petegolf99

Ford is facing a similar problem: it simply cannot get enough of the batteries to keep up with the demand for its Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrid models, says spokesman George Pipas. Ford currently has access to only 24,000 of the special batteries under a contract it signed years ago, he says. "The supply of batteries is capped." Global demand is ahead of global supply. I quoted the following from an article in Time magazine earlier this year: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/...1811773,00.html This has got to be the biggest problem currently for hybrid cars.

Everybody on this site and has a computer would check out a site that had reviews about dealerships, if they were interested in buying a new car. Ford has the ability to create a site that accepts comments about their dealers. That would be enough to make some dealers tow the line. That is what I meant by cracking down, right now the dealers fear nothing. I've learned alot from the people and their experiences just from reading this site, and I am thankful to all the people who have taken the time to post their experiences.

No.......Ford can provide information to the public about which dealerships are getting the most complaints, and which ones are getting positive feedback. Passing along information is not unlawful. Information is gold. Let the customer's decide which dealerships to patronize based on other customer experiences. I'm not talking about buying back dealerships or messing with their allocations. Let them earn a good name or not.

I happen to agree with Sean. Ford needs to make customers happy, not dealerships. If dealers are playing games, Ford needs to have some oversight and crack down. Building brand loyalty starts at the top. If first time car buyers have a bad experience, they will go somewhere else next time. Ford could keep track of customer complaints or positive experiences concerning all dealerships, and customers could track on the Internet and make their own decisions on which ones to use.

I ordered a '09 FEHL on 6/28/08 from DiFeo Ford in New Jersey. I just got a phone call that I will be getting a VIN next week, and Ford will begin building vehicle. When I placed order, they had told me to expect delivery late August or early September. Keeping my fingers crossed.