ice-capades

The Wireless Charging Accessory (77c) option was cancelled several months ago which is why it has been removed from the 2014 Fusion Order Guide.

Here's the 2014 Edge Order Guide... No changes! 2014 Edge Order Guide.pdf

Per this week's Commodity and Constraints Letter... The Front Heated and Cooled Front Seats (46B) and Medium Soft Ceramic on Titanium are both late availability. They will begin scheduling in mid-October (November Production). From what I've seen, the other "late availability" options are also due to start scheduling in October for November production. I'll post updated information as I receive it.

The 2014 Transit Connect Order Guide is a disaster from a Dealer's perspective. It's far too long, complex and includes far too many individual options which make it all that more difficult to order the most desirable and fastest selling vehicles for a Dealer to stock, etc.

Sorry for the delay in responding but I've been buried dealing with new vehicle arrivals and website updates, etc. Unfortunately, I can't provide any information beyond what I posted earlier about the next generation Mustang. Until either Ford releases a Model Year changeover schedule or I can get more information via Ford's regional office, I don't expect there to be any new or updated information for a few months yet. As soon as I hear anything further, the BON members will be the first to know!

I'll try to look at the issue tomorrow morning with the inventory we have in stock.

The 2014 Edge USOB (Unscheduled Order Bank) is due to open on or about 09/16/2013 so there should be an order guide available by then which will reveal what the changes will be for the 2014 MY. I'll try to upload a copy of the 2014 Edge Order Guide as soon as its available.

The information came from a Sales Operations Manager at Ford, not just a Zone Manager, so I have to believe that what he told me was accurate. My understanding is that the 2014 1/2 Anniversary Edition will be on the current platform as I was specifically told that we will not see the all-new, next generation 2015 Mustang until at least the summer, if not later. Ford did a 40th Anniversary Edition for the 2004 Model Year as noted in this excerpt from the 2004 Mustang Order Guide... 40th ANNIVERSARY PACKAGE (434) (Available on V6 Premium Coupe/Convertible and GT Premium Coupe/Convertible) • Unique Crimson Red exterior paint, also available in Black or Oxford White • Wheels painted Arizona Beige Metallic • Arizona Beige Metallic tape stripe on hood (center), lower door panels and decklid (center) • Spoiler delete • Interior Upgrade Package • Color keyed dual fold-away mirrors • 40th Anniversary badge on center panel next to power point • Floor mats in Medium Parchment with 40th Anniversary logo • Medium Parchment (9H, BH or GH) interior • Deluxe Parchment (M) cloth convertible top (convertible only, similar to Cobra convertible top) Not available with: • Sport Appearance Group (54V) or Pony Package (54P) or optional GT wheel (64B) The 40th Anniversary 2004 Mustang was sold, titled and registered as a 2004 Mustang the same as all other Mustangs that year. My understanding is that the original 1964 1/2 Mustang was registered and titled as a 1965 Model Year. There was a lot of confusion with the 2004 Mustangs as every Mustang had fender badges with the Mustang 40th Anniversary Edition logo. However, only 2004 Mustangs with the above noted 40th Anniversary package content were actual 40th Anniversary Edition vehicles and the production run was limited to 5,000 vehicles. Until Ford releases either a new 2014 1/2 Mustang Order Guide or a revised 2014 Mustang Order Guide there is no way of knowing when the 2014 1/2 Mustang 50th Anniversary Edition will be available for order. It's also not known yet whether the 50th Anniversary Edition will be offered as an additional package option, similar to what was done in 2004 for the 40th Anniversary Edition or whether Ford is going to do a production run of 2014 1/2 Mustangs exclusively designated as the 50th Anniversary Edition. From what I was told it seemed like Ford's plan is to produce the 2014.5 MY Mustang exclusively as the 50th Anniversary Edition but it's way too early to know for certain. The next indication of what the actual plan is will be when Ford posts information on the Mustang production and order bank timetable. I'll post that information as soon as its available but I don't expect to see anything for several months yet. Even with the 17 digit VIN #'s that have been in use for many years now, only one digit is used to designate the Model Year. As such, there is no provision for a half-Model Year designation. My guess is that the 2014.5 MY Mustangs will still be classified as 2014's and registered and titled as such. We'll know better once Ford makes an official announcement and provides official information to its dealers! At least from what I was told yesterday, I think that Ford's making a mistake with their plans. I'm expecting that Ford will start producing the 2014.5 MY "50th Anniversary" Mustangs in February sometime so that the vehicles will be on the ground at dealers by the April 17th anniversary date. If Ford's Sales Operations Manager is telling me that the changeover won't happen until next summer, I'd expect that the plant will do the retooling during the annual July vacation shutdown with a 2015 Job #1 date of mid-July with the all-new 2015 Mustang possibly arriving at dealers in late August/early September. For a lot of years now, Ford's done the annual Mustang changeover in late January/early February so that the new models were on the ground and available at dealers by the traditional April anniversary date. Now they want to do an anniversary edition based on the "old" model and then roll out the all-new, next generation Mustang at what's almost the end of the Mustang selling season for much of the country. Oh well. We'll all just have to wait to see what Ford actually announces at some future date. Until then, we'll just have to look forward to more spy shots of the next generation Mustang!

