ice-capades

I no longer have access to the production schedule information.

The 2025 Mustang Order Guide is now available for download in the Dealer Order Guides section.

2025 Mustang Order Guide View File 2025 Mustang Order Guide LATE AVAILABILITY – Subject to Change ● None Submitter ice-capades Submitted 07/22/2024 Category Mustang  

This morning's gas prices in Hamden, CT (New Haven)  $3.54 Regular (Cash) @ Gulf  $3.65 Regular (Cash) @ Citgo

CT has been a 2-plate state for years. However, our dealership has had a longstanding policy to never install the front plate bracket on Mustangs unless the customer specifically requested and approved the front plate bracket installation. Even so, I've never heard of anyone in CT being cited for not having the front license plate installed. MA on the other hand will look for any excuse to write a citation. I was once driving my Mustang GT demo to our MA dealership and got pulled over and cited by a MA State Trooper because the Window Sticker wasn't visible!

When the Taurus and Explorer Police Interceptors were first introduced, the municipal orders skewed to more of the Taurus PI Sedans the first year. After a year's experience, the PI order banks skewed very heavily to the Explorer PI primarily due to the space limitations and other factors with the Taurus PI's.

The original 'Anti-Theft' package!

This morning's gas prices in Hamden, CT (New Haven)  $3.54 Regular (Cash) @ Gulf  $3.69 Regular (Cash) @ Citgo

Jeep People... Couldn't resist sharing!

No question that smaller vehicles are more price sensitive and under more pressure to achieve the desired profit margins. Ford's problem is that management makes short sighted decisions, abandons market segments to the competition, and then years later realizes that it needs to re-enter a market segment and then struggles to achieve positive results to any degree because customers have defected to the competition. Part of the problem is that Ford prices the smaller entry level vehicles at prices that leave the Dealer margin at less than $200 per vehicle, leaving little profit incentives at the dealership level. Add in the floorplan costs and the inventory costs raise to a whole different level.

Regarding the large SUV's, I'm not sure that "Dealer profit taking" is the issue. There are a lot of Dealers in smaller markets or in markets where the GM competition dominates sales, and the Expedition and Navigator vehicles get lost. A lot of those Ford Dealers order Expeditions to have one in stock, in markets where they only sell 1 or 2 per year and end up trading them to other Ford Dealers in part because they ordered vehicles with the wrong specifications (Model Trim and specifications) for their market. In particular, they make the mistake of stocking high end Expeditions that are beyond what their local market actually sells. They then try to sell those Expeditions at prices that their local market won't accept, and those customers buy the industry leading GM competitors.

The following updated order guides are now available for download in the Dealer Order Guides section. 2024 Edge Order Guide (Final) 2025 Explorer Order Guide

Jumps 14 Spots in the J.D. Power U.S. Initial Quality Study https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2024/06/27/ford-jumps-14-spots-in-the-j-d--power-2024-u-s--initial-quality-.html DEARBORN, Mich., June 27, 2024 – Ford leaps 14 positions in the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Initial Quality Study, while Lincoln also improves its performance. Bronco Sport was named best small SUV for initial quality, outperforming 18 other models for the title. Ford jumped 14 spots to No. 9 from No. 23 and a number of Ford vehicles performed well in the study, which is based on feedback from drivers and data on vehicle repair visits during customers’ first three months of new vehicle ownership. Lincoln also improved its rank from No. 28 to No. 25. “We are making a lot of progress on quality and customers with our latest vehicles are benefiting from it,” said Jim Baumbick, Ford’s vice president of Product Development and Quality. “We have more work to do, as our ambition is to have best-in-class quality and we won’t be satisfied until we achieve and sustain it.” “Ford’s achievement of receiving the award for the Bronco Sport in the Small SUV segment shows their continued commitment to Initial Quality,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power. Additionally, 2024 Explorer, Maverick and Super Duty performed well, ranking second in their respective segments.

Ford Management Shakeup Puts Detroit in Control of Europe https://fordauthority.com/2024/06/ford-management-shakeup-puts-detroit-in-control-of-europe/ Ford Europe has been in the midst of a major shakeup over the past couple of years, which began back in 2022, when The Blue Oval announced that it would no longer operate as its own separate entity after 55 years of doing precisely that. Instead, Ford has ended its regional earnings reporting and is instead reporting financial results from its five total businesses – Ford Blue, Model e, Ford Credit, Ford Pro, and Ford Drive. Now, a recent management shakeup at the automaker has resulted in an even bigger change, it seems. According to Automotive News, Ford plans to downsize its management team in Europe – from nine directors to four – following the departure of Martin Sander, general manager of Ford Model e Europe, who is heading back to Volkswagen next month. Rather than replace Sander, Ford will eliminate his position and the deputy role, leaving FoMoCo’s U.S.-based management team in charge of its European operations. Thus far, Ford has only two of those four European director roles sorted – Rene Wolf will remain manufacturing director of the automaker’s European plants, while Christian Weingaertner will continue to oversee marketing and sales in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. A third position will be filled internally, while Ford will look outside the company for the fourth. Additionally, personnel manager Rainer Ludwig will retire, and all remaining, lower-tier executives will now report to Dearborn. All of these changes are set to take place on the first of July. “This change simplifies our administrative and management structure in Germany, gives us more speed of action and allows the management team to concentrate fully on its operational tasks and lead Ford into a successful future,” Ford Germany Supervisory board chairman Kieran Cahill said in a statement. In the meantime, Ford’s future in Europe is a bit murky at the moment after the automaker nixed its plans to go all-electric across that region’s lineup by 2030 or sooner. At the same time, Ford has been trimming its European workforce for months now, but it reportedly isn’t done laying off workers there, either.