And the Taurus Fleet Queen Replacment is........

[matthewq4b]

Clicky Clicky

 

Matthew

[ANTAUS]

Hmm nothing, just got some error ...

[waymondospiff]

Yawn. If you're trying to say the Fusion, here's a better link:

https://www.fleet.ford.ca/english/programs_.../Incentives.asp

 

What a lot of people don't realize is there are contractual agreements between Ford & "fleet" companies to provide cars. These contracts will vary the vehicle types, pricing available, minimum/maximum orders, etc. Just because Ford no longer makes the Taurus doesn't mean ALL of Ford's fleet business went away.

 

And if CAD2000 is all Ford has to offer to sell the Fusion - that's pretty darn good. Much better than Taurus ever would have been.

 

Scott

[calypsocoral]

Yawn. If you're trying to say the Fusion, here's a better link:

https://www.fleet.ford.ca/english/programs_.../Incentives.asp

 

What a lot of people don't realize is there are contractual agreements between Ford & "fleet" companies to provide cars. These contracts will vary the vehicle types, pricing available, minimum/maximum orders, etc. Just because Ford no longer makes the Taurus doesn't mean ALL of Ford's fleet business went away.

 

And if CAD2000 is all Ford has to offer to sell the Fusion - that's pretty darn good. Much better than Taurus ever would have been.

 

Scott

 

 

Umm... there's a table of incentives for each model. The Escape trounces everything else with a whopping $3500 in incentives for fleet customers.

 

So it is the Escape, NOT THE FUSION, that is the new fleet queen.

[matthewq4b]

The point every one is missing here is the Fusion is going to replaced the Taurus. It being offered with incentives equivelent to the Panthers. And is being PUSHED by Fleet sales personal....At least here.

I found this out today when placing an order for 4 new Vics for the company. They were pushing the Fusions, way to hard and even going above the 2K in incentives.

 

Latly there have been a rather large number of Fusions in the rental lots at the Airport.

Now maybe FoMoCo of Canada is having a different philosphy than Stateside. But Ford of Canada is activly seeking fleet sales of the Fusion. Some of this might account for the 85% increase in Ford auto sales over this time last year.

 

 

Matthew

[MGallun]

i see absolutely no fusions on fleet\rental lots in milwaukee...

 

cant say the same for G5, G6, malibu, impala, calibers.

 

and if i remember correctly, the taurus had a very large discount for fleets.. much more than fusion...

Edited December 20, 2006 by MGallun

[LincolnFan]

I was thinking Impala.

[OAC_Sparky]

It's kind of silly to assume that there will be NO fleet sales of the Fusion. Heck, there are fleet sales of the Mustang, even a Special Edition Shelby model for Hertz. Nobody is calling the Mustang a "fleet queen".

 

It's all about proportion. When you can't sell them retail and have to liquidate them in fleets to the point that they drive down the resale value of the retail purchases, THAT is a problem. 5-10% going to fleet isn't going to sink the Fusion. Remember that a great many people rent a car for a few days to see if they like it before they buy it.

[jpd80]

I was thinking Impala.

 

This will open your eyes.

In AUS until recently, Holden used to offer up to 40% discount to large fleets for their Commodore (Now Zeta platform). They've now reduced this back to 20%, same as Ford AUS. Now even though our dollar is weaker than US or Canada:

 

Falcon / Commodore = AUS$36,000 or USD$27,000

 

40% Discount = AUS$14,400 or USD$10,800

20% Discount = AUS$7,200 or USD$5,400

 

As some of your NA posters have found, our Aussie pricing does not directly transpose to

a price you would pay in the USA. I recon a lot of our locals carry a healthy profit margin to cover smaller production runs - 3,500 to 5,500/ month for each make. Even so the discounts offered are staggering don't you think?

[silvrsvt]

Well I know one thing for sure, Fusion won't be 90% fleet sales like the Taurus has been.

 

Your typical Japanese Sedan sells at 10-15% of its total numbers to fleet, which is right around Ford's stated numbers for the Fusion.

 

But no, Ford is not dumping fusions into the fleet market like the Taurus was

[Michael Reynolds]

It's kind of silly to assume that there will be NO fleet sales of the Fusion. Heck, there are fleet sales of the Mustang, even a Special Edition Shelby model for Hertz. Nobody is calling the Mustang a "fleet queen".

 

It's all about proportion. When you can't sell them retail and have to liquidate them in fleets to the point that they drive down the resale value of the retail purchases, THAT is a problem. 5-10% going to fleet isn't going to sink the Fusion. Remember that a great many people rent a car for a few days to see if they like it before they buy it.

 

I typically rent from Hertz whenever I travel for biz or leisure, and regardless to the market it seems as if there are very very few Fusions to snag. Heck I see alot more Mazda 6s these days on Hertz's lot.

 

I doubt the Fusion will become the fleet queen that the Taurus is. As for the Escape I'm sure all those incentives will be gone when the new model makes its way to the market.

[Surgen]

I've never heard Ford say they wanted to reduce all fleet sales. I've only heard them talk about reducing sales to rental companies....

 

Crown Vic sales to Police Departments are 'Fleet'. Should they stop those?

[Roadrunner]

Umm... there's a table of incentives for each model. The Escape trounces everything else with a whopping $3500 in incentives for fleet customers.

 

So it is the Escape, NOT THE FUSION, that is the new fleet queen.

 

I could have forseen that - people love the Escape but it's old hat now.

[630land]

I would think Ford wants to sell off 2007 "old" Escapes, since the 08 is coming earlier than Autumn.

[akirby]

I've never heard Ford say they wanted to reduce all fleet sales. I've only heard them talk about reducing sales to rental companies....