This afternoon I was part of a 3 hour meeting with Ford regional managers including one senior level executive. During the meeting I asked if there was any information yet on the changeover timetable for the next generation 2015 Mustang. The senior Ford executive confirmed that the rumors are true. Ford will produce a 2014 1/2 Model Year Mustang as the official 50th Anniversary Edition and that the changeover to the all-new, next generation 2015 Mustang won't happen until at least July next year or later. He also stated that there's a lot more influence from the Evos concept vehicle that hasn't been revealed yet. As such, it seems that we'll all have to wait a lot longer to see the new Mustang and learn about the new specifications!

Sorry to disagree but I'll respectfully agree with your right to disagree with my opinions, etc. Unfortunately, the Lincoln Motor Company has introduced at best 2 all-new models in recent years... the all-new MKZ and I'll give credit to the MKS. Other than these two models everything else, what little there is in the Lincoln product portfolio, has been basic annual updates with nothing else contributing to an improvement in Lincoln's overall sales, which year-to-date are still down from a year ago. Much like the trouble plagued Fusion introduction, the Lincoln MKZ introduction went through a long series of problems resulting in the new model not being available in sufficient quantity until April. Lincoln has yet to make any commitment to actually produce the MKC concept vehicle as there is no timetable for production as well as any other models other than those currently available. I'd like to see the Lincoln project be successful but at the current investment level it won't as Ford will only invest enough funds in Lincoln that they can without sacrificing Ford Motor Company's overall financial performance and profits.

Ford needs to stop screwing around with the trim level designations. For years the SEL trim designated a model with standard leather seats and other features and was well established and recognized in the market. The SEL for leasing purposes also had a higher residual value reflecting the upgraded content and thus an attractive lease payment. Now Ford has eliminated the SEL trim on Focus, Fusion and Escape models and created the SE Plus packages that include leather seats and other features previously included in the SEL models. It's clouded the distinct differences between models that existed previously and adds nothing but confusion. The last thing dealers need is a new Titanium Plus designation! Regarding the Lincoln Motor Company... Ford been talking for years now about its commitment and investment in reviving the Lincoln brand. They've kept talking about the all-new Lincoln models to be introduced and yet years later all they have to show for it is the all-new Lincoln MKZ with less than spectacular sales results so far. The all-new Lincoln website promotes a concierge service to which I sent a message about the ability for a customer to track their factory order and the response received several days later provided totally incorrect information of how vehicle orders are reported, processed and tracked today. Let alone any information on an improved order tracking system or service via the Lincoln concierge service! Lincoln unveiled the all-new MKC concept some time ago now and includes it at the new Lincoln website but there has still been no commitment to actually build the vehicle. At the dealership level it appears that the current Lincoln path is proving to be too little, too late. Lincoln dealers need all-new product yesterday, not in 5 or 10 years. Without several all-new Lincoln models being introduced soon, many Lincoln dealers won't survive.

If you look at the 2014 Mustang Order Guide you'll see that the 19" Bright Machined Aluminum Wheels w/Black Painted Windows (64X) are only available on GT with the FP8 Appearance Package (542) or as an option on the GT Premium series.

For anyone thinking about ordering a 2014 Focus ST, Ford is almost begging dealers for ST orders in order to maximize Focus plant production. As such, you can probably get a pretty good deal on a Focus ST!

According to the latest FDNB (Fleet Distribution News Bulletin) the 2014MY C-MAX Order Bank is now scheduled to open on 09/20/2013 which is only a couple of days later than previously reported. The 2014MY scheduling will still start on 10/17/2013 with a Job #1 date on 12/02/2013.

