ice-capades

This whole new Lincoln model naming convention is one area where I'm surprised that Ford's CEO hasn't put his foot down as he's shown his appreciation for heritage/legacy naming conventions at Ford Division as evidenced by his restoring the Taurus nameplate. Personally, I'd like to meet the idiots in Dearborn that came up with the whole "MK" nomenclature series. Maybe it's just me but can anyone hear the name of a current Lincoln model without struggling to figure out what the different model designations are? For decades everyone knew what a Town Car, Continental or Mark series was. Now it's a guessing game. The Navigator name has been around long ago that it will hopefully retain it instead of becoming an MKN and although the Aviator model has been inconsistent as for availability it might have long term potential. We'll see what happens long term as Ford works to restablish the Lincoln brand.

Your information is correct. But while Ford now restricts priority codes 10-19 to customer retail orders and stock orders to priority codes 20+ it's in the Dealer's best interest to order units promised to customers as retail orders so that the factory incentives can be locked in. The Dealer gets the unit scheduled and available to the customer sooner than a stock order, the customer has the option of using the locked in incentives and the Dealer has the opportunity to turn over the unit sooner helping to earn future allocation. However, don't get the idea that Dealers can just go ahead and "fudge" the allocation scheduling system by putting retail orders in the order bank. Ford is now monitoring the Dealer retail orders and if a Dealer has more than a resonable number of retail orders built and not reported sold within a certain timeframe after arrival, the Dealership will be subject to penalties regarding retail orders.

Search results provided in my reply made moments ago to other 2012 Mustang thread.

I just ran your specifications through the Ford Vehicle Locator and there is only ONE 2011 vehicle showing up. It's at Brad Francis Ford (505-866-3100) in the Phoenix Region. The last 8 digits of the VIN #B5169154 and the vehicle has been in stock for 80 days. MSRP = $39,470. There are NO 2012's showing up in the Vehicle Locator with the same specifications. Vehicle search was for all 3,188 dealers. Hope this helps!

There is no wholesale/allocation plan for May production but it's too early to know what the actual plant schedule will be. According to my Ford Zone Manager they're going to try to schedule retail orders. Perhaps a Flat Rock employee can provide better information. FYI... While our store is pretty much out of Mustangs with little prospects of getting additional inventory from Ford until June at best I took a look yesterday morning at the Vehicle Locator at did see a lot of Mustang inventory available at other dealers. Not a lot of 2012 Mustang inventory but a LOT of 2011's with a lot of stores having 4-6 2011's in stock which for Connecicut is strong.

2011 SWAP YOUR RIDE Logos... The biggest problem going forward is a lack of inventory at many dealerships. Our store has run out of inventory for the past 2 years and the unfortunate events in Japan will only make inventory matters more difficuilt!

2012 Mustang GT now has $500 Promotional Retail Bonus Customer Cash rebate available through May 2nd. The APR rates available are 1.90/2.90/3.90/5.90% for 36/48/60/72 months. FYI... Without a complete VIN # your vehicle is NOT scheduled for production yet! The VIN # is generated at the same time that a vehicle is scheduled and sent to Dealers via the Daily Status Reports.

With the articles online, with links provided elsewhere on BON Forums, reports are that there's a 116 day supply of Mustangs. And with no Mustang wholsale or allocation for May production it looks like there's going to be a lot more down time at Flat Rock. Hopefully Ford will expedite the retail orders so customers don't have to wait any longer... as if they're already wating far too long.

Ford bases its inventory plans on "Days Supply" so if Mustang is at 116 days supply that would certainly explain why the Flat Rock plant will be down next week. In additon, since there is no Mustang wholesale or allocation plan for May production I'd expect there to be a lot more down time. No wonder Ford is running all those Mustang TV commercials. I'd just like to know where all this inventory is as our store has only two Mustangs in stock and now won't see any until June at least. For us and many other dealers in the northern part of the USA Mustang sales are traditionally seasonal and we can't get cars! Hopefully Ford will expedite the retail orders so those customers won't have to wait any longer than necessary. In the meantime, I'm getting awfully tired of passing Camaro's on the road every day and not having enough Mustang inventory.

