Roland

Again, I think a lot of this overlooks that people aren't just buying least cost transportation, they're buying comfort, convenience, and image. Summoning a vehicle will never be as convenient as simply walking out to your personal vehicle. This is particularly true in lower density areas where there may not be a lot of vehicles queued up. If you happen to request a ride at a bad time you could potentially have a substantial wait. Think about the nature of the interiors that we see in shared transportation - it always trends toward utilitarian and low maintenance because of the way it's going to be used and abused. The exception is rental cars which are inspected after each use and disposed of by the time they become ratty and undesirable. That can't be the case in a "death of automobile ownership" scenario because there won't be a secondary market. I suppose they could be passed down to cheaper services, but remember that currently people are accustomed to being able to get a comfortable, nicely appointed vehicle even at the lowest price points. Remember that people don't just use their vehicles as transportation, they also use them as storage for everything they need when they're travelling. So if Mom wants to go shopping she's going to have to summon a vehicle, install two car seats, load up all the kid stuff and then reserve the vehicle for the entire day so she can keep all that stuff and her shopping in the vehicle in between stops. All this and there's a non-zero chance that it shows up with a footwell full of vomit from the drunk who last used it the previous night. I think there's some potential for transportation services to replace second and third cars as they are adopted for commutes but in a lot of cases people will replace those practical commuter vehicles with more utility or leisure focused vehicles. In fact, I think we'll see a trend of mass transit riders shifting toward individual transportation choices, some of them personally owned. Nobody really wants to use mass transit. They suffer it because of the cost or the hassle of personal vehicles in high density commutes. If you lower the cost and eliminate some of the hassle of the individual transportation option people will move toward it.

No, clearly not. But I'm guessing that it would cost too much to add AWD to the Mustang platform. The only other way to do it with the Coyote would be using a truck platform and that just wouldn't be competitive. I suppose that they could allow for it in engineering the next generation Mustang platform but it seems unlikely that for will be doing anything to add more V8s to their lineup. Maybe if they provide AWD through some kind of hybrid electric arrangement it could work.

Awesome. Thanks!

My apologies. Order No: G030 Dealer Code: F47144 Vehicle: Mustang Ecoboost Coupe Premium with manual transmision Update requested. Thanks!

My dealer reports that the problem with my order has been resolved. Can I get an update to confirm that? Thanks.

Dealer claims that it's fixed and now showing as ok. I'll confirm through the tracking thread here to be sure. He says that it was something about the way the Recaros were entered. I didn't quite follow but it sounded like he may have been putting in a code that was the wrong leather option for the 201A trim level.

Thanks for looking at this. Sorry about the duplicate posts, I was getting an error back so I didn't realize the posts were being created. I updated this thread with the attachment of the VOC the dealer provided. Not sure if that will tell you anything about the way they entered it. My dealer didn't notice the problem. I asked for a tracking update here on the forum and was given that status. Dealer said they would check into it. I thought maybe it was the seats since the only thing that generates any warnings in Build & Price is that selecting the Recaros warn that they don't come with heat/cool etc. But that's true in all the upper trims so I thought maybe they just needed to enter something to accept that. Build & Price doesn't complain when you select the Spoiler Delete option with EB Premium and it does update the image without it. The Order Guide entry for the PP option is a little unclear. While it says "Performance Rear Wing (Fastback Only)" and "Spoiler Delete (Convertible Only)" it also shows it as optional on 101A, 200A, and 201A (but not 100A) and there is no note that it's unavailable with the coupe PP. My interpretation of "Spoiler Delete (Convertible Only)" was that PP deletes the default Blade Decklid Spoiler, not that it excludes the Fastback from 13D. I sure hope that this is just a glitch in the way the ordering system interprets those conditions. I really hate that rear wing.

Apologies for the duplicate threads. I was getting a blank page with a 500 error when I attempted to post so I didn't realize it was actually creating the thread.

Apologies for the duplicate threads. I was getting a blank page with a 500 error when I attempted to post so I didn't realize it was actually creating the thread.

I'm having trouble with my order for a 2018 Mustang which seems to be causing the dealer some problems. Here is what I requested. This builds fine in Build & Price and appears correct as I look at the Order Guide. P8T - 2018 Ford Mustang EcoBoost® Premium Fastback 44X - 6-Speed Manual Transmission NL - Orange Fury Paint 201A - Premium Plus Package 67E - EcoBoost® Performance Package 13D - Spoiler Delete 88S - RECARO® Leather-Trimmed Seats They said that they were having trouble getting the order system to accept the seats but after quite a while they said they were finally able to get it to take it. Here is the VOC they printed out for me. Now thanks to the helpful folks here I know that my order is showing up with a problem: "Unscheduled - Compatibility". The dealer says that they're checking into it but no word so far. Can anyone advise based on this VOC what they're doing wrong?

Note that you need a certain number of good posts before you're able to post in the tracking section. If the "Start New Topic" button is grayed out then you're not there yet.

