segment.

 

As for the Ranger vs Lincoln, they are investing in products in a growing segment that attract higher margin retail customers. This is the Ford we want, not a white-goods supplier.

 

I disagree. The MT82 is still not a proven product. Problems still persist. Ford has done everything in their power to sweep it under the rug but the problems still persist. I will say the 12

s are better than the 11's but it has issues and everybody that has bought or considered a Mustang knows about them. Ford has blown how they have handled the mess imo. I would not touch one with a ten foot pole. These will go down in history like the 99 cobra fiasco.

 

That said you are right about Lincoln. I was just taking a poke at those who dont care about the Ranger. Linclon has a long long way to go though. I have never cared about them one way or the other because its just a slicked up Ford.

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if, as stated they are "carrying their own paper", its actually pretty simple....the parameters will be time in residence and job ( to aleviate any fears of SCNL...Subscriber cannot be located, ie skip hazard ) debt to income ratio, and the BIG one should the car have to be repo'ed.....Downpayment.....( if it comes back and the car is in an equitable position for resale ) if those are met its a money making machine...ie Finance reserve, warranties amnd Bank Fees....theres an old addage...beggars cant be choosers....this is an elaborate twist on those little sled lots carrying 3-$5000 cars that advertise they can finanance anyone

If you'll note the post in the linked thread, the buyer:

 

- was financed 100%

- had no income history to speak of

- was financed by whatever GM's calling their finance arm

 

That's scary.

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I disagree. The MT82 is still not a proven product. Problems still persist. Ford has done everything in their power to sweep it under the rug but the problems still persist. I will say the 12

s are better than the 11's but it has issues and everybody that has bought or considered a Mustang knows about them. Ford has blown how they have handled the mess imo. I would not touch one with a ten foot pole. These will go down in history like the 99 cobra fiasco. .

 

Sounds like your painting with a mighty broad brush there....

 

Keep this in mind, the Mustang has always had some sort of issue (real or imagined) with its transmission that I can remember:

 

T5 Tranny from the Fox and early SN95 cars where notorious for bent shift forks and made short throw shifters popular

 

the T45 had issues in the 4.6L SN95's

 

The TR3650 as far as I know hasn't had any major issues with it and I've never had a problem with it in my Mustang with nearly 108K miles on it.

 

The other thing is that in this day and age people complaining about transmission problems with the Mustang have a certain echo effect...you can have the same person complain over and over about the same problem making the problem look alot worse then it is.... cuing blackhorse...erm...

 

Not to mention the NTSB said there isn't a problem and Ford explained what the issues where, I think its to deal with lack of driving skills of the people buying them (not used to a stick) or the lock out features it has to improve MPGs

 

 

 

 

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Escape and Explorer continue to amaze me. F series trucks are the best of the best and sale consistantly show it.

 

The Mustang is getting murdered with 3K on the hoods. I was flat out wrong about the Camaro. I give Gm credit and only two things come to my mind about why. Its a new unique styling that you love or hate and those that are Camaro loyalists. The MT82 has not helped the Mustang either. Ford has updated this thing several times and its getting better but damn thats what you get for letting the Chinese build it. Its a real sore spot for many Mustangers. Its a sore spot for me after reading the horror stories. They can do better than this and their response to the problems didnt help them either. They basically blamed the owners for not knowing how to drive a stick.

 

You can pull stuff like that in a Fiesta or Focus but you cant fool the Mustang faithful. I think its a great car and most of the transmissions dont have issues but the quality control out of China is suspect at best.

 

And my last thought. The pent up demand (I guess) for the last Rangers dang near out sold the Lincoln division. :yahoo: Low margins maybe but lets kill it off with no plan for the future. But lets pour the coal to Lincoln to make it a fancy Ford.

 

The Challanger is catching up to the Stang/maro in sales also (its a nice roomy coupe). From the auto show I gauge from Ford is the 2 weak links is the Mustang and the big Suvs. The Mustang is starting to show its age dispite the advance powerplants and performance, Ford will solve this with the new redesign. The big Suvs Ford needs an ass kicking for letting these trucks have old engines. The Navigator is still nice and many people still looked at the beast besides Lincoln not having the truck on the main display, same goes for the Expedition. Only the GMTs were nicer (but not much).