A VOC or DORA (Dealer Order Receipt Acknowledgement) doesn't mean anything. Retail orders for the 2012 Focus won't be scheduled until the "OK to Buy" order is issued by Ford, which according to my latest message from my Ford Zone Manager a few days ago, is expected to be issued on or about April 4th. Until then, Ford is scheduling only dealer stock orders for the 2012 Focus. You'll have to tell me what you mean by an MFT software issue on the 2012 Focus as I don't know what you're referring to.

Priority codes for Retail Orders are restricted to 10-19 with stock orders being required to have priority codes 20+. At my dealership I use priority code 10 for the first Retail Order placed into the USOB (Unscheduled Order Bank), 11 for the 2nd Retail Order, 12 for the 3rd, etc. In this way, I've prioritized the Retail Orders in the order that the orders were placed so that customer orders are scheduled and produced in the order they were received. This has been particularly important for the 2011 Explorer where our Dealership has had as many as 6 retail orders in the USOB at one time. In the event that there are commodity issues involved it's possible that a retail order with a higher priority code could be scheduled before an order with a lower priority code.

Agreed! Priority codes 01-09 are reserved exclusively for Ford Motor Company.

Attached is a copy of the 2012 Fusion Order Guide that was just released to Dealers yesterday. 03/30/2011 - 2012 MY Order Bank Open Date 05/05/2011 - 2012 MY Scheduling Begins 06/06/2011 - 2012 MY Job #1 Date 2012 Fusion Order Guide.pdf

While you might not think that the retail order process is customer friendly, the system usually works well and a customer can get the exact vehicle they desire in a reasonable timeframe. Don't let the commodity issues discussed overwhelm you. Your business is important to all of us associated with Ford and anyone involved in the process should do everything possible to ensure that you're satisfied and provides you to any and all questions you might have along the way. As I've recommended in many other posts over the years, if you're placing a factory order, find out who at the dealership handles the vehicle orders and communicate directly with them as to order status updates and any related questions as they're best positioned to provide you with accurate information. If at any time you're not getting the answers you need, go up the food chain all the way to the Dealer Principal if necessary. One point to consider is that not all manufacturers offer customers the ability to place factory orders for vehicles built to their specififications. Many import brands don't and build the vehicles in bulk and then sell the inventory to dealers.

"Bucked" status means that the vehicle is in production.

Our store would be happy to be able to get a Boss Mustang of any kind! We've gotten the President's Award again as well at being the only Connecticut dealership to get the ONE Ford Elite Award and still can't get a Boss Mustang. When we asked Ford about it, the response was that the Boss allocation was determined well before the President's Award and/or ONE Ford Elite standings were determined.

A partial VIN number is issued for every vehicle order once it's placed in the USOB (UNscheduled Order Bank) and has nothing to do with scheduling. The partial VIN number includes only that general information applicable to that order such as country of origin, body code and other general information that is coded as part of the VIN number. As soon as a vehicle order is scheduled, a complete VIN number is generated and available to the Dealer in its daily reports.

Thanks Dean! I made a reference to you recently, in this thread I believe, about you being a very vauluable resource for matters like this. Now if only the whole process at the dealership level got easier as Ford keeps promising. Instead, it takes more and more time each week to manage the dealership's oder bank, commodity issues change even after the commodity letter is issued for a week, etc. Ford is being far too conservative with their inventory management and production plans and it's costing Ford and its dealers business.

Any customer, prospective or actual, should be able to ask any question and expect to get a straight answer. Whether or not someone else thinks that they're making it more complicated is besides the point. As for scheduling matters, why would any Dealer object to Retail Orders getting scheduled ASAP? There is absolutely NO limit on the number of vehicles that a Dealer can sell. Both Ford and its Dealers want to sell as many vehicles as possible! Allocation, normal or otherwise as you put it, has nothing to do with actual vehicle sales and any limits are there are no limits on sales. There really is no RED TAPE. Either the Dealer has allocation for scheduling a vehicle or not for a specific allocation and scheduling week. If the Dealer has allocation and the vehicle order meets the commodity restrictions in place that week, the vehicle will be scheduled. The allocation and commodity restrictions are not controlled by anyone other than Ford Motor Company and its ability to build vehicles to specifications in the Order Guides, in accordance with commodity restrictions forced by production and/or supplier issues. Hope this helps clarify things further!