Agreed. I don't think we have much left that we're disagreeing about here. I just keep adding "...but don't forget to build a full line of competitive passenger cars." I voiced this originally because I worry about moving the Focus "upmarket" if there's not going to be a Fiesta in NA as an entry level. But for all I know the market data shows that's not where the entry level is anymore. I suppose at this point I should just hope that there's still and ST variant with a manual transmission.

Obviously GM was doing it wrong on many levels. Obvioulsy Toyota has been caught out in the large truck/SUV segment. It's kind of the flipside to Ford's position on passenger cars. While I'll bet they wish they had moved faster in that segment, I don't think they'd trade their position on cars and hybrid/electric technology. That is serving them well globally.

Thank you. I will check with my salesman. They were having trouble selecting the Recaros with the 201A package so I'm guessing that went wrong.

Thanks for providing this service. I was hoping to track this on COTUS but it looks like I've been given a duplicate order number form my dealer since this number comes back as a truck on COTUS. I've double checked the number from the order confirmation. Order No: G030 Dealer Code: F47144 Vehicle: Mustang Ecoboost Coupe Premium with manual transmision If I can get a VIN I can try to track it in COTUS from there.

No question that Ford is better off financially and they've improved their time to market and ability to localize global products. That gives them better ability to respond quickly to market changes. My worry probably comes from the fact that I'm a believer in market share. I don't like the trend there and I see every new gap in the product line as loss in market share.

My impression is that those who are predicting the death of personal vehicle ownership in favor of "transportation as a service" have a poor understanding of what drives vehicle ownership and use. They seem to think that the whole thing will be driven by cost when it should be obvious to them that convenience, comfort, and image is really what people are paying for, not just getting from point A to B. This paper predicts the death of personal vehicle ownership by 2030, basically because they want it to be so. https://www.rethinkx.com/transportation/

I saw the previous iteration of your earlier post before you edited it. You made some good points so I'm curious why you culled it down. Sorry, it's not my intention to drag this so far off topic. I really hope that Ford can be successful in their strategy but eventually I think they're going to have to turn their attention to reversing their downward trend in market share.

Ford was in trouble long before that. They bled market share through the late '90s and into the 2000s and had already mortgaged the company in order to restructure before the great recession hit. That's why they didn't need bail-out money. I hope I'm wrong but I see a lot of parallels between what's going on now in their car lineup and the blunders of the late '90s.

And yet that's not what happened the last time around. Ford nearly went under and Toyota, Honda, and Nissan took a permanent position as the top selling passenger cars. Even now in the thick of CUV madness there are more Corollas, Camrys, Accords, and Altimas sold than any of Ford's CUV brands. If there's a fuel price spike you don't get to pick from vehicles that you'd like to have, you get to pick off the menu. So if it happens tomorrow and you need room for five you can pick an Escape or get 3mpg better with a Fusion, or 12mpg better with a Fusion Hybrid. You can add an Escape Hybrid eventually but CUVs are simply not going to match passenger cars for economy on any given drivetrain. But it's not just gas prices that could create a market change, tastes and buying habits just change over time. Failing to be competitive across a broad range of the market leaves you exposed. Chrysler is going to demonstrate this in the coming years and hopefully Ford will learn from it before they're too seriously damaged.

No, no, a thousand times no. Rule number 1. Don't dilute or confuse your iconic brands. I do think there's an opportunity in the space you're talking about. I'd suggest two products - a more agressive version of the Edge Sport - Edge ST or something. And a Lincoln product on that platform dedicated to that "Sport CUV niche" - maybe a Lincoln Zephyr or Capri if you want to mine existing brands.

They said in the video that they had made the mods listed above. They also took the passenger and rear seats out by the end. But I agree in general. They were close enough to 11's that I would like to have seen them work more on breaking into there completely stock. Based on the video commentary they were still working on the most effective launch even after the mods.

Greetings Ford friends. I guess it's past time to introduce since I've been lurking around here a while. My first car back in '78 was a tragically rusty '69 Mustang. To me that remains one of the best looking cars ever - without the rust preferably. My dad was a Ford guy. He loved Thunderbirds. I've always loved Mustangs and Fords but my interests turned toward road racing so I tended toward European Fords - Capri, Fiesta, Sierra, etc. After my Contour SVT I ended up driving Mazdas and MINIs for a while. It just felt like Ford had lost interest in cars and driving in favor of SUVs. Ford caught my attention again when the One Ford initiative started bringing back sporty small cars and the S550 convinced me that it was time to own a Mustang again. My refresh cycle finally aligned with Ford's and now I have an '18 Ecoboost Mustang on order. It only took 35 years but when I look in that side view mirror and see that shoulder I feel like a teenager again.

In the US it makes no sense to me to drop the Fiesta and move the Focus up market. Ford is going down that same road they've been down before, give up market share in cars because SUVs are the trend and trucks are more profitable. Then gas spikes, sales plummet, and they struggle to regain market share in the car market.

An aftermarket supplier reported that '18 Mustang shipments are on government hold till Oct 30. If true anyone know what that's about?