An interesting item regarding the 2014 Edge appeared in the new FDNB (Fleet Distribution News Bulletin) that was released yesterday. The plant is scheduled to be "down" for the week of 12/23/2013 which is to be expected as it is part of the normal holiday schedule. The surprising part is that the FDNB is also listing that the plant is now scheduled to be down the weeks of 03/10/2014, 03/17/2014, 03/24/2014 & 03/31/2014. This is highly unusual as even regular model year changes are routinely accomplished over a weekend. One can only wonder, and this is purely speculation at this point, if Ford is going to do a shortened 2014MY Edge production run and then do major retooling at the plant for an all-new 2015MY Edge with an early introduction? We'll have more information in a few months when Ford starts providing information on 2014MY/2015MY changeover timing!

The Mustang is recognized universally by design and styling cues that had been established 50 years ago yet have evolved over the years to keep the Mustang current with cars of the time. Think of which design characteristics started with the original Mustang yet have remained pretty consistent over the years... Long hood, short decklid, 2+2 seating, open grille with the Pony logo, rear end treatment, side sculpting, etc. Regardless of the model year, Ford has done a much better job managing the Mustang than any other car model with every generation being instantly recognizable as a Mustang. Being a Mustang enthusiast and having the opportunity to drive a new 2014 Mustang GT every day as my company car, I enjoy reading all the comments here as more spy photos are released. A lot of speculation still but I'll just keep looking forward to seeing the production version when it's unveiled! Probably a coincidence but it's interesting to note that a customer traded in a 2004 Corvette Convertible about a week ago for a 2012 Mustang Shelby GT500 Coupe with 3,400 miles that had been traded in by one of our customer that purchased a 2014 Shelby GT500 that he'd been waiting to arrive. And then yesterday a customer came in looking to buy the 2014 Mustang GT Coupe that I'm driving with his 2002 Corvette Coupe as a trade-in. The deal didn't work as he wanted $10,000 more than we appraised his Corvette for, which had a bad CarFax report. I just find it interesting that we're getting Corvette customers looking to trade their cars in for Mustang's now.

As we get closer to getting information on the Model Year changeover to the next generation 2015 Mustang series, I thought it might be helpful to provide information on the balance out and commodity issues going forward. The information below is for 2014MY Mustang orders scheduling on Thursday, August 22nd. Hope this helps those still considering orders for the 2014MY Mustang! 2014 MY Mustang Grabber Blue (CI) Paint Balance Out Timing US Field Orders Due Thursday September 26, 2013 Last day for spec changes and cancellations Thursday September 26, 2013 REGIONAL CONTROLLED COMMODITIES: * If underlined, Commodities are allocated by SIMS to the Dealer level None It is recommended that you only be concerned with the following Plant & Labor or Supplier constraints if they are showing on your preview reports as a reason for non-selection: 19in Prem. Wheel – M.E. – (0BFL9) 5.8L DOHC SC Gas - EN-U6 – (99Z) – (std on P8J & P8K) 8.5x19 Bright Machined Alum Wheel w/Black Painted Windows – D2VAX – 64X (part of the FP8 Appearance Package) 8.5x19 Painted Alum Wheel – D2VAS – 64V – (included in V6 Performance Pkg – 67B; optional on P8A/P8E w/400A/401A) 9.5x19 F/9.5x20 R Premium Painted – D2GB3 – (64G) – (base wheels; std on GT500 Shelby w/821A; part of the SVT Performance Package) 9.5x19 FRT/9.5x20 RR Premium Painted – D2GBP – (64P) – (only available w/820A) 18x8 Wide “Spoke Painted Alum Wheel – D2UDA – (64A) – std on GT (300A, 301A, 400A, 401A) 19x9 Premium Painted Luster Nickel – D2VBP – (64N) – (included in Brembo Brake Package [55D] & GT Track Pkg. [55R]) All 8 Cylinder Gas Engines - EN-08 – (99S) – (std on Shelby P8J & P8K w/44E) GT Version – Car - VS-AX – (P8C & P8F w/300A, 400A, 401A & 402A) P245/45 R19 98W Rating / 19 Inch Pirelli Tire - (D31BU) – (T3U) (available w/64B [std w/V6 Performance Package {67B}, 64V [optional on P8C & P8F w/400A or 401A] or 64X [optional on P8C & P8F w/400A or 401A]) Rear Window Louvers – BPAAB – (902) Shelby 6 speed w/Cooler – OBD66 – 44E w/55S (Only available on Shelby Coupes [P8J/P8K w/821A]) (also part of Brembo Brake Pkg.) Shelby 6 Speed w/o Cooler – OBD67 – 44E without 55S Shelby Version - VS-F5 – (P8J & P8K)

