akirby

There was no UAW concession. Ford decided to build the new Fusion and MKZ in Hermosillo back in 2005 and they moved the current Focus production that was there back to the U.S. at that time. Ford exports the Fusion to South America and there is no tariff for vehicles produced in Mexico whereas there is a big tariff for U.S. produced vehicles. Ford is expanding Fusion production to Flat Rock because they need the added volume and Flat Rock is available since Mazda pulled out. It will simply supplement the current Hermosillo production and I believe all hybrids and energis and MKZs will still be built in Hermosillo. Hermosillo is limited to about 300K vehicles per year including exports so they need 2 plants.

Based on bluspikez picture I think there is a trim piece missing. I think the foam is to keep the wiring plug from rubbing against the trim. I have to go back by the dealer later this week anyway so I'll check on it.

Can someone with a Titanium tell me if they have a trim piece behind the rear view mirror that covers the wiring for the sensors at the top of the windshield? Mine is open and you can see the wiring with foam padding around it. It looks like there should be a trim piece there. Thanks.

So they don't clog up the plant in Hermosillo which was already clogged up from the Fusion problems. It was just good timing that Flat Rock was available to handle the overflow. I also suspect that a fair number of those QA inspections are resulting in repairs of some kind.

You can probably thank CMax for part of that.

Just to clarify - the $750 is usually good on X plan but not A/Z/D plan. And the salesman doesn't have any control over the rebate - either it's in the Ford computer or it's not. In your case it was because you ordered the brochure or it could have already been in the system like mine. Ford also sends out unsolicited $750 rebates as part of their normal marketing.

Have you seen the job 1 date for the 2014 models? I wouldn't expect them until September/October but that's just a guess. You do realize that the Fusion is made in Mexico and the workers are not part of the UAW, right? And I think it's safe to say that Ford knows exactly how big they screwed up here on both the Fusion and MKZ. Hopefully they'll do something extra for those who had to wait.

There should be separate rear heat ducts in the floor area either in the console or under the front seats.

Sweet! I had a 2000 Lincoln LS in Autumn Red which is almost the same color. So when someone asks what color it is, do you just say Bordeaux Red, Red, Maroon or Burgundy? I always said mine was dark red but my wife vehemently disagreed. To her it's not red unless it's fire engine red. She did agree that Ruby Red is red so at least I'm ok for the the next several years.

They only have one factory so while it may not seem appropriate that's the reality of the situation. We've already established there have been MKZ problems in addition to the Fusion problems. It's frustrating but they're doing the best they can given the screw-ups that have already occurred.

Yes.

If you don't like the service he provides then don't go there. Problem solved. I find it ironic that you think he should ignore everyone else while you complain about him here. Shouldn't you take your own advice and just ignore him?

I agree he can be rude but what you don't see are all the people who bug him and waste his time by not giving him the right information, PMing him for status constantly, asking for updates too soon, etc. etc. When that happens constantly it tends to make you cranky. At least it would make me cranky. In your case you replied to his forum asking somebody else to provide tracking information for you. Why wouldn't he be a little ticked off?

Sorry - I forgot your original post said you had it on dash vents and still no airflow - that indicates a disconnected hose to me inside the console. As for howie411 - when you turn on the heat in auto mode it comes out in the floor by default, just like the A/C only comes out the dash vents by default. I think the vents are tied to the front dash vents only and there is another vent under the front seats or on the bottom of the console for heat. It's easy to test - turn on the heat and select the dash vents and see if you get heat out of the rear vents.

It seems like they are in disarray because you're not privy to all of the work going on behind the scenes. There have been a multitude of problems causing the dates to keep getting pushed out but behind the scenes I'm sure it is very organized. They just don't want the public to see everything going on behind the scenes. That info could be very valuable to competitors so they keep it close to the vest. As someone else said - you don't necessarily want to see the inside of the sausage factory.

They're available. 19" Y spokes. They may be late availability though.

I think the heat comes out in the floor when the floor is selected up front. Try changing the heat to the dash vents and see if you then get heat from the vents.

If you don't like his rules or the way he provides his FREE services then don't use them. He has rules so that he doesn't have to spend hours every day providing updates. Not following the rules wastes his time that he so graciously VOLUNTEERS. He may be grouchy but the rules are simple and easy to follow.

That was a big factor in me deciding to forego the Titanium Hybrid.

And yes - Ginger Ale will be a rare color but I'm sure you could find a few in stock somewhere once inventory levels stabilize. If it's late availability there is a technical reason for it - has nothing to do with initial demand.

Don't confuse "pre-orders" with regular orders. Pre-orders were taken before they started making the MKZ. Anything ordered now is a regular order. When Ford first starts making a new model, they hold every car built for inspection until they can build 5 days in a row without a defect. Once they hit the 5 day mark they give the "OK to buy" order and all cars from that point on are shipped directly from the assembly line. At this point they go back to all those cars they built first, fix them if necessary and then ship them out. If a pre-order was built first it could get stuck in this holding cell for weeks waiting for it to be fixed and shipped, so Ford only allows dealer orders to be built during this time. Once the OK to buy has been given all of the retail orders are scheduled and built. So it's possible for one of those early build dealer orders to show up before a pre-order. Once they're in regular production, they give allocation to each dealer each week depending on what they've sold recently. When a dealer gets allocation, their vehicles are built in order of priority (lowest first). Retail orders must be 10-19 while dealer stock is 20-99. So under normal production retail orders get built before dealer stock.

You're usually not obligated to purchase the vehicle you order but it depends on the specific contract you sign and the vehicle you're ordering. Whether the dealer requires a deposit or not is up to the dealer - some do and some don't. I don't know anybody that pays MSRP outside of a few very rare high demand vehicles. $200 - $1000 over dealer invoice is typical. It may take a couple of months for the dealers to get inventory. You can use dealerconnection.com to find the dealers in your area and search their inventory to see if they have what you're looking for in stock or on order. It's usually better to order from a larger dealer since they will have more allocation. But it depends on how many other orders are in queue. If a dealer has 25 orders but only allocation for 20 and another dealer has 3 orders but allocation for 5 then the smaller dealer is better, but you have no way to know that. Special orders take precedence over dealer stock at all dealers.

The hose could be disconnected.

Mine is still on 3.2.2. Dealer doesn't have any A4 Nav cards right now.

Me too. I wasn't looking forward to the wait.