Furious1Auto Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) For those of you who don't know what Ford World is, it is a weekly distributed internal publication within Ford facilities. It is actually a magazine that keeps use up to date with freshly released information about everything from where we are heading with interveiws from our company heads to the top 40 selling vehicles, (ford and the competition) to new products and marketing strategies. A little background before I came to work at Ford I had decided long ago that some day I would own a used car dealership comparable to J.D. Byrider, but what would make my dealership different was that I would also run a mail order and aftermarket accessary store out of the same building. What I intended to do was once I made a sale was to sell hop-ups to my customers like rims, exhausts, tint, body kits ect.ect.ect. (inspired by the movie "The Fast and The Furious") and allow the customers to add it to the cost of their vehicle while I did the installs on sight. Furious1Auto is actualy what I intended on naming my franchise. Then Toyota decides to build the Scion line using the exact same concept, and were able to sell impressive volumes of some of the ugliest vehicles on the road just because people were given the option to have their rides tricked out before they left the dealership. Where does Ford fit in to this rant? They posted an article in Ford world stateing their intention is to do the exact same thing to their entire line-up and printed a web address to this LINK, and sighted that you could go their to customize your vehicle and have the mods rolled into your payment when you roll it off the lot. Multiple rim choices from stockers up to 22" for some of the full size line-up and promised bigger in the future. They also sighted that the aftermarket profited 37.7 Bilion last year and are going to get into the game heavily. This is what is going to allow them to overtake the competition. I do have to say that at this point the options are limited at this sight but the rest of the their hop-ups are scheduled to be launched in the summer of 08'. More rims, more body kits, custom graffix, ect. ect. ect. The first vehicle to have a full line of custom options is the Flex, Follow the LINK and highlight the compass rose, then click on the bottum right third of the pie titled "customize a Flex" and you will see what they are planning just for that product line. There are nearly ten different front facias, graffix, different headlight options, spoilers, running board options, fender flares, the list goes on and on. Now remember if you want a stocker you can get it, but if you want to have the only one like it in the area than build it to suit your tastes! My hat is off to Ford, you guys are doing the right thing by giving customers what they want! Edited January 25, 2008 by Furious1Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford-150 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 hmm....offers a good amount of customization but they should really apply this to their top sellers like the F-150, Mustang, and Focus the customization on the side of the Flex was weird... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furious1Auto Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) hmm....offers a good amount of customization but they should really apply this to their top sellers like the F-150, Mustang, and Focus the customization on the side of the Flex was weird... If you checked the first link in the lead post you will see that the F-150 and the mustang are included. For most at this point only one body kit is available at present, but the rest is scheduled for release in the summer. I would suggest that Ford give at least three body kits per vehicle from mild to wild. The flares on the Flex are radical, but remember it is an option and if you don't like it you don't have to order them. It is nice to at least have a choice now, where in the past you could only get a stocker! If I understood their article correctly they intend on offering these customizations to their entire line-up Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. Edited January 25, 2008 by Furious1Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 This has to be the work of Farley. He was instrumental in creating Scion after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suv_guy_19 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 If you checked the first link in the lead post you will see that the F-150 and the mustang are included. For most at this point only one body kit is available at present, but the rest is scheduled for release in the summer. I would suggest that Ford give at least three body kits per vehicle from mild to wild. The flares on the Flex are radical, but remember it is an option and if you don't like it you don't have to order them. It is nice to at least have a choice now, where in the past you could only get a stocker! If I understood their article correctly they intend on offering these customizations to their entire line-up Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. Hmm...I've been called a stalker on here....lol....perhaps its why I don't come on....or perhaps its because my Mac is still not fixed after over a week!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Hmm...I've been called a stalker on here....lol....perhaps its why I don't come on....or perhaps its because my Mac is still not fixed after over a week!!!!! What??!! Macs don't break!!! Just ask this guy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 This has to be the work of Farley. He was instrumental in creating Scion after all. It really makes sense, go back to the Henry Ford model -- make one model on the assembly line, (though now you'll have 3 or 4) insures high quality reduces complexity and the most important -- allows dealers to have each model on their lot and its way better for the customer as the dealership is more likely to have what that customer wants on the lot -- then you allow the customer to design the vehicle at the dealership change wheels, etc. Honda has been doing this for years. It allows the dealerships to make more money on a unit sold, and allows the company to reduce its build options and hopefully can target each model more to reduce incentives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Hmm...I've been called a stalker on here....lol....perhaps its why I don't come on....or perhaps its because my Mac is still not fixed after over a week!!!!! What happened to your Mac? I'm looking at getting a MacBook Pro to replace my Dell Laptop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MERKURXR4Ti Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 This has to be the work of Farley. He was instrumental in creating Scion after all. That and Funkmaster Flex... I'mj sure he'll have a hand in a few designs. Good idea though Ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suv_guy_19 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 What happened to your Mac? I'm looking at getting a MacBook Pro to replace my Dell Laptop Its not really its fault. My brother put a special fan program on it to help keep it cool....it does a good job....most of the time....I came in my room one day and it had stopped working. The temperature was 75ºC inside. A few days later the hard drive failed. Every compute I have had has had some kind of hard drive failure. First dell...cd burner, second dell....hard drive.....twice, hp...motherboard and dvd burner, mac....hard drive. I'm a very lucky person. Other than that this little set back, I love it. The reason that it has been broken so long is that there is only 1 or 2 places in this city of 700000 that fixes Macs on site. Add to that the tech working on it is sick. It would have been faster to take it to one of the place that send it away I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 This has to be the work of Farley. He was instrumental in creating Scion after all. nope Ford announced it and rolled it out before they brought in Farley. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 nope Ford announced it and rolled it out before they brought in Farley. Igor Really? Well that's cool. Maybe they don't need him then.... :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Its not really its fault. My brother put a special fan program on it to help keep it cool.... I didn't know that Macs had a cooling problem . . . or do you over-clock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suv_guy_19 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I didn't know that Macs had a cooling problem . . . or do you over-clock? He read that the best temperature is below 50ºC. My MacBook was at about 60ºC. If he had left it alone it would have been fine I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suv_guy_19 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 No, I don't overclock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnFan Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 About time Ford did that, and yes I remember Ford mentioning it before. This is definitely not Farley's work. Looks like Farley was just a pretty face, and a money grubber. I didn't know that Macs had a cooling problem . . . or do you over-clock? Overclock a Mac? for what? Lol, Macs are crap. Vista x64 ftw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkFive Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Looks like Farley was just a pretty face, and a money grubber. Let Farley show what he can do. He just arrived at a company that had very little organization in its general marketing campaign. I am expecting really good things from him. He is basically starting at 0 and working up from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkFive Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 First dell...cd burner, second dell....hard drive.....twice, hp...motherboard and dvd burner, mac....hard drive. I'm a very lucky person. I have a Dell laptop (its two years old). It weighs 2.5 lbs and works quite well. However, getting it was a complete adventure. They cancelled my order twice without advising me. If I hadn't been on top of what I had ordered, I would still be waiting for my laptop. This year I ordered a new AC cord and a more powerful battery from Dell Canada. Don't ask Dell for a shipping tracking number when its shipped.... I'm also used to attitude from their reps. If it says "shipped" on their internet tracking site then how dare I call to get the tracking number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fordowner Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 It takes some good management practices with the inventory management but if that is done its a good idea. My 07 Mustang was a package the dealer apparently put on a couple of his mustangs, the car according to the sticker was sent from the plant to Roush and then to the dealer. He put on the Roush back wing and hood scoop and a custom tape job that also says fastback in the tape. Made the car unique which I liked. So while I didn't pick it out, its an example of having it up front and in the price of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) Overclock a Mac? for what? Lol, Macs are crap. Vista x64 ftw. I see your opinions on computers are as valid as your opinions on cars. :blah: :blah: :blah: Edited January 25, 2008 by Noah Harbinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Jellymoulds Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I see your opinions on computers are as valid as your opinions on cars. :blah: :blah: :blah: Lincoln gets offended by this maybe? http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=305 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 The Flex customization options are nice. I am bummed that I could get goofy fake fenders and flames but no "Woody" option. This thing is crying out for a Country Squire/Surf Woody option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furious1Auto Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 The Flex customization options are nice. I am bummed that I could get goofy fake fenders and flames but no "Woody" option. This thing is crying out for a Country Squire/Surf Woody option. They wont be able to offer every option that people want, but as long as they nail the most popular ones in the aftermarket world then they have it made. What they need to be careful of is pricing for these options. Because Ford makes money off of the vehicles they are capable of selling these options cheaper than aftermarket retailers to boost volume on their auto's. They at least have to price these hop -ups in-line with what they cost in the aftermarket world, or customers will still add them aftermarket just like they have been doing with car stereo's for years! Even if they broke even on upgrades the increased sales volume will make it all worth it! They did very well with the SYNC pricing, it is actually inexpensive for what it is while SYNC equipped vehicles are selling twice as fast as the same models without it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVT_MAN Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) Lincoln gets offended by this maybe? http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=305 That was a low-blow ... In terms of Macs - they aren't bulletproof. The older models like the PowerPCs and Apple II GS's were awesome computers from a durability stand-point. At the school where I work those computers just keep on trucking for kindergarteners and first graders to play games on. But, the newer stuff from Mac is lame. My girlfriend's G5 has had tons of problems in terms of hardware. She had a stick of RAM fail pretty soon after she purchased it, and now, her power supply died. Then you have the thousands of people who ordered the impressive, yet pricey, Apple Cinema Displays only to find 10 to 20 dead (or frozen) pixels. That is QC gone amuck. Traditionally, Mac hardware was superior to what was put in most PCs, but that is changing. Mac is starting to compete more on price recently and it shows. I don't blame them for taking this approach, but they need to keep their quality up if they want to be successful. Mac has traded durability for trendiness. The only thing that has made Macs so popular is their commercials that have taken on a sort of superiority complex. Macs can't be all that superior to PCs, especially not now. The only difference between a Mac and a PC now is the operating system. If you're into multimedia, a Mac is probably fine. But, honestly, Vista's new RAM fetching algorithms are pretty awesome. When I boot into Vista, I'm usually using my computer for a good 1/2 hour before I even hear the harddrive churn. Why? Because Vista preloads all the software I use on a regular basis .. and the best news is, it gets smarter as I use it more. Edited January 25, 2008 by SVT_MAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnFan Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Lincoln gets offended by this maybe? http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=305 um, no. Not really. However if Steve did mean the pun, then I am simply going to laugh at him and continue my boycott of Apple products. And to Noah Harbringer, you think a Mac is better than PC with Windows? Give the mac a try and we'll see what happens. Macs suck for gaming, suck for anything that needs a lot of processing power. Apple uses Intel's worse processors, not to mention they cost a leg and an arm. Not to mention the WAYYY overpriced RAM. I couldn't believe my eyes when they wanted 750 bucks for 4GB RAM. I could get DDR3 RAM with that kind of money. I don't even want to mention their "Maintenance", but all what I will say is make a copy of your harddrive and format it before giving it to them. Especially if you have personal photos/secret documents/etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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