A vehicle order won't be scheduled unless it meets all the commodity restrictions in place at the time of scheduling. A new commodity might become restricted the following week but it won't affect the unit scheduled a week earlier because it met all the commodity issues in place at that time. If for any reason there's a last minute issue it will only affect the scheduled unit on a temporary, very short term basis. In any event, the Dealer gets updates on a daily basis for all scheduled units. The bold, underlined items applies to commodity issues applicable for suggested orders that the Dealership may have received for that week's scheduling period. Thanks for the kind words of support, etc. I just hope that I've got everything correct here!!!

Sorry for the delay in responding to your questions above. For some reason I kept getting error notices any time I tried to reply the past few days. 1 & 2. A vehicle line commodity issue can be any option or component that will prevent the vehicle order from being scheduled. Below is a copy of the commodity issues and restrictions for 2012 Mustang orders from a week ago. FYI... There is no commodity report for 2012 Mustang this week as no Mustang orders are being scheduled this week. MUSTANG – SIMS – Commodities will vary by dealer On March 24 – Scheduling Unscheduled Allocation in Week 12 Allocated/Controlled Commodities: 5.0L 4V V8 w/ 6 Speed Manual Transmission (99F w/ 44X) 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: 2 Door Convertible - BS-BH – (P8E, P8F, P8K) 5.0 Boss Less Laguna – OBDVR – (P8C w/ 500A) 5.0 Boss with Laguna – OBDVS – (P8C w/ 501A) 5.0 GT Engine – OBDVZ – (99F) 6 SPD Man Trans NAAO T56 - TR-VE – (44E) All 8 Cylinder Gas Engines - EN-08 – (99S) AM/FM Str/Cd/Clk/Navig System – IBAED – (58N) Bodyside Accent Stripe – CJRAB – (46B) Boss Package – AALJE – (558) – (standard on 500A and 501A) FIA - Hood Scoop – FHQAB – (944, 945 & 946) FIA - Pedestal Rear Spoiler – FIIAC- (Standard in California Special Package -- 402A) Included in Accessory Packages 943, 944, & 945) GT 5.0L – MTX Trans – OBC4S – (99F w/ 44X) GT Version – Car - VS-AX – (P8C) Lighting Package Level A - JBWAC – (standard on P8A or P8E w/200A, 201A, 202A & 203A; P8C or P8F w/400A, 401A or 402A) P215/65R17 BSW - D3KBE – (T3B or T3G) Manual Slide Sun Roof – CHAAB – (59G) Rear View Camera-Fixed - J3KAB – (77C) Seat-Recaro-DRV/PASS – FS - N – (MW) – (available on P8C w/ 500A and 501A) Shelby Over the Top Tape Stripe – OBCYJ – (Must use 46D [paint stripe delete] and 6X interior) Shelby Version - VS-F5 – (P8J & P8K) SVT Racing Stripes – CJRBA – (46S) SYNC Media Gateway Module – IEVAB – (standard on P8A or P8E w/200A, 201A, 202A & 203A; P8C or P8F w/400A, 401A or 402A) Total Convertible/Glass Roof - OBC1R – (P8E, P8F, P8K and P8A, P8C & P8J w/59G) Total Paint Stripe (non-OTT) - OBC14 – (46B) Body Accent Stripe and (46S) SVT Racing Stripes V6 3.7L MTX Trans – OBC4T – (99M w/ 44X) The #1 reason a Dealer order did not schedule is commodities. The reason(s) may relate to either an exhausted regionally allocated commodity or an exhausted non-allocated constraint as identified above. Such constraint exhaustion generally only applies to the total number of commodities available in that target week or weeks being scheduled. 3. Any vehicle sale, whether the vehicle was ordered for stock or was a retail order placed for a customer counts as a sale and can help a Dealer earn additional allocation in the next wholesale/allocation plan. 4. Each month, Dearborn determines how many units for each vehicle line they will produce for the upcoming allocation/scheduling and production period. In the next few days Dealers will completing the April plan which is for vehicles that will be produced in May. From the total production plan volume for each vehicle line, Dearborn then determines the Regional allocation which is then broken down to allocation for each Zone in the Region... until allocation is detertmined per vehicle line for each individual Dealer. All allocation is based on sales history and inventory in stock at all levels. The biggest factor affecting allocation is what's called "Days Supply" with a 60 day supply of vehicles being the industry standard. It doesn't make a difference how many F-150's are sold in regard to Focus allocation as every vehicle line is treated independently. 5. I wouldn't worry about the issue of sudden Market changes as Ford is probably in the best position of any manufacturer to react. Part of it is the vehicle plan enacted by Ford's CEO 4 years ago which specifically anticipated and plans for increased demand for smaller and/or more fuel efficient vehicles as gas prices are expected to increase at some point to $4.00 plus which was the trigger 3 years ago to a sudden increase in demand. In addition, as Ford retools more plants, they're being converted to "Flex" manufacturing whereby a much greater configuration of different models can be built on the same assembly line. The all-new 2012 Focus is being built at the former MIchigan Truck Plant and by the end of the year will be able to produce the 2012 Focus with 4 different powertrains... Gas, Hybrid, Plug-In Hybrid & Electric. Thw Wayne Asembly Plant which assembled the previous generation Focus will be retooled as a 2nd Focus plant with capacity for additional body styles, models and demand. The Focus is moving upscale slightly in price for the lower end models which will make more room for the Fiesta and the upper trim levels of the Focus (SEL, Titanium) will offer substantially more features and options than previously available which will cause a lot of overlap with the Fusion series. Overall, Ford is in excellent shape to deal with future changes in Market demand for smaller and/or more fuel efficient vehicles. They're also working hard to make sure that every vehicle line has best-in-class fuel efficiency and developing new, advanced powertrains to achieve those goals. 