Ford F-Series Has Best February in Eight Years; Lincoln Sales Increase 36 Percent

[Biker16]

Or, you know, update the models you have on sale.

 

But what the heck do I know?

So the 18 month old Fusion needs an update? if the Fusion update is due in another 16 months, how do you think Fusion sales will hold up with the competition behaving very aggressively on price?

 

How can a facelifted focus reverse the losses it has experienced over the last 6 months?

 

Having a very mainstream lineup can be a liabilty in a market where volume isn't expected to grow, diversifying with more out side the box products makes it possible to avoid have to pursue incentives because you don't want the cost of an idled factory, or laying off a shift. Because flex plants can make white space products and mainstream products making it more likely that plant will have enough customers for their products.

Edited March 4, 2014 by Biker16

[rmc523]

So the 18 month old Fusion needs an update? if the Fusion update is due in another 16 months, how do you think Fusion sales will hold up with the competition behaving very aggressively on price?

 

How can a facelifted focus reverse the losses it has experienced over the last 6 months?

 

Having a very mainstream lineup can be a liabilty in a market where volume isn't expected to grow, diversifying with more out side the box products makes it possible to avoid have to pursue incentives because you don't want the cost of an idled factory, or laying off a shift. Because flex plants can make white space products and mainstream products making it more likely that plant will have enough customers for their products.

 

 

And I think offering more "white space" products could be in the pipeline (you could use vehicles like the EcoSport and Galaxy coming to the US as examples), however, the core lineup is a priority, and therefore it needs to be upgraded before other moves are made.

[630land]

C-Max is a flop, no one was looking at them at the Chicago Auto Show. "What is it?" is most often asked. Should not have bothered and just built a new Focus and Escape Hybrid. C-Max styling says 'boring car for those who hate to drive'. And the name sounds like a generic laxative.

 

And "niche" cars are trendier than music stars. In one year, way out of style the next, why bother tooling up? Ford has new Mustang and doesnt need some silly two seater called Probe or T-Bird.

 

Here's an idea, make a car that is timeless and sells consistantly, like Accord, Civic, Camry, etc? Can go on and on about "blandness", but they sell and never had laid off workers at their plants.

 

Or maybe, Focus's DCT 'shake-shudder-box' may be killing sales, making the Fusion more attractive and siphoning buyers.

Edited March 4, 2014 by 630land

[NickF1011]

 

The lineup is losing its shine.

 

They need more product other than mass market models.

The MKS and MKT never had a whole lot of shine to begin with. To expect them to suddenly have a spike now or to not erode further doesn't make much sense given their age. MKZ and MKX continue to perform relatively well, given the weakness of the rest of the brand. Refreshed Navigator (for what it's worth) and more importantly MKC arrive soon.

[akirby]

Ford is solidly profitable so they don't NEED to replace sales volume in the short term, especially if they're losing sales because the compeitition is waging a price war. They can ride it out and recover later.

 

Adding low volume niche products would only hurt profits more due to the up front investment required and limited opportunity for ROI.

[NickF1011]

Which niche products would you propose going with anyway that would make any significant impacts on overall volume? Besides one or two plants, Ford is probably pretty comfortable with its current factory utilization in North America anyway.

[akirby]

Which niche products would you propose going with anyway that would make any significant impacts on overall volume? Besides one or two plants, Ford is probably pretty comfortable with its current factory utilization in North America anyway.

 

Anything currently sold in Europe but not the USA (Ecosport). Haven't you been paying attention?

[rmc523]

Which niche products would you propose going with anyway that would make any significant impacts on overall volume? Besides one or two plants, Ford is probably pretty comfortable with its current factory utilization in North America anyway.

You bring up a good point though - niche products usually =/= sales volume, so I'd guess the argument is that adding multiple niche products would increase overall sales, to which I'd also say at what cost? Depends on how much of a niche product it is, I suppose (vehicle type, is it already available elsewhere, etc).