2014 F-150 Order Guide 2014 F-150 Tremor Information & Photos 2014 F-150 Order Guide.pdf 2014 F-150 Tremor.pdf

The 2014 F-150 Unscheduled Order Bank is due to open this week with the 2014 F-150 Order Guide expected to be released to dealers by Wednesday. I'll upload the order guide as soon as it's available.

In our market the Taurus SHO accounts for nearly half of retail sales yet as nice as the Green Gem Metallic was we only sold a few in that color. The biggest selling colors for us have traditionally been the Tuxedo Black Metallic and the Sterling Grey Metallic. For incoming 2014 Taurus SHO order that were recently scheduled we have both Tuxedo Black Metallic and Dark Side Metallic SHO's due to arrive within the next 3-4 weeks.

1974-1976 Mercury Cougar XR-7! It was like driving a baby Lincoln Mark IV!

Here's the message that I posted a few minutes ago in the Lincoln section. My Dealer Principal and I met with our Ford representative this morning and part of the discussion involved Ford's prospects of being successful in turning around the recently rebranded Lincoln Division now known as the Lincoln Motor Company. Ford is investing a lot of money in new Lincoln product that has been promised for a number of years now but slow to appear on the market. Unfortunately for Lincoln, the all-new MKZ is not setting any sales records which doesn't help matters any. During the conversation, the Lincoln MKC compact crossover came up and I mentioned that there had been a number of posts online with the general inquiry as to the MKC's future availability. The response was that Ford has made no commitment to actually producing the MKC and that it was unveiled to the public as a concept vehicle. The reality of the matter is that in order to produce the Lincoln MKC, Ford would have to cut Escape production. With Ford Escape sales at record numbers, Ford is not about to commit to the MKC making into the market until they can address the production issues. So here's Lincoln showing the MKC as a stylish new compact crossover in a very strong segment and they can't build it because of plant capacity issues.

FYI... Ford dealers are doing the new "wholesale" for allocation and this cycle includes the "Balance Out" allocation for the 2013MY F-150. The "Balance Out" allocation covers both September and October production.

My Dealer Principal and I met with our Ford representative this morning and part of the discussion involved Ford's prospects of being successful in turning around the recently rebranded Lincoln Division now known as the Lincoln Motor Company. Ford is investing a lot of money in new Lincoln product that has been promised for a number of years now but slow to appear on the market. Unfortunately for Lincoln, the all-new MKZ is not setting any sales records which doesn't help matters any. During the conversation, the Lincoln MKC compact crossover came up and I mentioned that there had been a number of posts online with the general inquiry as to the MKC's future availability. The response was that Ford has made no commitment to actually producing the MKC and that it was unveiled to the public as a concept vehicle. The reality of the matter is that in order to produce the Lincoln MKC, Ford would have to cut Escape production. With Ford Escape sales at record numbers, Ford is not about to commit to the MKC making into the market until they can address the production issues. So here's Lincoln showing the MKC as a stylish new compact crossover in a very strong segment and they can't build it because of plant capacity issues.

Unfortunately there are dealers that will report vehicle sales prior to delivery in order to inflate their sales numbers which can help in Ford contest standings and/or allocation for future production. Further yet, the vehicle "in service" date starts when the vehicle is reported sold to Ford which can become an issue for the consumer should there be an issue related to warranty coverage when a service issue occurs and a warranty claim is rejected because of the elapsed time. The other problem is when a dealer reports a stock unit as sold and the same vehicle is then swapped to another Ford dealer. It's a mess getting the sale status reversed so that the vehicle can be transferred into the receiving dealer's inventory. Many years ago there was a dealer in CT that was reporting stock units as sold on a regular basis. The problem got so bad that the only way we'd do a swap was them was to first run an OASIS report first to make sure that there was no "in service" date for the vehicle. In another case, another CT dealer won a Ford dealer contest by cheating and got caught. As a result, they lost the contest and it was awarded to our dealership. As a result, the Dealer Principal sent me to the Ford "Dealer Intro Show" in Las Vegas at Ford's expense!