6. Vehicle scheduling is normally done on a weekly basis with whatever allocation a Dealer has for a particular vehicle line usually spread evenly over the allocation/scheduling period. If a Dealer earns allocation for 4 Mustangs, usually they will get that allocation over the 4 week scheduling period with allocation for 1 Mustang each week. It doesn't always turn out that way buy after the allocation plan is locked in, Dealers have daily reports that provide all the specific allocation information for each vehicle line. 7. Sometimes Ford offers a "Retail Verification" system on specific vehicle lines whereby the Dealership scans and uploads a copy of a signed Buyer's Order, copy of the purchaser's Driver's License, etc after entering the customer Retail Order via the CONCEPS online ordering system. Once the customer information is reviewed and verified by Ford, the order is scheduled on an expedited basis regardless of a Dealer's allocation for that vehicle line. It's scheduled "above and beyond" the Dealership's allocation for that vehicle line and doesn't affect their allocation for getting any other vehicles in the vehicle line scheduled. Most notably in the past, Ford offered such a system to expedite orders for Escape Hybrid & Fusion Hybrid models. There has been a lot of discussion here on the BON Forums about why Ford should provide expedited, non-allocation based scheduling for ALL retail orders. I agree completely and have had numerous conversations with our Ford Zone Manager about it and been told that Ford will NOT offer it in the future because it would be to disruptive to the current scheduling process. 8. The worst time to place a Retail Order is when a vehicle line is going into "Balance Out" which is the last scheduling and production for the end of the Model Year or series before a next generation model goes into production. This is when commodity restrictions can be critical as the supply of certain commodities, options, etc can be exhausted early. 9. As far as I'm concerned, there's NEVER a bad time to deal with a customer's factory order! The customer has decided on the specifications they want and doesn't want to settle for another vehicle with different paint, trim, options. They may sometimes have to wait longer than they wish for the vehicle based on allocation, commodity issues, etc. but they take delivery of the exact vehicle they ordered. To the benefit of the Dealership, the vehicle is received and delivered within days and there's no inventory floorplan interest expenses. 10. Ford recently added more Zone Managers and at least where our dealership is there are now 10 dealers in each zone compared to 12 dealers previously. We're already seeing more frequent service and attention as a result of the change. The Zones don't control allocation as it's all based on sales, etc. as I've addressed above. 11. The allocation for scheduling and production is all based on sales history, inventory, days supply as addressed above. One dealership's poor sales for a particular vehicle line won't normally affect the Zone's allocation for that vehicle line. That Dealer will just earn less allocation compared to other dealers in the Zone for that vehicle line. 12. If one Dealer in a Zone has substantially higher sales for a vehicle line compared to other dealers in the Zone, that Dealer will just earn more allocation for future scheduling. 13. Based on all the information that Ford supllies to its dealers, each Dealer has a pretty good idea as to the chances of a Retail Order being scheduled in the short or long term based on the posted commodity issues/notices. When the allocation plan is being finalized for a Zone, some Dealer(s) may not take all the allocation they are offered for a particular vehicle line. That's when Dealers who asked for supplemental allocation for a vehicle line can pick up allocation they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. For any customer placing a factory order, I've always advised that they find out who at the Dealership manages the Order Bank and then talk to them directly as they're in the best position to give you the updates that you're looking for. Unfortunately. sales representatives are not always the best sources for updates on your factory order. You want to talk to the person that deals with factory orders directly and will give you straight information and not tell you what they they think you want to hear. The Ford Zone Manager is a very valuable resource to dealers that are engaged. I regularly send our Ford Zone Manager an updated list of unscheduled retail orders so that we can work together on getting them scheduled even when dealing with commodity issues and restrictions. There are times when a Retail Order can get scheduled even though there would normally be commodity issues in place preventing scheduling otherwise. A DEaler that has a good relationship with Ford management will always be more successful getting orders scheduled! I hope that my answers here help answer the questions that you posted! If I can be of any further assistance please let me know.

