theocoog

Why on Earth would you pay for something that doesn't fit your needs or isn't what you really want? Maybe you've got lots of extra cash laying around? Or don't really care what you drive? I gather from you statement that options are pretty limited on Chevy's vehicles (cup holders, stripes), but with Ford there are many options to choose from and the chances that the dealer will have the exact vehicle in the exact trim level and color, with the exact option packages that a buyer is looking for is sometimes very slim. And I'm not talking cup holders. I am talking options that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, like engines, differentials, suspension packages, and electronics. Why settle for what don't you want (or what the dealer thought would sell) when you can get exactly what you do want? I was actually encouraged by my dealership to order since they wanted to be sure I bought just what I wanted and nothing more. I think the point of many of the posts in this thread is that Ford needs to do a better job of keeping their customers informed. At least for me this is true: my wait is now over 10 weeks and counting and I have no idea why it's taking so long (although I have been assured repeatedly that there were no commodity issues). Follow-up: After much frustration, I went to Ford's web site and emailed every department I could: Public Affairs, Sales and Advertising, etc. I expressed my frustration (politely) at not knowing why my vehicle was delayed and suggested they do a better job of keeping their customers informed. Within two days I got a call from Ford's Customer Service Division with a detailed status update on my truck. Then they called me every three days after that with a status update until the truck was at the dealer (which turned out to be about two weeks from my original email to them). And boy did they have details: they gave me the lot it was sitting in at DTP, the rail car number it was loaded on, the rail yard it was sitting in over a weekend, when it got to the rail head here in New England, what truck it was on and what time it was expected at the dealer's. So they do seem to care, it just took a bunch of complaining emails to get them to respond. And they proved that they have the information at hand and in their computers, more information than I really needed! They could avoid all the hassle if open some of that up to the public.

Yes - Chevrolet does: http://www.chevrolet.com/ordertracking/. So does BMW and several other manufacturers. Chrysler doesn't, but no surprise there. What is suprising is that Ford doesn't have one already. For a company that claims to be a technology leader, it's pretty backwards to not have such a system. Very 1980's of them... Ford already has all this information available - dealers and the good folks at customer service can access it whenever they want. It wouldn't be prohibitively expensive to develop a web-based interface into their ordering system for the customer. It sure would alleviate a lot of the frustration you see here and on other Ford forums. I've had an F150 on order for over two months now, and a VIN for one month. Speaking for myself, it's not the wait that bothers me as much as not knowing WHY I'm waiting, My dealer can't be bothered to get me updates so I'm will to do it myself - just give me the means to do it.

How about some new and interesting colors for the F-150s? I'd like to see a really, really dark green, or a true navy blue - darker than the dark blue pearl metallic. In my part of the country (New England) it seems like every other vehicle on the road is grey or silver or black.