Is the Flex selling well?

[NickF1011]

Keep telling yourself that Nick...............

 

Indeed I shall. Facts is facts. At the end of July, the 6 nearest Ford dealers to me had around 30 of them in stock. That's not exactly widespread availability.

[silvrsvt]

In the light of gas prices? You mean down 65 cents a gallon? :D

 

LOL yeah I know what your talking about...Gas went up 40 cents a gallon from Middle of April to end of it when I was out in Wisconsin, now its down nearly the same amount since I got back from that place at the end of last month.

 

But its still on the high side for most people's likes....I'd like to see it go back down to $2.50 or so a gallon.

[NickF1011]

LOL yeah I know what your talking about...Gas went up 40 cents a gallon from Middle of April to end of it when I was out in Wisconsin, now its down nearly the same amount since I got back from that place at the end of last month.

 

But its still on the high side for most people's likes....I'd like to see it go back down to $2.50 or so a gallon.

Oh I know. Clever trick the gas companies have been pulling for years: Let prices shoot WAY up and then when they come back down a little bit, but still way above where they originally started, people feel they are no longer paying a lot.

 

Gassed up yesterday morning for $3.49. Still not exactly cheap compared to what it was a couple years ago.

[silvrsvt]

Gassed up yesterday morning for $3.49. Still not exactly cheap compared to what it was a couple years ago.

 

Still helps, I was paying in the 3.95 range and it was about 50 bucks to fill the Mustang, now its only about 42 bucks...

[DUCKRACER]

Enough about the PRICE POINT. It starts UNDER THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!!

 

Do I need a Flex? No.

 

Do I want one? Quite possibly.

 

Do I think it costs too much? Hardly.

 

It's selling slowly because.....dealers didn't have them. Period.

Right on ,NICK. Here in Redlands, the Ford Dealer has a few of each on the lot and they seem to be selling quite well. We check on the inventory every week when we have breakfast at the Coco's across the street and the ones in stock differ each week. For the last few weeks, they have been offering 0% financing on Flex, so the cost is just not that high. If you don't want the rear DVD and the sunroof on a Limited Flex they are thousands under 40K and you get a whole lot of car at that price. And the EDGE is even less.

Depending on what things are like mid 2010 I will be looking at an EB F-150, Edge or Flex. But you already knew that from my previous posts;-)

Edited August 24, 2008 by DUCKRACER

[frizz2112]

A couple of things:

 

I think that part of the seemingly slow sales of the Flex can be attributed to its perception as being a large, gas hungry vehicle. Now, we all know that its actual EPA numbers are competitive for the class, but a lot of people never get that far. I can see people who aren't really into cars but need something for their families passing up the Flex just because at first glance it's big, boxy and kind of SUV like. When you go to a dealer with something smallish and economical in mind, the Flex looks too much like the SUV lots of these people are trading in to get them to seriously consider it. I'll bet some people are assuming it's just another SUV and moving on. Consider that the Edge is selling quite well, doesn't get much better mileage, but has a much more "crossover like" profile. It just SEEMS more modern and efficient at a glance.

 

I also think with lots of Taurus X's sitting around with cash on the hood, many people are looking at the Flex, then looking at the Taurus X for 10K less and deciding they can do without the fridge. When the Taurus X inventory is gone, much of that volume will likely go to the Flex.

 

Another thing I can't help but notice is once again, the complete lack of advertising for the Flex. What I thought was going to be a media blitz is a barely noticeable whimper, at least in my area. About the only national ad I've seen for the Flex is highly stylized and shows heavily treated footage, or maybe even CGI footage, of the Flex driving around a CGI city. It's pure image and style and tells you next to nothing about the vehicle. My father, a happy 500 owner, recently joked that he thinks the Ford Taurus is a myth, since he never sees any ads for it. Let's hope Ford figured out that you have to actually tell people about a vehicle for them to buy it. I know they're going for the hip thirtysomething crowd and don't want babies and dogs in their Flex ads, but is it too much to ask to have someone get into the second row seat and say "Look at all this &^#%@ room!" on camera? Ok, or something like that...

 

Anyway, I think it's a great vehicle, but the timing is proving to be unfortunate.

[DUCKRACER]

A couple of things:

 

I think that part of the seemingly slow sales of the Flex can be attributed to its perception as being a large, gas hungry vehicle. Now, we all know that its actual EPA numbers are competitive for the class, but a lot of people never get that far. I can see people who aren't really into cars but need something for their families passing up the Flex just because at first glance it's big, boxy and kind of SUV like. When you go to a dealer with something smallish and economical in mind, the Flex looks too much like the SUV lots of these people are trading in to get them to seriously consider it. I'll bet some people are assuming it's just another SUV and moving on. Consider that the Edge is selling quite well, doesn't get much better mileage, but has a much more "crossover like" profile. It just SEEMS more modern and efficient at a glance.

 

I also think with lots of Taurus X's sitting around with cash on the hood, many people are looking at the Flex, then looking at the Taurus X for 10K less and deciding they can do without the fridge. When the Taurus X inventory is gone, much of that volume will likely go to the Flex.

 

Another thing I can't help but notice is once again, the complete lack of advertising for the Flex. What I thought was going to be a media blitz is a barely noticeable whimper, at least in my area. About the only national ad I've seen for the Flex is highly stylized and shows heavily treated footage, or maybe even CGI footage, of the Flex driving around a CGI city. It's pure image and style and tells you next to nothing about the vehicle. My father, a happy 500 owner, recently joked that he thinks the Ford Taurus is a myth, since he never sees any ads for it. Let's hope Ford figured out that you have to actually tell people about a vehicle for them to buy it. I know they're going for the hip thirtysomething crowd and don't want babies and dogs in their Flex ads, but is it too much to ask to have someone get into the second row seat and say "Look at all this &^#%@ room!" on camera? Ok, or something like that...

 

Anyway, I think it's a great vehicle, but the timing is proving to be unfortunate.

I agree with you 100%. I have looked at an EDGE and a FLEX side-by-side on the dealer lot and it is astonishing how much the same size they are. I am still comtemplating both of them for 2010 and trade in my F250 PSD. Hopefully the Flex will get betterMPG with the an EB35 under the dood.

Here in Ca ther are lots of ads for the Flex.