campbell53

This is the Taurus as shown at the dealer meeting this week. I saw better pics of course but this is it. It has lots of creases and body lines. Very attractive...unlike the current one. Fusion looks like a very nice front end re-style (tougher and more round) and the Mustang has 69-70 Boss all over it.

Having just attended Ford's spring dealer meeting, there was no mention of the Raptor being SVT. Farley spoke like all dealers would be getting the Raptor next year. We were shown a picture of it's grill. On the other hand, we did see pics of new Fusion, Mustang and Taurus. I am pumped about everything I saw today.

I just had my best volume month in over a year. Focus, Fusion, Edge, Escape and Milan led the way. F-Series was fair. Not terrible. Did a few Mustangs though. Good to see.

The ignorance on this board is getting so deep it is painful even coming here. This post would get an "F" in a 9th grade economics class. Good God...is this the best we got? quote name='theVengineguy' date='Mar 2 2008, 10:59 AM' post='314948'] Well, wages are getting cut, and the vehicle prices don't seem to be decreasing. Line worker pay goes from $30/hour to $14/hour. All the people Ford and GM bought out will not find jobs that pay the same, not unless they go to college, but when you got a wife and kids, college becomes more difficult. My analogy is if the wages are getting cut, the vehicle prices should too. 28K for a Flex is rediculous, it should start at 21-22K, it is nothing but a tall standing car. Same can be said for the Outlook/Acadia.

I love the way this flake speaks in "factual" tones. As if he is lecuring to us from an all knowing perspective. Truth? He knows as much (but most likely less) as the next doofus. I've got $5 that Ford will be here and thriving in 3 years. F off you blow hard.

Sync is great. Once it is properly demonstarted it sells itself. We have made easy sales after presenting it. People hell bent on buying their leased vehicles jump into a new lease after seeing Sync in action. Vehicles without Sync are a harder sell than vehicles with it. It's pretty much a mandatory option.

New car sales are dropping. I'm having to really pump up other parts of the business (used, service and Body shop) to make it work. This isn't the easiest time to be in the car business. However, if there was a time for an economic slowdown it's best to happen while Ford is reinventing itself. If Ford had all new product we'd still be hurting because economy is trumping new models right now. Next year when Ford is really bring out the new metal, the economy should be revving back up and all cylinders should be hitting. Like Mullaly said..the ride up is a whole lot more fun than the ride down. I figure 08 will be a tough year like 07. I have high hopes for 09.

I can tell you as a Ford Lincoln Mercury Dealer...it won't happen without big money and Ford doesn't have big money. There is a Mazda/BMW down the street and I'll be damned if I let 100 new vehicle sales (plus trades and maintenance) walk out the door. Mercury may look DOA today, but a lot can change in the next few years. Once Ford gets a few bucks in it's pocket, Mercury could be a whole new ball game.

I've said this before and it seems as if I have to say it again...I have been selling Fords for 20 years. I can smell good and bad. The Flex is good and will sell. I could sell 10 right now. Bring it on and until you have something other than your mothers opinion, please shut the FU and wait for real numbers.

Dean....I'm with you. As dealers, we have extrordinary interest in what is going to be released. I don't know about you but I've worked harder for less the last 2 years and I'm tired of it. I think this will be looked back on the the big turn-around for Ford. Bring it on Ford....we all need it!

Is it too much to ask to have Pioneer downsized? If I EVER heard a jackass like that talking about my company in that manner he would be on the street in seconds. How can you even accept a paycheck from a company you have so much dislike for? You are everything that is still wrong with Ford. Hopefully someone will wake up and correct the situation then you can go along your miserable way and leave Ford to the people who actually care about it.

I've been wishing for new product for years. Hopefully Farley is in a better position than I am to make it happen.

Dead nuts right. I sure as heck am glad this is not the new Durango. I am thrilled to see such a wonderful design from Ford. Please bring it to market as close to current form as possible!

Sales close is today.

wow.....this just got very interesting. If there is a grain of truth to this post then then next year or two will be far more volatile than most are expecting.

I'm one of the larger Saleen dealers in the country (thanks to the magic of the internet!). As an "attaboy" from Saleen, they let my store sell 2 Black Saleen Mustangs to the production company associated with the Transformer movie. Kinda cool I can say that I sold the car seen on screen.

