NEW XLT

[ppremc]

I went to my local Ford dealer to order my new xlt as I have done for 25 years plus. I was told I couldn't get a chrome pkg. on the xlt without an extented cab. I have always had a short bed. I was told you can't get anything out of the normal pkg. If this is true who can you talk to to order a truck like you want?I can't believe I can't get a truck like I want. I am seriously thinking of writing Mr. Mually and asking him what gives , I know they want to sell trucks. I was told only fleet buyers can do this I have bought enough Ford vehicles to qualify as a fleet buyer, any help on this would be appreciated, Thank You

[Reigner92]

Personally, I think they just want you to buy a more expensive truck.

You should try/ call a different dealership and see what they say.

[mustang_sallad]

Customization is really expensive for manufacturing. Ford's been leading on this front for a long time, and while it helps them sell way more trucks than Toyota, maybe they're deciding to cut back on costs by decreasing the variety available to customers.

[F250]

All XLTs have chrome bar grille insert with chrome grille surround and chrome bumpers. How much more chrome did you want?

[lfeg]

Roll your own. Order something as close as possible to what you want, then have your salesperson take you back to the parts manager, and order all of the chrome pieces from the other models/versions you desire. Then work with your salesperson and the body shop manager to get the whole thing put together when the truck gets in. A bit more work, but it can be done.

[svtenthusiast]

All the chrome package gives you is chrome rims, door handles, and tail pipe insert. Like the poster said above, most stuff on the XLT is already chrome.

[WillSD]

ppremc -- Unfortunately, your salesperson is correct. As others have suggested, order your 2010 and then customize it. The dealership can do all the work before you take delivery and you'll have a one-of-a-kind Regular Cab XLT Chrome Package.

[aggoodin]

Its all these rapid-spec crap now. You just pick a rapid-spec package that fits you best and live with it.

[xr7g428]

The geniuses on this board are under the bemused notion that offering fewer choices will result in more sales. In the real world, this doesn't work. Ever. They will soon tell you that Honda and Toyota don't offer all of those choices and they sell a lot of cars... What they don't realize is how many more they would sell if they could offer the choices. It is easy to arm-chair quarterback and say that it doesn't matter to customers or that fewer choices makes the decision easier, but when you go to pick out your own vehicle, you have a right to expect that for $40K you should be able to get what you want, not what some else thinks you should want. But I guess these guys think that just because vanilla is the most popular flavor, that Baskin and Robins would be better off without the customers that prefer the other 30 flavors.

 

The big advantage that the American compaines have is the ability to sell to order, yet they consistently over look their strengths and play to the competition. If you want to be really frustrated, try to order a Toyota your way.

Edited July 30, 2009 by xr7g428

[Mark B. Morrow]

The geniuses on this board are under the bemused notion that offering fewer choices will result in more sales. In the real world, this doesn't work. Ever. They will soon tell you that Honda and Toyota don't offer all of those choices and they sell a lot of cars... What they don't realize is how many more they would sell if they could offer the choices. It is easy to arm-chair quarterback and say that it doesn't matter to customers or that fewer choices makes the decision easier, but when you go to pick out your own vehicle, you have a right to expect that for $40K you should be able to get what you want, not what some else thinks you should want. But I guess these guys think that just because vanilla is the most popular flavor, that Baskin and Robins would be better off without the customers that prefer the other 30 flavors.

 

The big advantage that the American compaines have is the ability to sell to order, yet they consistently over look their strengths and play to the competition. If you want to be really frustrated, try to order a Toyota your way.

 

 

Simplification does lower the cost of production and increases quality. The less the number of possible configurations the less expensive it is to build in volume. I like the idea of offering customization through the dealer rather than at the plant. Toyota and Honda offer lots of dealer installed options you can't get from the factory. The customer still gets exactly what he wants. We just don't live in the '60s anymore when Ford could build a million of one model and not have any two exactly alike. The '65 Mustang offered every option available as a dealer installed item.