[sullynd]

[tangent] I'm still not sure how Troller fits in "One Ford", but I'd like a TR-X [/tangent]

 

When I replace my Escape (which will be in the next year) there isn't a Ford I'd buy currently. I don't want two FLEX, and the F150 is too big. I may look at the new Edge. The Canyon is top in the running at the moment (pending price/availability). Escape and Explorer are both out of the running due to appearance. I'd love another Escape, but Ford doesn't "make them like they used to". (Seems to be working for them, but not for me)

[twmalonehunter]

[tangent] I'm still not sure how Troller fits in "One Ford", but I'd like a TR-X [/tangent]

 

When I replace my Escape (which will be in the next year) there isn't a Ford I'd buy currently. I don't want two FLEX, and the F150 is too big. I may look at the new Edge. The Canyon is top in the running at the moment (pending price/availability). Escape and Explorer are both out of the running due to appearance. I'd love another Escape, but Ford doesn't "make them like they used to". (Seems to be working for them, but not for me)

If you think the Canyon is better looking than the Explorer or Escape then...... Well, to each his own but the Canyon is a train wreck.

[NickF1011]

Anything currently sold in Europe but not the USA (Ecosport). Haven't you been paying attention?

Ecosport will make sense when they have a financially feasible way to produce and import such a low margin vehicle for the US market. The only place that could really happen right now is alongside the Fiesta in Mexico, but 1) is there enough extra volume there to fit it and 2) is it worth adding tooling for another Ecosport line when the only places it would really be built for is North America?

 

I'd venture to guess it shows up in its next generation. It certainly won't hurt them much to not offer it for a few years in the meantime as they gauge the market further.

 

But what beyond the Ecosport? S-Max? Galaxy? Ka? They all hit the same barriers as the Ecosport: where to build and is it worth the trouble for what will likely be marginal volume?

[akirby]

Ecosport will make sense when they have a financially feasible way to produce and import such a low margin vehicle for the US market. The only place that could really happen right now is alongside the Fiesta in Mexico, but 1) is there enough extra volume there to fit it and 2) is it worth adding tooling for another Ecosport line when the only places it would really be built for is North America?

 

I'd venture to guess it shows up in its next generation. It certainly won't hurt them much to not offer it for a few years in the meantime as they gauge the market further.

 

But what beyond the Ecosport? S-Max? Galaxy? Ka? They all hit the same barriers as the Ecosport: where to build and is it worth the trouble for what will likely be marginal volume?

 

Fix your sarcasm detector.....

[jpd80]

Going after the number-one slot for its own sake isn't worth it. In the early 1990s Ford dumped many Tauruses into rental car fleets and offered huge discounts to beat the Honda Accord. Ford did win, but at a huge ultimate cost. The Camry ended up outselling both of them anyway by the mid-1990s.

Ah but here's the rub, Ford's production at Hermosillo and Flat Rock combined is around 39,000/mth. Sure about 4,000 is earmarked for MKZ but the remainimg 35,000

is split across US, Canada and mexico sales - I'm betting that better than 30,000/mth iare earmarked for the US alone. On top of giant inventory at the moment,

Ford will struggle to bring those numbers down until sales go well above 30,000/mth. I'm not suggesting that Ford should jsut throw away money to beat Camry

but with inventory and dealerships chock full of popular Fusion, it would be a shame not to exploit that by reminding Toyota that Fusion is there....

 

Roomer is 350 will be on layoff from Flat Rock, Ford has also tossed some cash and 0% on the hood of the Fusion. Toyota has said that they will defend Camry as the number 1 vehicle. Nissan is the one to be watching, they are being very aggressive to gain share and sales and have passed Honda.

Thanks, two things I suspect Ford was forced into because of stalling sales late last year,

If Ford is not going after Camry, then it would suggest that peoduction at Flat Rock was at the very least optimistic......

 

Is Ram becoming a serious threat? Seems Rams' year over years have become consistently higher than Ford or GM.

25,000 in January and over 29,000 in February...... Chevrolet better watch themselves.

Edited March 5, 2014 by jpd80

[RichardJensen]

Having a very mainstream lineup

 

This is the lineup you wanted. This is the lineup you said would solve Ford's problems.

 

Also, you displayed a staggeringly inaccurate understanding of basic accounting in another thread, and therefore:

 

[RichardJensen]

I'm also guessing that the hair on top of Hinrichs' head is really his.

 

Pfft. Shatner paid for that hair. It's his.

