ice-capades

I'm not so sure about that. The pandemic caused tremendous pent up demand for all types of consumer products besides automotive... appliances, computers and just about any product that uses semiconductors. It still takes months to get many appliances and the order-to-delivery time for a new desktop is a month, graphics cards are in short supply... and prices for computer components are going through the roof, if you can find them.

Intel Corp's CEO said yesterday that it could take several years for a global shortage of semiconductors to be resolved. https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/intel-reiterates-chip-supply-shortages-could-last-several-years No doubt that Ford will produce every vehicle they can and F-Series will remain the highest priority to maintain profits and sales leadership.

Per Friday's FDNB (Fleet Distribution News Bulletin) below is the updated production timetable for the 2021/2022MY F-Series Super Duty. 01/20/2021 - 2021MY Final Fleet Order Date 03/18/2021 - 2021MY Last Day to Spec Change (KTP) 04/01/2021 - 2021MY Last Day to Spec Change (OHAP) 07/09/2021 - 2021MY Balance Out Date (KTP) 07/21/2021 - 2021MY Balance Out Date (OHAP) 03/15/2021 - 2022MY Order Bank Open Date 05/27/2021 - 2022MY Scheduling Begins (KTP) TBD - 2022MY Scheduling Begins (OHAP) 07/10/2021 - 2022MY Job #1 Date (KTP) 07/22/2021 - 2022MY Job #1 Date (OHAP)

Per Friday's FDNB (Fleet Distribution News Bulletin), the updated scheduling and production timetable has been released for the 2021/2022MY Explorer. 06/25/2021 - 2021MY Fleet Final Order Due Date 07/22/2021 - 2021MY Last Day to Spec Change 10/08/2021 - 2021MY Balance Out Date 07/12/2021 - 2022MY Order Bank Open Date 08/12/2021 - 2022MY Scheduling Begins 10/11/2021- 2022MY Job #1 Date

Per Friday's FDNB (Fleet Distribution News Bulletin) here's the updated scheduling and production timetable for the 2021/2022MY Lincoln Aviator. 03/05/2021 - 2021MY Fleet Final Order Due Date 03/11/2021 - 2021MY Last Day to Spec Change 07/30/2021 - 2021MY Balance Out Date 03/15/2021 - 2022MY Order Bank Open Date 06/17/2021 - 2022MY Scheduling Begins 07/30/2021 - 2022MY Job #1 Date

June 2nd is announcement and reveal to the Dealers.

The MCO/MSO's are probably created at the same time that the vehicle invoices and window stickers are and probably get sent automatically.

The MCO's (Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin) haven't been shipped with the vehicles in years. They're sent to the dealerships via USPS.

As stated in Ford's announcement, the enhanced retail order incentive is retroactive to 04/01/2021 and available on selected vehicle lines. You'd have to check with your Dealer about whether the incentive is available on the Super Duty. If it is, and your order is unscheduled, you could cancel the order and the Dealer could submit a new order but you'll probably have to absorb the price increase on June 1st unless you act quickly. That's a decision only you can make and, depending on how many other 2022 Super Duty retail orders the dealership has, your scheduling priority may change.

Since the registration was processed, I'm assuming that you signed all the paperwork and, in essence, took "delivery" of the vehicle. In some cases, if done immediately, a reported sale, registration, etc. can be reversed but after all this time that's not an option. Why anyone would take "paper" delivery of a vehicle by signing all the paperwork is beyond me. Now you have all the liabilities and expenses of a vehicle you don't have and may not have for some time. And if the vehicle arrives damaged you'll have another issue to deal with, with few options. You should be dealing with dealership managers only for information. And if you want to know what's in the Vehicle Visibility report to verify what you've been told, tell them you want the complete report showing the order history and not just the latest ETA. The latest Vehicle Visibility report will show the vehicle's current location and will also now include a note if it's being held for the microchip shortage. Unfortunately, there's no easy answer to your situation. The whole microchip issue has created a production and distribution mess for Ford, its Dealers and customers alike and it's going to take time for a resolution. And I've not seen any direct communications from Ford providing information on how microchips are being prioritized for produced vehicles awaiting chips. At least the Vehicle Visibility program was updated recently to identify specific vehicles being held for microchips. The Ford Zone Manager is the dealership's first, direct contact with Ford and can escalate issues, etc. to other's at the Ford Regional Office for assistance. Unless the dealership is large, or the Dealer Principal actually knows a senior Ford executive at the regional or corporate level, there's not much the dealership can do. It's not simply a matter of calling someone in Dearborn. At the dealership level, a lot of stores have made substantial changes in how they operate since the pandemic hit. They've cut sales staff, created new positions and generally reorganized operations to more effectively provide services in a market that has changed dramatically. Many dealerships started providing concierge services for both sales and service customers... picking up and returning service vehicles, developing online sales procedures, delivering new vehicles to customers, etc. At my dealership, the number of sales representatives went from 8 to 3, the service department added a Service Concierge position to better assist service customers and a lot of other changes. I don't know if any of this will help but I at least wanted to give you some information from a dealership perspective and my years of experience.