[fordmantpw]

The geniuses on this board are under the bemused notion that offering fewer choices will result in more sales. In the real world, this doesn't work. Ever. They will soon tell you that Honda and Toyota don't offer all of those choices and they sell a lot of cars... What they don't realize is how many more they would sell if they could offer the choices. It is easy to arm-chair quarterback and say that it doesn't matter to customers or that fewer choices makes the decision easier, but when you go to pick out your own vehicle, you have a right to expect that for $40K you should be able to get what you want, not what some else thinks you should want. But I guess these guys think that just because vanilla is the most popular flavor, that Baskin and Robins would be better off without the customers that prefer the other 30 flavors.

 

The big advantage that the American compaines have is the ability to sell to order, yet they consistently over look their strengths and play to the competition. If you want to be really frustrated, try to order a Toyota your way.

 

So where do you draw the line? I want the super-fancy-dancy Harley Davidson seats and interior, but I want the floor to be rubber and not carpeted. And I want the A/C vent on the left side to be green and the A/C vent on the right to be rainbow colored. I mean really, how many possible combinations are out there if you try to please every single customer.

 

Ford isn't out to sell 10,000,000,000 vehicles...they are out to make a profit. That is more easily done by trying to build packages in a way that they can please most customers. You can't please everyone, so Ford tries to please as many as they can while still making a profit. If you try to please everyone, the product will suffer and you will end up pleasing no one.

[J-150]

The geniuses on this board are under the bemused notion that offering fewer choices will result in more sales.

 

 

 

no one said that. they said fewer choices equals greater profit. you must be one of those GM geniuses that things losing money is okay just to win some retarded sales crown.

 

Look at how much money GM and Toyota have lost in pursuit of sales.

 

 

Ford doesn't want customers like you. They want customers that will pay a fair price for a well built, class leading car. Not some schmuck bicthing about not getting enough chrome on his pickup or thinking that he should get a stripped Fusion with a 3.5

Edited July 30, 2009 by J-150

[atomaro]

Simplification does lower the cost of production and increases quality. The less the number of possible configurations the less expensive it is to build in volume. I like the idea of offering customization through the dealer rather than at the plant. Toyota and Honda offer lots of dealer installed options you can't get from the factory. The customer still gets exactly what he wants. We just don't live in the '60s anymore when Ford could build a million of one model and not have any two exactly alike. The '65 Mustang offered every option available as a dealer installed item.

 

 

But when we are used to going to dell's website to customize our computers instead of off the shelf at Bestbuy, ordering our friggin salads with dressing on the side, picking and choosing, and picking and choosing our auto insurance criteria like the new progressive commercials, etc. ts easy and understandable why people get irritated when the have little control over wanting to customize a $20K plus purchase.

[fordmantpw]

But when we are used to going to dell's website to customize our computers instead of off the shelf at Bestbuy, ordering our friggin salads with dressing on the side, picking and choosing, and picking and choosing our auto insurance criteria like the new progressive commercials, etc. ts easy and understandable why people get irritated when the have little control over wanting to customize a $20K plus purchase.

 

Very true. And those are the people that don't realize Ford builds 300,000 F150's and not 1.

[Mark B. Morrow]

But when we are used to going to dell's website to customize our computers instead of off the shelf at Bestbuy, ordering our friggin salads with dressing on the side, picking and choosing, and picking and choosing our auto insurance criteria like the new progressive commercials, etc. ts easy and understandable why people get irritated when the have little control over wanting to customize a $20K plus purchase.

 

There are limits as to what you can get from Dell. I'm pretty sure you can't order one in metalic pink with 2 13/16 GB of memory and 3 floppy disk ports. Most restaurants have 5-6 choices of dressing to choose from. Auto insurance policies aren't really labor intensive. It's checking a box on the form. I don't think Progressive would offer coverage in the exact anount of $167,243.89.It's not as though Ford only offers one flavor of F-150 They just don't offer every flavor imaginable.