Although it hasn't affected 2012 Mustang scheduling yet, Ford has stopped scheduling orders on a number of other vehicle lines including Tuxedo Black, Royal Red, Red Candy and Redfire paints due to a supplier problem related to the situation in Japan. If the situtation gets worse it's very possible that Ford will suspend scheduling for the Red Candy paint on the 2012 Mustang. If it comes to it, perhaps Ford will reinstate the Sterling Gray Metallic (UJ) paint that has been so popular for many years and discussed at length.

I exchanged several e-mails earlier this week prior to a two hour meeting with our Ford Zone Manager related mostly to inventory issues and concerns. Ford has been very conservative in its production plans the past few years and bases its plans on "Days Supply" for each vehicle line. At the same time, Ford is relying more on Dealership advertising to help generate showroom traffic and sales. Of course, in order to make a substantial advertising investment a Dealership must have adequate inventory for the vehicle line its advertising. For the past two years our Dealership has essentially run out of inventory over the Summer months forcing us to scrap all advertising and regularly buy inventory from other dealers in order to meet demand. Our store has been breaking monthly sales records for the past 4 months compared to 3 years ago and right now our inventory is down at least 25% from where it should be going into the Spring season. Unfortunately, the situation in Japan is only going to complicate the situation. At least in our Market, Ford's being so conservative with inventory and production plans is actually hurting business as it's hard to sell what you don't have! So far our March new vehicle sales are on track to be our best in probably 4-5 years. We're ready to launch a major new advertising campaign regarding our winning not only the 2010 President's Award (awarded to approximately the top 10% of Ford Dealers) but also the ONE Ford Elite Award (awarded to the aproximately top 150 Ford Dealers) and we're looking at our 3rd Summer of being very short of inventory!

Austin... I don't get to spend as much time here on BON as I used to so I haven't run across "Deanh" much but he's a very good source for information. As far as prioritizing orders for scheduling, it's all up to the Dealer to establish the order in which they want orders scheduled.

Richard... Sorry but Dealer stock orders and allocation are two entirely different matters. Please see my other posts for information regarding both of these matters.