 

Crown Vic sales to Police Departments are 'Fleet'. Should they stop those?

 

That is correct. Commercial fleet sales are good. It's the rental fleet sales that they're cutting back on.

[630land]

Fleet bueyrs were getting wise and getting more import cars with better resale than Taurus. So, even with fleet business, Taurus was at the end. And, Fusion is in its 2nd year and going to fleets now as planned, and so what? Just as long as it is a good balance to not hurt resale.

 

Toyota sells many cars to rentals, so it is not totally bad to do this.

Just the idea of making a 10 year old car and 'dumping' 90% of them is bad business.

Edited December 21, 2006 by 630land

[RangeRover]

I have a friend in marketing that handles Fleet sales for the big rental companies and the stories are quite interesting. The renatl car companies and the car renter are going to face stiff realities in the years to come.

 

Ford is capping their rental car sales at 15% to my understanding. It is kind of funny...a sales team that does not sell. Ford has gotten to the point where they are telling rental companies what they can buy.

 

If you think Ford is just going to replace the Taurus Fleet sales with something else your wrong!

[630land]

But at the same time, rnetal companies have been costing Ford profits for sales #'s.

 

Rental firms should pay for a profit not getting 'free cars' every 3 months, and car rental customers should not expect a "free lunch" anymore either.

[WC-MAN]

Back to Toyota... Why is it THEIR fleet sales are not hurting their retail sales? Could it be, perhaps, that the fleet sale Gremlin is really a red herring to cover for unattractive products????

[NLPRacing]

Back to Toyota... Why is it THEIR fleet sales are not hurting their retail sales? Could it be, perhaps, that the fleet sale Gremlin is really a red herring to cover for unattractive products????

 

"Fleet Sales" are not a bad thing. Dumping vehicles into rental car fleets at ridiculously low prices to artificially inflate sales numbers at the expense of profitability, quality and resale value is a bad thing. With the cancellation of the Taurus, Ford has apparently stopped doing this. If Ford can sell their vehicles into fleets at a profit, keep the quality high & without discounting them so much that it hurts resale, then they need & should do it.

[Roadrunner]

Rental firms should pay for a profit not getting 'free cars' every 3 months, and car rental customers should not expect a "free lunch" anymore either.

 

Have you rented a car recently? It's like $30 a day!

[WC-MAN]

"Fleet Sales" are not a bad thing. Dumping vehicles into rental car fleets at ridiculously low prices to artificially inflate sales numbers at the expense of profitability, quality and resale value is a bad thing. With the cancellation of the Taurus, Ford has apparently stopped doing this. If Ford can sell their vehicles into fleets at a profit, keep the quality high & without discounting them so much that it hurts resale, then they need & should do it.

 

Thank you. On all the American car sites, regardless of brand, I here this same excuse, as if Hertz was personally responsible for letting the Japanese out engineer you, ignoring cars as they languished on the market, and treating CAR buyers as if they are too poor or too crazy to want a truck. Somehow, Toyota offers the same type of sales, yet their image is never tarnished. Of course, Toyota has never made decisions about redesigns based on wether or not Avis wants a different car either!

[SysEng]

The point every one is missing here is the Fusion is going to replaced the Taurus...

Matthew

 

And we wonder why Ford seems to just sink below everyones horizon

 

I don't see many Fusions around here. But I have been able to compare

them side by side on the road with the obvious competition. Fusion is smaller

than Camry or Accord. Its smaller than Altima or Sonata. It seems to be

on a par with the VW Jetta. Aside from the crowded floor covered

with pretty credible competition, The Fusion just doesn't have the cache

or reputation to impress in that segment.

 

The Taurus was a big deal, because it was priced in that segment,

had weight and power to match the segment and was 50% larger.

Effectively it didn't need cache or reputation to place against the

competition. Mind you, while it was no "star", the 3.0Vulcan equipped

Taurus/Sables definitely had some staying power and were fairly

reliable. The bad press came from the typical Ford mismatches

( 3.8L engine too big for tranny as usual or 2.3L dog for engine :shades: )

 

I see the Fusion as a credible replacement for the Focus. About the

time Ford sees it the same way things may improve for the Fusion.

 

The press sees ( as I do ) the 500 as the Taurus replacement. I have

chuckled in amusement at the 500 from the beginning and so

apparently does the press. Drop 500lbs and add to style and

the 500 may make it. But obviously that isn't happening now is it?

Neither are sales... :reading:

[630land]

Taurus was not "50% larger" than other mid sized cars. The illusion of 'bigger' was just wasted space with the oval shapse. Also, other middies had 'extra weight, too. BUt why is that a good thing?

 

If the car was such a 'bargain', where were the retail buyers? Most

 

And, the New Jettas are pitched as 'C/D'cars. The Focus should stay a C size.

[JETSOLVER]

Taurus was not "50% larger" than other mid sized cars. The illusion of 'bigger' was just wasted space with the oval shapse.

 

If the car was such a 'bargain', where were the retail buyers? Most

Wow, were you of purchase age back then? EVERYBODY either had or wanted a Taurus/Sable. For about 5-7 years there, the illusion and perception was that if you didn't have one of the oviod twins, you just were not going to make it in the next century. Many families had three in the driveway at once, to show just how advanced they were. It was a styling revolution that history can only compare to perhaps the 50's tail fin era in that every single car styled from the mid 80's until well into the nineties had some characteristic or trend evolving from those two.

 

And as for sales, until the late 90's, that was the perenial number one car in North America. Most of those were retail. It got to the point where I loathed seeing that car, and instantly hated the sort of person who would make payments on one. Think tattoes and facial pins now. At first it was cutting edge and a protest, then it became trendy and stylish, now its just sad and over done to the point of pitiful and potentially life changing.