 

I'm all for being able to customize your vehicle to get what you want. I just think it is more financially feasable to do it at the dealer than it is on the assembly line.

Edited July 30, 2009 by Mark B. Morrow

[NickF1011]

The other problem with allowing all these super-specific custom orders is what happens if customers change their minds after ordering? Then the dealership is stuck with some oddball, weirdly-optioned, expensive, unsellable vehicle that will collect dust on their lots.

 

Example? When I worked at Apple Ford, they had custom ordered a Ranger for a customer: Regular cab, 4x2, 4 cylinder, 5-speed, AM/FM radio, rubber floors, vinyl seats, steel wheels....JALAPENO GREEN. The customer backed out. It sat on their lot for over a year before they finally sold it....at a loss.

[RangerM]

The other problem with allowing all these super-specific custom orders is what happens if customers change their minds after ordering? Then the dealership is stuck with some oddball, weirdly-optioned, expensive, unsellable vehicle that will collect dust on their lots.

 

Example? When I worked at Apple Ford, they had custom ordered a Ranger for a customer: Regular cab, 4x2, 4 cylinder, 5-speed, AM/FM radio, rubber floors, vinyl seats, steel wheels....JALAPENO GREEN. The customer backed out. It sat on their lot for over a year before they finally sold it....at a loss.

What did the customer leave as consideration?

 

When I order my Ranger in 1993, I left $1,000 as a deposit with the expectation I would lose it, had I backed out of the deal.

 

If the answer is "nothing", then what does that say about the dealer's business savvy?

Edited July 30, 2009 by RangerM

[fordmantpw]

What did the customer leave as consideration?

 

When I order my Ranger in 1993, I left $1,000 as a deposit with the expectation I would lose it, had I backed out of the deal.

 

If the answer is "nothing", then what does that say about the dealer's business savvy?

 

Most dealers don't require a deposit when ordering. I have ordered 3 vehicles from 2 different dealers and not one has asked for a deposit. Of course, my vehicles haven't been jalapeno green either.

[NickF1011]

What did the customer leave as consideration?

 

When I order my Ranger in 1993, I left $1,000 as a deposit with the expectation I would lose it, had I backed out of the deal.

 

If the answer is "nothing", then what does that say about the dealer's business savvy?

 

I have no idea what they got for a deposit, if anything. If it was nothing, chalk it up to business as usual at the time for Ford and its dealer body.

[jasonj80]

Simplification does lower the cost of production and increases quality. The less the number of possible configurations the less expensive it is to build in volume. I like the idea of offering customization through the dealer rather than at the plant. Toyota and Honda offer lots of dealer installed options you can't get from the factory. The customer still gets exactly what he wants. We just don't live in the '60s anymore when Ford could build a million of one model and not have any two exactly alike. The '65 Mustang offered every option available as a dealer installed item.

 

It really doesn't lower cost or simplify production, with just in time parts are sequenced from suppliers when they come it, just a matter of the assembly guy looking to make sure the sequence matches, and 99.9% of the time it does -- what it stops is people ordering bastard one of cars that dealers are stuck with then need incentives to move. It also allows dealers to have a car in stock that meet what the customer sees in the brochure.

 

From my experience there has always been two type of dealership order personal, one that builds every car on the lot almost the same and then offers it in different colors, or one that has an assortment of everything. On the one hand you could find the color you wanted at one dealer with the interior color you want, at the other dealership you could often find equipment close to what you want but not the color. This way it is easier for dealers to trade or for a customer to find a vehicle that is their liking.

 

The issues are these packages work well with cars, but when it comes to Trucks, it doesn't work as well as people outfit trucks to their lifestyle. My parents have a 5 1/2 ft bed extended cab F-150, that won't be made for 2010. For them it is perfect it tows their trailer and then once parked they don’t have a huge vehicle to drive around it. Now for most people that truck bed is too small but when they use it for the Home Depot run, or for towing it is perfect and much more maneuverable.