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Escape and Explorer continue to amaze me. F series trucks are the best of the best and sale consistantly show it.

 

The Mustang is getting murdered with 3K on the hoods. I was flat out wrong about the Camaro. I give Gm credit and only two things come to my mind about why. Its a new unique styling that you love or hate and those that are Camaro loyalists. The MT82 has not helped the Mustang either. Ford has updated this thing several times and its getting better but damn thats what you get for letting the Chinese build it. Its a real sore spot for many Mustangers. Its a sore spot for me after reading the horror stories. They can do better than this and their response to the problems didnt help them either. They basically blamed the owners for not knowing how to drive a stick.

 

You can pull stuff like that in a Fiesta or Focus but you cant fool the Mustang faithful. I think its a great car and most of the transmissions dont have issues but the quality control out of China is suspect at best.

 

And my last thought. The pent up demand (I guess) for the last Rangers dang near out sold the Lincoln division. :yahoo: Low margins maybe but lets kill it off with no plan for the future. But lets pour the coal to Lincoln to make it a fancy Ford.

 

Neither the Mustang or the Camaro is what I would call a smash hit in the sales category by any means. The Camaro only managed 5700 units in January itself which is by no means a stellar success for a car that use to sell in the 14 to 15 thousand units per month. This is what happens when you price cars too high. Toyota is about to make the same mistake with the soon to be released FR-S sports car. These car makers seem to have forgotten how to sell entry level sports coupes in the US. The target demographic here is younger buyers or single people with no children who want a flashy ride. In either case most of them do not have a great deal of disposable income so charging 25 to 27K for a V6 Mustang or Camaro is not going to meet with much success. Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Honda and even Chrysler need to completely rethink the way they make and market cars in the sports coupe segment. Toyota should have learned their lesson with the last generation Celica back in the late 90's. The GT-S Celica had price tags as high as a Mustang GT at that time. It was not a sales success and the car was dropped from the lineup. No matter what the excuse Toyota might give, the problem was in fact the price tag. Celica of the 80's was a car that was affordable and fun to drive. It didn't outrun everything on the road and that was ok with the majority of buyers. They just wanted a fun affordable car. But then Toyota had to get all serious about it. Ford has done the same thing with the Mustang and as the performance level went up and the feature content went up, the price tag went up. So the end result is a miserly 3736 units in January. The Mustang (and the Camaro) no longer hold to the original idea of the cars respectively. Low cost fun for younger buyers who would be attracted to such a car. Instead they are fairly expensive cars that don't sell to well because the people that can afford them have wives, husbands, kids, homes etc etc and a Mustang / Camaro is just not a good choice for them. Now for those of you that wonder if I am advocating for a return to the days when the Mustang and Camaro were basically entry level cars like they were in the 1980s or early 90's. Yes I am. That is what made those cars successful. They weren't anything spectacular in the feature content department and they weren't trying to outrun everything on the road. They were just good, fun and affordable cars and young buyers bought them in droves. That is what these cars were intended to be. Quit trying to make the Corvette and Porsche killers. They aren't. If that is what someone wants to make it into, there's an aftermarket for that from which the car companies can make a lot of money.

Edited by BlackHorse
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Ford has done the same thing with the Mustang and as the performance level went up and the feature content went up, the price tag went up.

 

Really? I have never heard of such a thing before.....more performance, higher quality interior materials & added feature content and they have the nerve to increase prices. Son-of-a-gun.

 

I suggest those poor young wanna fast cheap stripped out muscle car, is look for a used one and strip it down to look like those beauties from years gone past and go burn some rubber. Problem solved.

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Really? I have never heard of such a thing before.....more performance, higher quality interior materials & added feature content and they have the nerve to increase prices. Son-of-a-gun.

 

I suggest those poor young wanna fast cheap stripped out muscle car, is look for a used one and strip it down to look like those beauties from years gone past and go burn some rubber. Problem solved.

 

I didn't say the price increase was unjustified for the car. I'm just saying the car is priced right out of the market.

 

As for what the young buyers will go out and buy. It won't be the used Mustang. They go out and get Civics.

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