The following updated order guides are now available for download in the Dealer Order Guides section. 2021 Transit Order Guide 2021 Transit Order Guide (Canada)

Ford notice to Dealers... INFORMATION All-New White Space Vehicle Name Reveal Broadcast ACTION REQUESTED Have your team view the June 2 broadcast to understand the plan for revealing the name of an innovative, all-new ’22 model year Ford Motor Company vehicle. SUMMARY Something Unexpected Is Coming. Please Tune In For A Special Dealer Broadcast On June 2nd To Hear About An All-New White Space Vehicle Coming For Ford Motor Company! Check back here on June 2 to view the broadcast. Stay tuned for additional information regarding the subsequent product reveal later in June.

Gut reaction... You make it sound like much of Ford's future BEV development is dependent on VW.

Sorry... I've just got too many other projects I'm working on and didn't remember the "selected vehicle lines" notice. And yes, I think that Ford created the retail order incentives specifically to assist customers that couldn't find the vehicle they wanted in stock at a dealership and wanted to give them an incentive to place a factory order if they could wait to take delivery at a later date.

Retail orders don't start to get scheduled until after the "Okay to Buy" status is reached which is after 5 consecutive days of production with zero defects. Your Dealer probably ordered your vehicle as a Stock unit in order to get it scheduled and produced sooner. It'll get scheduled sooner as a "Stock" order but be subject to the $250 price increase effective June 1st or any other potential price increases prior to the vehicle being invoiced. If your Dealer changes your order to a "Retail" order, the order date will change to the date the order type change was made. Only you can make the decision but I'd suggest talking to your Dealer ASAP.

I just tried looking up the Super Duty eligibility for the retail order incentive but unfortunately, the search function at the FMCDealer.com portal is like an effort in futility as it returns literally thousands of results and the available filtering is useless! I don't recall seeing the "selected vehicle lines" notice so I'd have to suggest you contact your Dealer for clarification on your question as the notice for the enhanced retail order incentive states that it is an enhancement to the current program.

The enhanced retail order incentive ($1,000) isn't effective until June 2, 2021 but is retroactive to 04/01/2021 so it looks like you could get your order price protected and avoid the price increase and also benefit with the enhanced retail order incentive. The timing is critical though as Ford must receive the retail order prior to June 1st.

This enhancement will be retroactive to all retail orders placed since 4/1/21!

Almost all the company vehicles I've driven over the years have had a driving range of 300-350 miles. I'm not referring to any vehicles equipped with an optional, extended range gas tank. That being said, the real issue with BEV's is more the charging time and available infrastructure and not the driving range. If the infrastructure was available and you could recharge your BEV quickly the driving range would never be an issue.

Just as it says... applies to retail orders placed by July 6, 2021. Dealership ETA is not a factor.

Ford is completely revising its vehicle incentives program as of June 2, 2021 in order to reduce the number of incentives available and simplify the incentives available. Below is the notice related to the Retail Order Incentive Program. Importantly, in support of your retail ordering opportunities in June, we will also enhance by $500 our current Retail Order Incentive Program, to $1,000 Open Bonus Cash for orders on selected lines placed by 7/6/21. This enhancement will be retroactive to all retail orders placed since 4/1/21.

FYI... Ford is still showing no preview of the scheduling plan for next week. I expect that they'll post a preview for next week by later today before Ford offices close for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. I'll post the scheduling information as soon as it becomes available.

It would hurt Tesla the most based on their volume but also the other OEM's that are non-union.

Agreed. BEV's need incentives and infrastructure for the market and sales to grow. The government has no business subsidizing the UAW.

So... call your Dealer for a status update!