Outside of the F-series it just isn't going to happen. Taurus and Explorer sold in the 400,000+ range annually back in the day. Those days are just plain over. The CR-V is the best selling SUV/CUV and it is just at 200k right now. Escape and Edge are at 132k and 116k respectively (and considered to be selling well). There are just too many alternatives for one particular model to be so dominate. I have come to terms with that and have been silently urging Ford to heed that call for a long time. By all rights we should have the 2010 models on the ground right now. But that is another argument for another day. Anyway if Ford can have more models consistantly turning in the 100k+ range we should be ok.

we're never going to have the volume of the Explorer in a single vehicle again. We need to make it up on the nitch vehicles. And from what I can see they are on the way. The Flex is a great first start. Follow that up with B size variants, refreshed Fusion/Milan/MKZ (I'm L-M as well), Lincoln MKS/MKF, refreshed Mustang and we're on our way. 2008 is going to be tough like 07. Maybe tougher. But I think things will break open in 09. Regarding the Edge as a volume seller...well my new vehicle sales are down 17% this year. If it weren't for the Edge and MKX I would be in deep deep trouble. Combining those two lines it is only second in volume to F-series. Btw, Mustang is down 44% for me so we need the new one fast.

Think of what you (we) are missing not having a people mover. I'm a medium sized store and I see 4-8 sales per month of the Flex. With trade in's etc this could be an additional 8-16 transactions per month (the Chryler store down the street from me would be closed if not for new and used mini van sales...we have neither). This is a conservative estimate. This will be more of an Edge and not a Taurus in terms of sales/factory support. Ford messed up the Taurus beyond belief (the car is ok but ok is not good enough after the screw-ups with powertrain/name change etc). I predict the Flex will have sufficient support to roll it out huge and the initial buuild quility will be super. The auto press will have no functional issues to bitch about (which killed the Taurus before it had a chance). Only the design will be polarizing which is a good thing. Price....well my last minivan for my wife was a loaded Freestar Limited that stickered over $37k. This is ten times the vehicle and will be in the same ballpark with a much higher residual for lease purposes. I'm not concerned about price based on what I've seen.

wow wow wow.....as a dealer I just sprung a giant woody over the possibilities. I've already gone on record saying this will be a big hit (and I'm not a fan of everything Ford does by the way) but this reinforces my belief. I just wish I had it now to sell as God knows I could use something exciting in my showroom.

as a dealer the Flex cannot come too soon. having no real people hauler is a huge disadvantage . a crappy minivan would have been Better than none at all. i can't even find used ones. it has really hurt us. my wife-hauling two kids- and their stuff- is in an Edge and hates it. drives fine but no room. their are plenty more out there not driving new Fords because of this. the Flex will be welcomed with open arms.

As a Ford dealer I am disappointed in my Taurus/Sable/X sales. In fact I sold more 500/Freestyles/Montego's last year. But then everything is down this year. I think the Taurus won't get any respect until 2010. The 500/Taurus debacle used up any goodwill the industry might have given it. Not that the car is bad...far from it. But visually it is a very light refresh of a 500. Interior and engine upgrades aside, it's not enough to impress the masses.

As a Ford dealer I am dealing with the buying public every day. I think that makes me uniquely qualified to put in my 2 cents. This mini SUV would sell in droves. Most people could give two shits about it's actual off-road prowness. Only on a overly pessimistic auto geek website would this be challenged (I include myself in the geek name calling because I check here every day for info Ford will not/cannot provide me). Ford needs to develop nitch power sellers. If ANYONE thinks this wouldn't sell out then stand in my showroom for a day and explain to my product hungry staff and my product hungry customer base (that is declining as we speak) why such a cool vehicle cannot sell because of this boards twisted reasoning. Be prepared for violence! By and large people buy on emotion not on reality. Ford has come out with too many vehicles that do not bring out ANY emotion with the public. I hope things are changing. Build this thing and call it a Bronco (screw the name history...never again will there be a full size 2 door SUV...so saving the name will do nothing). The next big hit for Ford right here!

+1 the triplet refresh is a much needed improvement. For someone to state as fact that it "is not very good" is simply flat wrong. I've signed an agreement so I cannot comment but I am pleased with what I have seen.

Found this quote on msnbc.com. This sucks because we are all waiting for great new versions of Mustang, F150, Fusion/Milan/MKZ, MKS, Flex etc. Does this cast doubt on all of it? “The fact that Ford has mortgaged the entire company is worrying, but we also have concerns about their new products,” Lindland said. “They’ve showed us their product line out to 2011, and we have no more confidence in them than we used to — there’s nothing head-turning, exciting or revolutionary. Some brands like Suzuki struggle for name recognition, but not Ford. Their individual models do struggle though because no one knows what they are, so they tend to make their lives more difficult.”