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Ford September 2012 Sales Flat, retail up 4%, Industry reports September sales


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As far as compacts go...

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- General Motors' Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze remained the No.1 compact car in the country last month, thanks entirely to profit-free sales to rental car fleets.

Last month, 39 percent of Cruze models headed to airport lots and other rental locations, up from 30 percent in August. And at the same time that it was boosting Cruze sales to rental fleets, GM surprised analysts by doing the opposite on pickups - cutting fleet sales to protect brand values.

Selling large numbers of cars to fleet at wholesale prices can cause huge problems for automakers. Profits are minimal at best, and rental companies tend to keep cars for about a year before dumping them onto the used-car market.

 

 

Discussion here: http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?/topic/51014-chevy-cruze-stays-1-in-september-thanks-to-huge-jump-in-rental-sales/

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So you have definitive proof that Ford is losing money on every 2012 left, and therefore it's better to have Fusion sales fall off a cliff for a couple months than make enough of them to keep Fusion monthly sales solid and not lose so much market share? Again, Ford didn't do that with Escape as KCAP built the hell out of 2012 Escape before they closed and I doubt if Ford lost money on every 2012 Escape left over. If they did, then they should have closed KCAP early so that Escape sales fell off cliff for months also.

 

Where did I say they were losing money on leftover 2012s? All I said was they would have had to offer heavy incentives on leftover 2012s to get rid of them as soon as the 2013s arrived and I don't think even you could argue against that point.

 

Would Ford have preferred to have more 2012s to sell before the 2013s arrived and would they have liked to have more 2013s arrive sooner? OF COURSE! But there is a fine line between not having enough and having too many and sometimes the logistics of a new model switchover in one plant just doesn't allow you as much flexibility as you would like.

 

It's always black and white with you. They should have built more Fusions. They should have cancelled Flex and MKT. But business decisions rarely are that black and white. There is no magic number that automatically tells you whether to keep or cancel a vehicle. It's a case by case thing and there are many intangibles and tangential consequences to consider. E.g. keeping the old Ranger may have been possible but the side effect of doing that would have been that Ford would not have been able to fund the new CMax hybrids.

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Man, you think MKS sales are bad now. Wait until the '13 MKZ hits lots. What would be the incentive at all to buy an MKS then? Honestly.

 

Yes, I would say Ford has a major headache with the MKS. I know Hines Park LIncoln by me that is doing first new Lincoln spec store in MI is flooded with new Lincolns. It has big holding lot nearby and every space is taken up with new Lincoln, many MKS. Between the MKS and MKT, Ford has twin headaches. Ironic that across the street is Don Massey Cadilllac that is also undergoing major overhaul and last I heard number one selling Cadillac dealership in Nation, at least before the financial crisis of 2008. Not sure after, but still major league Cadillac dealership. Two completely refurbished luxury dealerships adjacent to each other going at it with new products coming. Looks like new Lincoln dealership should be done in another month or so as it's really taking shape now.

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All this talk about the MKS, did anyone notice there were almost 1,000 C-Maxes sold? I didn't even realize they were available yet.

 

Noticed it, but not really much to be discussed about first-month numbers. A lot of different factors influencing the early sales. Will be more to talk about 4-6 months out I think.

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Maybe I missed something, but why would you assume that, if Ford decided it would be profitable to end production sooner, they wouldn't be able to also end production of the vehicle's constituent parts earlier?

harken back to the extended production of the old body style Taurus.....have to get rid of all those old body stampings somehow...
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As pioneer has reminded us from time to time, law requires that you provide factory replacement panels for some length of time after production ends.

understand that but perhaps theres a stockpile and then theres a STOCKPILE to the power of 10............
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I do think it's closer to the truth to suggest that Ford rushed the launch of the Escape, rather than that they timed the buildout of 2012s perfectly.

I dare say there is an element of truth there as well...especially given the unfortunate recalls at launch...that SCREAMS rush......that said, even with all the "not so good" press, the fact its outselling the others in its class is an excellent sign, since it usually takes a little time for sales to gell and solidify...i remember the edges SAT HERE for a while then BAM! same with the Explorer.....
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Our local dealership has 1 2013 Fusion coming in, and has 1 2012 Fusion on the lot. They have ZERO 2012 or 2013 Escapes. They have gotten 2013's in, but they are sold almost immediately. They have 1 Fiesta (the first in months), ZERO Mustangs (can't seem to get them to save their life), ZERO Taurus's (sell very quickly), and 1 Flex, after not having any for months. They are down to 5 2012 F150's, and have only 1 2013 on the way.

 

Basically, as a small dealership, they are having a horrific time getting stock. Their lot looks like a ghost town, and they ARE the volume dealership for Payson.

 

I had a major LOL moment when I read about the Cruze rental sales. I think I will have fun with that, on another site. After all, they are still talking about that article that a certain publication did about Focus fleet sales from October of last year, like it was yesterday. This could be fun. :)

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A while back, Ford revised production schedules up, sighting improving market but it looks like production was still a little behind demand

knowing it had plans to down plants ahead of releases of new products. Very unfortunate but necessary and painful result.

Edited by jpd80
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So you have definitive proof that Ford is losing money on every 2012 left, and therefore it's better to have Fusion sales fall off a cliff for a couple months than make enough of them to keep Fusion monthly sales solid and not lose so much market share? Again, Ford didn't do that with Escape as KCAP built the hell out of 2012 Escape before they closed and I doubt if Ford lost money on every 2012 Escape left over. If they did, then they should have closed KCAP early so that Escape sales fell off cliff for months also.

 

Wow, you are utterly clueless. As virtually every one else has said (but you have yet to accept), there was NO EXCESS CAPACITY. Ford could not build extras to sell while the plant was being re-tooled. I mean, honestly, I don't know how any simpler we can make this for you. A short month was going to occur under any circumstance. Theoretically, all Ford could've done was yanked all the incentives to slow the sales in the prior months. But either way, the plant could only make a finite number. It makes no difference if you sell 21k/month for 3 months and then 12k or if you sold 15k/month over 5 months--it's the same number.

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Wow, you are utterly clueless. As virtually every one else has said (but you have yet to accept), there was NO EXCESS CAPACITY. Ford could not build extras to sell while the plant was being re-tooled. I mean, honestly, I don't know how any simpler we can make this for you. A short month was going to occur under any circumstance. Theoretically, all Ford could've done was yanked all the incentives to slow the sales in the prior months. But either way, the plant could only make a finite number. It makes no difference if you sell 21k/month for 3 months and then 12k or if you sold 15k/month over 5 months--it's the same number.

There was no way that Ford could really build too far forward with Fusion, th market actually took off in front of Ford and it has been trying to catch up for months

but it's not a simple manner because that requires change of supplier volumes, and rebalancing productions which is to say the least a real pain in the ass because everything

has to change and all jobs have to be re-timed involving training. What company does that only months before a shutdown and refit for a new model, they don't because it's dumb.

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