DCK Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?...p;make_id=trust JANUARY SALES OFF 19%; DAILY RENTAL DOWN 65% Ford's January sales totaled 166,835, down 19 percent compared with a year ago. Lower sales to daily rental companies (down 65 percent) account for most of the decline. Sales to retail customers were down slightly (5 percent). New crossover utility vehicles (Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX) heat up dealer showrooms. Demand continues to grow for new mid-size sedans (Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ). All-new Expedition and Navigator extend sales winning streaks. DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 1 - Ford Motor Company's January U.S. sales declined 19 percent compared with a year ago, largely as a result of a planned reduction in sales to daily rental companies. Sales to daily rental companies were cut by 65 percent. All of us at Ford are focused on restructuring our business to be profitable at lower volumes and offering more of the products people want, including more cars and more crossovers, said Mark Fields, Fords President of The Americas. We are focusing more of our attention on retail customers and reducing sales to daily rental companies sharply. Our customers benefit from this plan because their vehicles residual values will improve a trend we already are seeing with our newest products. The resale values of Fords newest products have improved by as much as 11 percentage points with Ford closing the gap on many Asian competitors according to the Automotive Leasing Guide. Residual values have improved 2 percentage points compared with the prior model year for the 2007 Ford Fusion sedan, 6 points better for the 2007 Lincoln Navigator, 9 points better for the 2007 Ford Expedition and 11 points better for the 2008 Ford Escape. Fords new 2007 Edge crossover has resale values higher than Toyota Highlander and Nissan Murano. January marked the first full month on sale for the company's new crossover utilities the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX. Edge sales were 5,586 and MKX sales were 1,699. In fact, the Edge post higher sales in its introduction month than did Ford's popular Fusion in its first month (4,078 in October 2005). Dealers reported higher retail sales for the company's 2007 model mid-size cars, the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ. In addition, the all-new Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator full-size SUVs extended their winning streaks into 2007. Expedition sales have been higher than a year ago for five months in a row and Navigator sales have been up the last four months. The Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner utility vehicles posted sharply higher retail sales in advance of a new 2008 model, which now is being shipped to dealers from Ford's Kansas City (Mo.) Assembly Plant. Ford saw lower sales for its popular F-Series pickup truck in January (down 15 percent), which compares with a strong performance for America's best-selling pickup last year. The company expects softness in new home construction to adversely affect full-size pickup sales through the first half of 2007. BREAKDOWN AT THE LINK ABOVE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 Well the only spot not dismal is the edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 OUCH!! The writing was on the wall with this one, because once the Taurus disappeared that was all she wrote...... I suppose the only promising thing to come of this was that rental car sales were off 65% meaning 500s and Fusions are not being dumped on Hertz and Enterprise. Also interesting to see that the MKZ backtracked whereas the Fusion/Milan are still posting gains. This car is going to need a bit more differentiation next go round. The 500/Montego/Freestyle Will the redesign help? Yeah, but for how long...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 this is going to be the news for most of the year as they are comparing sales against 06 when they produced the taurus. the numbers to track will be the new product....if that is stable or increases then they will hold their own...along with the 150 not falling off a cliff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Suppose the only "good" news out of this is that retail sales didn't slide too far. Way to go Ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluecon Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Ford is #4. Outsold by DCX. "Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday its January U.S. sales rose 9.5 percent to again surpass the monthly sales of Ford Motor Co., which saw its sales drop 19 percent. DaimlerChrysler AG's sales rose 3.2 percent compared with January 2006, also topping Ford's sales for the month." http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070201/auto_sales.html?.v=5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 Well also let's look at the mustang. Sales down 20% and that is before the camaro and charger arrive. Also the mustang will ost likely be atleast a seven year product cycle with simply a nose job for 2009. Unless they plane a much more extensive reskin for 2009, 7-8 year product cycles are very uncompetitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Well also let's look at the mustang.Sales down 20% and that is before the camaro and charger arrive. Also the mustang will ost likely be atleast a seven year product cycle with simply a nose job for 2009. Unless they plane a much more extensive reskin for 2009, 7-8 year product cycles are very uncompetitive. How many people buy Mustangs in the Winter? duh of course sales are going to be down! As for the 09 Car, there are more changes then just a nose job and its only been on the market 4 Model years (released as an 05 in calender year 2004) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 (edited) Well also let's look at the mustang. Sales down 20% and that is before the camaro and charger arrive. Also the mustang will ost likely be atleast a seven year product cycle with simply a nose job for 2009. Unless they plane a much more extensive reskin for 2009, 7-8 year product cycles are very uncompetitive. Again, you're under-estimating the Mustang redesign. It's not going to be a nose job. It'll probably be at least 80% new sheet metal, including the front, rear, sides, hood, c-pillar, and all fenders. Probably the only thing staying in tact will be the roof panel. Ford has never screwed up Mustang refreshes in the past (don't even bring up the Mustang II - LOL). There's no reason to think they'll mess this one up either. If you go by that silly mule spy photo, you must also think that the "Fairlane" is just a Freestyle with a different nose too? As for the sales being down, Ford said they cut their rental fleet sales significantly. That would account for a couple thousand fewer Mustang as well. Not to mention it's January. Mustang sales generally are at their worst in the winter months. Edited February 1, 2007 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Also interesting to see that the MKZ backtracked whereas the Fusion/Milan are still posting gains. This car is going to need a bit more differentiation next go round. The 500/Montego/Freestyle Will the redesign help? Yeah, but for how long...... I wouldn't call a difference of 500 or so units on the MKZ a huge change Yeah the D3 sales are very ugly...When do the 08 hit the market? They better advertise the hell of out of them to get them where they want in sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluecon Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 How many people buy Mustangs in the Winter? duh of course sales are going to be down! As for the 09 Car, there are more changes then just a nose