Deanh

Man you just don't give up do you.....it is obvious to me that you have had a bad experience...so blame the individual dealer ..don't BLANKET and stereotype every dealer out there, your problem was with them NOT every single Ford Dealer out there. And contrary to what you wish to beleive and emplore..this is NOT just a Ford issue...I have heard horror stories from pretty much EVERY franchaise out there...and the Honda dealer down the road and the Toyota dealer next door have service lines every bit as long as ours. Some people that change their bias due to a different manufacturer are based solely the product and desire ( something HOPEFULLY Ford will become more competitive in the near future...their product has been sub-par for too long in terms of desirability ) and sometimes even just a "I want something different". Some people like yourself are just damn bitter...sorry but you may have brought your "bad" treatment on yourself...I would love to hear both yours and the other side of what happened to you that has made you this hostile...

their hatred is obviously based on their own experiences but as you well know ( especially if you work in a dealership ) there is NO making some people happy and the tendency is for those to be non-stop complainers. My wish is they would all attempt to make a living AT a dealership for a few months. It would give them newfound respect for what dealership personnel actually go thru....dealing with the public can be an eye opening experience...but for every HATER, there are some ( and thankfully a LOT more ) true gems of people that come thru the door. It has also been my experience that the people that are a pleasure to deal with get white glove after the fact help with a smile...the nastys I cannot say the same. Says a lot for treating others the way you would like to be treated yourself.

Totally agreed, but unfortunately would never happen. However the better the product the more likely a vehicle can be sold for closer to MSRP..Ford seems to be on the right track, Fusion, Edge etc...then BLAMMO the "new" 500...the designer should be shot for bringing back the Toyota Avalon....

am I the onl y one wondering how the "sludge" seemingly gets swept under the hush hush rug, wheras if it was Ford it would be National Headlines, MASSIVE publicity and CNN early morning news. I swear someone has it in for Ford moreso than even the other domestics...Henry must have pi$$ed someone off royally...

Problem with the T-bird is it took too long to come to market and the glitz had worn off..THAT and the release co-incided with Sept 11...timing could not have been worse. We had deposits on every incoming...99% were cancelled after that horrible day..and [eople were right to do so, the majority of buyers were major Stockholders rightfully worried about the market.

I am listening . There is consistently more markup aka "haggling " margins on imports than there are on domestics, that and the general public refrains from purchasing Domestics without "incentives' and subveened interest rates. Why? because the domestic manufacturers have used it to attract buyers for so long now it is accepted. The dealers are NOT the weaklink, their parameters are set by Ford Corporate beauracrats too far removed from the front lines..ie the sales personal shaking hands w the buying public. And if you think dealers treat you like $hit...look in the mirror, perhaps you may bring it on yourself by the persona you project, there is no need to cop attitudes and treat people rudely, they do not HAVE to sell you a car..as much as you don't have to buy one. So go buy an import, i am sure your transaction in particular will put Ford under, and I'm sure the manufacturer of your choice will take great glee in you becoming their headache. As far as the unjustified markups you are bleating about if you knew margins that Ford deems acceptable for their dealer base you may understand more...why don't you start bleating about how Toyota doesn't look after their workers as well as Ford? From what I understand Ford spends approx $1500 per employee on such things as medical benefits and retirement...and Toyota is less than half off that...hm thats not too patriotic..but hey gives a FAR superior bottom line....

they should have gotten Magnums..at least they resemble a hearse...LOL!

My guestimate is it has absolutely nothing to do with the Crown victoria at all....municipalities will sell their soul to save 50 cents...LITERALLY! They have Zero loyalty...its all about the budget. As for the Charger, wait till the inevitable Dodge problems start...they will regret leaving old dependable at the bean counters desk....something to be said about tried and true....

oh..and for all the Ford haters....Toyota Prius..$5000 over window sticker here, new tundra the same, FJ the same, also the gentleman very happy with his wifes experience at the Honda dealership...wonder if she tried to buy an S2000 when they first came out...or an Odessey? Nissan ...same boat when the Z first came out....don't make me mention Lexus...or perhaps the McLaren Mercedes...a whopping $200k over at fketcher Jones when it came out....

sorry, screwed up...did anybody tell this guy that toyota Prius just had its epa cut from 60mpg to 45????? Perhaps ford may have been just a tad more honest when it came to REAL #'s.....I have had Tundras traded in on f150's like crazy...and everyone tells me that the mileage was NO better.....

therein lies my apprehension about Concept cars...they have no grounds in reality and make the ACTUAL production vehicles look pale in comparison...they border on a waste of time and $. I remember the Triton concept, the Lightning concept, the Adrenniline ( sorry bout the spelling ) NONE made production ( closest was the F150 after regressing 10 years ),now we have some additional stunners as in the Lincoln, the Jaguar and the Interceptor ( a touch heavy in the front but out 300c's the Dodge ) only to probably be told "Sorry" in order for us to appease the feds etc we couldn't make the car look half as good as the concept...so why design a concept that isn't compliant in the first place...

Lets see how much more generic/ watered down/ and bland they become before they are brought to market...hmmm, probaly 3 years from now when the hoopla has already settled....

I'm perturbed at their current TV advertisements..ie camparing an older 1/2 ton differential with the new LARGER Toyota differential...who is to say it is not from THEIR previous model Tundra! Ahhhh, the art of advertising tomfoolery, sadly some people will be convinced, there is no doubt Ford should be deep int developement of a new F150 and being PRO-active instead of RE -active and one up them SOON! Toyota WILL cut into their marketshare regardless...so hurry up Ford....

Ford always turns heads at auto shows. They need to start turning heads on dealer lots.....hear hear, I work at a dealership and THAT sums it up in a heartbeat, we may get a version however noting Ford's track record it will be watered down to become more socially acceptable to "ho hum" status so as not to offend the blue haired conservative buyers.

agreed wholeheartedley, the father to son comment is on the money, I assume THAT is partly responsible for the consistent "dumbing" down of knockout concept cars to the bland production models...unfortunately those in the decision making positions have become WAY too removed from the desires of the people with the checkbooks....