 

(p.s. a friend of mine used this line to explain her extensions when coming out of anaesthesia and it was awesome)

[grbeck]

Ah but here's the rub, Ford's production at Hermosillo and Flat Rock combined is around 39,000/mth. Sure about 4,000 is earmarked for MKZ but the remainimg 35,000

is split across US, Canada and mexico sales - I'm betting that better than 30,000/mth iare earmarked for the US alone. On top of giant inventory at the moment,

Ford will struggle to bring those numbers down until sales go well above 30,000/mth. I'm not suggesting that Ford should jsut throw away money to beat Camry

but with inventory and dealerships chock full of popular Fusion, it would be a shame not to exploit that by reminding Toyota that Fusion is there....

Both generations of the Fusion have restored a great deal of Ford's luster in the family sedan market. Much like the original Taurus did in the 1980s. I'd hate to see Ford blow it by loading on the incentives or sending a ton of Fusions to rental car companies. Those tactics destroy brand equity in the long run - as Ford found out in the 1990s.

[NickF1011]

 

Fix your sarcasm detector.....

 

It works fine. I wasn't responding directly to you, just to those who propose such nonsense.

[NickF1011]

Both generations of the Fusion have restored a great deal of Ford's luster in the family sedan market. Much like the original Taurus did in the 1980s. I'd hate to see Ford blow it by loading on the incentives or sending a ton of Fusions to rental car companies. Those tactics destroy brand equity in the long run - as Ford found out in the 1990s.

 

Well, fleeting them out by itself didn't really damage it. The fact that the Taurus just really wasn't a good car compared to what the Japanese were offering did far greater damage.

 

If Ford can continue to sell higher trim level Fusions to fleets, I say fleet out as many as you can.

[papilgee4evaeva]

 

Pfft. Shatner paid for that hair. It's his.

 

(p.s. a friend of mine used this line to explain her extensions when coming out of anaesthesia and it was awesome)

 

Most of my friends who wear weave have said that. I rejected that then, and I reject that now. :poke:

[jpd80]

Both generations of the Fusion have restored a great deal of Ford's luster in the family sedan market. Much like the original Taurus did in the 1980s. I'd hate to see Ford blow it by loading on the incentives or sending a ton of Fusions to rental car companies. Those tactics destroy brand equity in the long run - as Ford found out in the 1990s.

You can be sure that Ford won't do that as the product mix purchased by fleets is not strippers, more like nice retail versions so those sales no longer have

a deleterious impact on residuals.There are good incentives and lease offers at the moment, I think it just a case of the market returning in the coming months.

 

In any case, Ford won't let sales just drift, you can bet they will be actively driving this to achieve improved sales but do it with increased profit too..

The only observations I make is that Ford seems to have more then enough Inventory (+80,000) and more than enough production capacity.

So you either have to increase sales or reduce production....or do a mix of both.

Edited March 5, 2014 by jpd80

[630land]

Camrys, Sonatas, Optimas, and Altimas are now dumped into fleets, so Ford should let them have at it. Keep Fusion from becoming that.

[jpd80]

Camrys, Sonatas, Optimas, and Altimas are now dumped into fleets, so Ford should let them have at it. Keep Fusion from becoming that.

That hasn't seemed to hurt Camry's residual values, still around 54% after three years..

[Bob Rosadini]

Just got an Alpha Alert. Ford had 34% of pick up market in feb to GM's 22.5%. Better yet, Ford's incentive bucks were $2835 vs. GM's $4218

[jpd80]

Just got an Alpha Alert. Ford had 34% of pick up market in feb to GM's 22.5%. Better yet, Ford's incentive bucks were $2835 vs. GM's $4218

February sales call:

 

 

Dan Levy - Barclays Capital

Great. On the large pickup segment, if you could just tell us what percent of your sales -- large pickup sales in Februarywere model year 2013 trucks

and what percent of your inventory is model year 2013? I just want to get a sense for how you're selling that down.

Erich Merkle

If we take a look at it, approximately 22% of our mix in February was 2013 F-Series, so in the low 20s for F-Series combined. And if we look at just F-150,

it was up 30%; approximately a third was the split for F-150 in February.

Dan Levy - Barclays Capital

That's sales?

Erich Merkle

Sales and inventory is about the same.

 

[Joe771476]

For the last two months it seems GM and Chrysler posted double digit increases while Ford posted a small decline? How is GM doing it with all the bad airbag recall publicity? According to some articles, Cadillac is in a tailspin.