akirby

I think it's the dealer's fault. Not exactly sure how yet - give me a few hours and I'm sure I can come up with something!

Because the dealers don't want it to be available to the public?

I know, but at least the whining will be about something different..........

I was in retail sales for 6 years before and during college so I understand the challenges of dealing with the public. How should Ford handle dealerships who lie to customers and/or provide poor customer satisfaction? Currently Ford has no recourse and when the dealer screws up then Ford gets the blame (I'll never buy another Ford again because Ford couldn't fix my car, etc. etc. etc.).

No mention of that feature in the 2011 order guide.

I'll be glad when Mercury and the Panthers are finally gone so we don't have to listen to all the whining any more......

A 2.0L ecoboost won't be anywhere near 300 hp or 270 lb/ft. A 2.5L might get there though. But it's doubtful you'd be able to get 35+ mpg even with the 2.0L.

I agree that communication could be better, but as viperpilot pointed out in a lot of cases the dealer isn't using the system properly. What customers want is consistency and there certainly is no consistency between dealers. So make the web option a minimum of $500 over invoice so that dealers could negotiate below that. You'd still have people using it just to avoid the typical dealer allocation and ordering issues.

Radio Frequency.

Gee Dean - all I hear from you is whining and no solutions to the problem. How about this: Ford dealers can choose to opt in to a factory program whereby a customer can order the vehicle they want directly from the Ford build and price website after being pre-approved by Ford Credit online. Then they choose a local participating dealer to take delivery. The price is set (X plan e.g.) and agreed to by the dealers when they agree to participate. The order goes in at highest priority (lowest numerically) and does not affect dealer allocations. Buyer is charged a deposit that is non-refundable at a certain point in the build process but that credit can be applied towards another vehicle. Allow the buyer to track the vehicle's detailed progress and status via the website. The dealer gets a X plan sale with NO upfront work at all and no risk - if the buyer walks away then it's Ford's issue, not the dealer's. The buyer is happy that he can get the vehicle he wants at a fair price without having to deal with dealership sales people. This is a win-win for dealers and Ford but there is NO way dealers would allow this to happen. They'd sue under the franchise laws and win of course. Now let's hear Dean cry about why this is a bad idea..........

Exactly. Remember the Falcon a few months ago?

But that's exactly the point - you can afford to sell fewer Lincoln units at a combined Ford/Lincoln dealership because Ford pays for the overhead (service, office support, financing, etc.). Besides, we know there are big changes planned for Lincoln over the next 4 years so sales should be up significantly if they continue to execute on plan.

Ford can't force a dealer to close unless they do something illegal (and even then I'm not so sure). What Ford has been doing is buying out the franchises of marginal dealers, or cutting their allocation to the point they decide to close up shop on their own. If a dealer has a franchise then Ford is legally required to sell them vehicles. That's why it's so costly for Ford to consolidate or reduce dealerships - they have to bribe them.

Dean - I don't remember all the details of the failed program and I was not suggesting it was any type of solution to the ordered vehicle problem. I was just pointing out how little power Ford has over dealers and how they are legally prohibited from doing certain things to help the customers because they violate franchise laws. In every other retail industry I can think of, the mfr controls who sells their products and can take the products away if the retailer doesn't meet their standards. How can you possibly justify making it ILLEGAL for Ford to do the same thing?

You're quite the drama queen today. What the hell was in whatever you were drinking this morning? I'm pretty sure Ford footed the bill for everything and all the dealer had to do was complete the paperwork and take the profit. The point is Ford's reputation gets dragged in the dirt because of some bad dealers and there is very little they can do about it. And that's wrong.

On some models Ford allows dealers to order confirmed retail units (pre-sold to customers) and they get priority in the build queue AND they do not count against the dealer's normal allocations. I believe this was done with the Fusion Hybrid and is a great idea. I think they should always do that with pre-sold orders and leave allocations to dealer stock.

Ford would be taken to court so fast it would make your head spin (and they'd lose). The dealers do not want Ford selling vehicles in any shape, form or fashion and unfortunately they have the law to back them up. Ford tried something similar with used cars. You find the car you want on a Ford website, it's delivered to your local dealer for a test drive and to complete the sale. Dealers sued, Ford lost, end of story. Until the franchise laws are changed there's not much Ford can do with dealerships (except help them close).

Ford has spent the last 2-3 years consolidating Ford and Lincoln/Mercury dealers. I believe there are currently around 1300 Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealers which will soon become Ford/Lincoln dealers. I believe the plan will be to have Lincolns in a separate showroom, at least in the bigger dealers but that will take a long time. Since I only visit the dealer for repairs I don't really care about being coddled.

I don't think it's as big a deal as you think. I don't think people buy Accords and Camrys because they're built here. I think that's just a convenient rationalization of their choice and an excuse for their friends as to why they're not supporting Detroit. At the time Ford started building the Fusion it wasn't clear how many they could sell or how popular it would be. I wouldn't be surprised to see the CD4 made in the U.S. (probably in addition to Mexico to support exports to South America0. I think the volumes would be able to support that now whereas they would not back in 2006.

Nobody was debating that point - of course some won't buy it because it's made in Mexico. Who the hell cares? Ford is selling over 200K Fusions every year and the extra profit (and quality) more than makes up for a few lost sales, not to mention the savings in tariffs for those sold in South and Latin America. In the big Ford picture - mexican plants are a nit. If they were producing everything in Mexico then you might have a point. Until then - you need to look at the bigger picture of what Ford IS doing in the U.S. - which is considerable - and stop looking at the exception.

People just don't understand the power and impact of the franchise laws and how much it restricts what Ford can do with customers. I asked the then-vp of marketing for Lincoln why they didn't just require the dealers to stock at least 1 Lincoln LS manual for test drives and his reply was that he didn't want to go to jail.

Of course they COULD have kept Mercury. That's not the question. The question is whether they'll be better off in a few years with 3 brands instead of 2. Obviously they ran the numbers and their plan to have just Ford and Lincoln looked better than having Ford, Lincoln and Mercury. And I'm sure the dealer network was part of that calculation. As for GM and Chrysler being worthy of imitation.....what part of bankruptcy don't you understand?

F150 production was moved from Mexico back to the U.S. to make room for the Fiesta. Focus production was moved from Mexico back to the U.S. to make room for the Fusion. 5 years ago Ford had 2 Mexican plants, just like today, except the U.S. picked up F150 and Focus production since then. Seems like a win-win to me. Made outside U.S./Canada (Ford brand only): Fiesta, Fusion, Transit Connect (for now) Made in the U.S./Canada: Focus, Taurus, Mustang, Crown Vic, Escape, Edge, Explorer, Expedition, E-series, F-series, Flex What's your point again?

Neither do I. That was somebody else's bright idea, not mine.

If this is such a great business strategy, please explain why none of the imports have created a successful 3rd mainstream brand? Scion doesn't count. Where is the brand in between Toyota and Lexus? Honda and Acura (or above Acura if you consider Acura to be the mid level brand)? Nissan and Infiniti? If Ford had a shot at 50% market share then maybe they could afford 3 brands, but no auto mfr is going to get back to that level.