job and its only been on the market 4 Model years (released as an 05 in calender year 2004) They are comparing this January to last January. duh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLemon Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 That's good news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Ford has never screwed up Mustang refreshes in the past (don't even bring up the Mustang II - LOL). Never was a big fan of the 99-04 Models, unless they where a Cobra or Mach1...otherwise they looked goofy with the 94-98 roof on the new edge style and all that tacked on shit on the body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluecon Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Again, you're under-estimating the Mustang redesign. It's not going to be a nose job. It'll probably be at least 80% new sheet metal, including the front, rear, sides, hood, c-pillar, and all fenders. Probably the only thing staying in tact will be the roof panel. Ford has never screwed up Mustang refreshes in the past (don't even bring up the Mustang II - LOL). Well the Mustang II proves that wrong as well as the 1971 Mustang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 How many people buy Mustangs in the Winter? duh of course sales are going to be down! As for the 09 Car, there are more changes then just a nose job and its only been on the market 4 Model years (released as an 05 in calender year 2004) Did you not think before that post? First off last I checked January 2006 was winter also? Am I wrong, Was it summer back then in January 2006? Did Winter decide to take a month off and let summer fill it's place in January 2006? Four years, correct, But a new nose job and interior is what nissan did to the altima after 3 years then came out with an all new one after 5 years. Now in this market 5 years is what it takes to compete, after 5 years your vehicle should be completely reskinned inside and out, with new powertrain options with really the only thing remaining is the platform and some base power trains. I beleive For would have been better to simply wait till 5 years and do a complete reskin of the vehicle to better compete with the new competition coming from GM and DCX. For cosmetics it needs a lot more then a nose job to stay fresh on the exterior design IMO. It is very bad when sales are falling off when your ocmpetition is still atleast 1 and 2 years away from entering the market and a new mustang is not in the future till what? 2012 0r 2013 making the current one a 7-8 year run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGallun Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 They are comparing this January to last January. duh! its the rental stuff, thats why the focus are down too... look at fusion, they dont sell much to rentals so they gained.. ford needs to keep it that way, so when i want to trade my 06 for say a 09 fusion or something i can get good trade in value.. all good to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 Again, you're under-estimating the Mustang redesign. It's not going to be a nose job. It'll probably be at least 80% new sheet metal, including the front, rear, sides, hood, c-pillar, and all fenders. Probably the only thing staying in tact will be the roof panel. Ford has never screwed up Mustang refreshes in the past (don't even bring up the Mustang II - LOL). There's no reason to think they'll mess this one up either. If you go by that silly mule spy photo, you must also think that the "Fairlane" is just a Freestyle with a different nose too? As for the sales being down, Ford said they cut their rental fleet sales significantly. That would account for a couple thousand fewer Mustang as well. Not to mention it's January. Mustang sales generally are at their worst in the winter months. I do hope I am underestimating it, I said threads it maybe like the focus where the spy shots simply showed a new front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I wouldn't call a difference of 500 or so units on the MKZ a huge change Yeah the D3 sales are very ugly...When do the 08 hit the market? They better advertise the hell of out of them to get them where they want in sales. It is when you only move 2200 of em. Besides it is a newer model, it shouldn't see slowing sales trends this early in the game........I swear if Ford lets this turn into the Lincoln version of an X Type :finger: Oh and I'm pretty sure Ford's reliance less on rental fleets had a strong impact on the Mustang sales. Quite a few of the V6 models end up on rental lots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 They are comparing this January to last January. duh! pent up demand for the car from 2005... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 It is when you only move 2200 of em. Besides it is a newer model, it shouldn't see slowing sales trends this early in the game........I swear if Ford lets this turn into the Lincoln version of an X Type :finger: One Month isn't going to make or break the car..not to mention Dec/January is normally the slowest time of the year that people buy cars...who wants to buy a car this time of the year in the northern part of the country with snow and getting it dirty and beat up from sand/salt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGallun Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 44k for F series - chevy CK is 38k... 52k with GMC.. Toyota sold 31k damn camrys! my god! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 One Month isn't going to make or break the car..not to mention Dec/January is normally the slowest time of the year that people buy cars...who wants to buy a car this time of the year in the northern part of the country with snow and getting it dirty and beat up from sand/salt? Hey I'm not saying it will. What I am saying is that overtime small tweaks to this car could go a long way in assisting the MKZs overall sales success in addition to making it worth the premium paid for said car. If it weren't for those silly tailights I might of snatched one of those up vs. the Fusion as I think it is a decent car............though lets face it decent doesn't cut it in the entry level lux market (which leaves me scratching my head as to why the TSX sells so well) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DearbornDerek Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 its the rental stuff, thats why the focus are down too... look at fusion, they dont sell much to rentals so they gained.. ford needs to keep it that way, so when i want to trade my 06 for say a 09 fusion or something i can get good trade in value.. all good to me. Now here is someone who understands what is going on. Instead of crying doom and gloom like others, MGallun understands what is going on and how it can lead to something positive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGallun Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Funny number of the day.. Total ford nameplate car sales -- 36k toyota camy sales -- 31k meh.. remind me to acutally go visit a toyota dealer and see what the hub hub is about this car tonight.. k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 (edited) Funny number of the day.. Total ford nameplate car sales -- 36k toyota camy sales -- 31k meh.. remind me to acutally go visit a toyota dealer and see what the hub hub is about this car tonight.. k. Yeah please provide insight because I don't see what all the hubub is about. Toyota doesn't make a single car I'd be willing to do the 'I LOVE WHAT YOU DO FOR ME......" leap for. On a side note. Ford has picked up the bottom of the barrel residuals. Edited February 1, 2007 by Michael Reynolds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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