 

For the few people that order cars anymore Ford should let them do it, and just do it a-la-cart to a point -- doing it this way would gain you no package discounts and you would have to pay a $1000 non-refundable deposit on the car, and a non refundable $1,000 special order fee -- the $1000 to Ford and $1000 to the Dealership.

Edited July 30, 2009 by jasonj80

[mustang_sallad]

It really doesn't lower cost or simplify production.

 

 

Yes it does. Why else would a company like Toyota, that practically invented JIT, have motivation not to offer more flexibility? Increased variability and hence market uncertainty increases the cost of production. Even a kanban system needs a certain amount of master planning in order to size the orders accordingly, and if that master planning gets all thrown off because customers are ordering combinations you hadn't predicted they would, your processes get all thrown out of whack.

[Deanh]

The other problem with allowing all these super-specific custom orders is what happens if customers change their minds after ordering? Then the dealership is stuck with some oddball, weirdly-optioned, expensive, unsellable vehicle that will collect dust on their lots.

 

Example? When I worked at Apple Ford, they had custom ordered a Ranger for a customer: Regular cab, 4x2, 4 cylinder, 5-speed, AM/FM radio, rubber floors, vinyl seats, steel wheels....JALAPENO GREEN. The customer backed out. It sat on their lot for over a year before they finally sold it....at a loss.

got ya beat....6 speed MANUAL Diesel 4x4 F-350 crew cab in RED.....want to compare losses and birthdays....from THAT point on we REFUSED to order manual trans Superduty's.....and now I think Ford has DELETED the option

[NickF1011]

Yes it does. Why else would a company like Toyota, that practically invented JIT, have motivation not to offer more flexibility? Increased variability and hence market uncertainty increases the cost of production. Even a kanban system needs a certain amount of master planning in order to size the orders accordingly, and if that master planning gets all thrown off because customers are ordering combinations you hadn't predicted they would, your processes get all thrown out of whack.

 

The other part that becomes difficult or impossible is the dealers keeping the lots stocked with the right mix of optioned vehicles. If there are too many combinations, there will simply be too many vehicles on lots that won't appeal to enough people. Just throw everything together in option groups and chances are, you'll get something that will appeal to most people right on the lot. Most buyers don't want to have to order their vehicle to get what they want.

[JLaudioF150]

The other part that becomes difficult or impossible is the dealers keeping the lots stocked with the right mix of optioned vehicles. If there are too many combinations, there will simply be too many vehicles on lots that won't appeal to enough people. Just throw everything together in option groups and chances are, you'll get something that will appeal to most people right on the lot. Most buyers don't want to have to order their vehicle to get what they want.

 

I'm not a businessman and that may become more obvious with what I'm about to say, but I think not "having a Ford your way" may be a missed opportunity. Could it be handled at the dealer level? That is, how difficult would it be for Ford to deliver, let's say in this case, F150s in XLT trim, primered, no seats, stereo, etc. and offer everything in the Ford Racing catalog or parts bin as the optional equipment, color schemes, exhaust, etc?

 

Didn't Scion have something like this. Then again, where's Scion now :reading:

[fordmantpw]

I'm not a businessman and that may become more obvious with what I'm about to say, but I think not "having a Ford your way" may be a missed opportunity. Could it be handled at the dealer level? That is, how difficult would it be for Ford to deliver, let's say in this case, F150s in XLT trim, primered, no seats, stereo, etc. and offer everything in the Ford Racing catalog or parts bin as the optional equipment, color schemes, exhaust, etc?

 

Didn't Scion have something like this. Then again, where's Scion now :reading:

 

I can see it now...the drivers at the plant are sitting on buckets to drive trucks onto the delivery trucks.

 

Really, for the few that would want a truck like this, it would just mess up the entire process of building a truck. Oh, just skip the seats on this one. Joe, just take a break while this truck comes by your station. You mean this one doesn't get a radio? Guess I'll just take a nap while the truck goes by on the line.

 

It just messes with the efficiency of building a vehicle in general, and adds more chances for problems to arise.