The article is about GM I’m Fort Wayne, IN.Ford still has thousands of Super Duties stored at Kentucky Speedway.
Is Ford closing down?
The article is about GM I’m Fort Wayne, IN.Ford still has thousands of Super Duties stored at Kentucky Speedway.
A cash for clunkers isn't going to make a dent in a $60,000 to 80,000 truck.Let's hope so. Let's also hope there's not another bailout or clash for clunkers event for these manufacturers to fall back on.
Ford has had quality issues for decades....your point is ?? How many new vehicles have you bought in the last 30 years?Laughs in new Ford Bronco...
Sure it will. Use your $4500 beater as your cash for clunker down payment, and finance $80K for 10 years at 12% subprime. I would add a / sarc except we all know its coming.A cash for clunkers isn't going to make a dent in a $60,000 to 80,000 truck.
A cash for clunkers isn't going to make a dent in a $60,000 to 80,000 truck.
and it is still shut down as of today....
Ford quality is still ****. I've purchased about a dozen new vehicles in that time frame.Ford has had quality issues for decades....your point is ?? How many new vehicles have you bought in the last 30 years?
It would be nice if it were that simple, but it isn't. Attack the big guys, easy targets, but they still have healthy competition. "shareholder satisfaction"? Do you have an IRA or 401K? I won't ask about its value now.Shuttering factories temporarily in order to manage inventory levels... this is simply taking advantage of the supply-demand equation where dealers will list higher prices because the customer's choices are forced to be "slim." This is all fueled by the greed for higher profits, executive bonuses and shareholder satisfaction. Screw the real customers. They could still make a reasonable profit with larger inventories and lower sticker prices, but they don't.
Reminds me of the Apple business model: Apple could pay higher wages to American workers and still make a decent profit, but instead they choose the highest profits possible by shipping labor overseas and not employing Americans. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
There used to be a day when companies built up a very successful business by focusing on customer satisfaction and building a solid, reliable reputation for quality and value.
I have held off buying another car, and one of the reasons being I want to see my exact car before I fork over a pile of cash. I guess I am different. I know younger people don't mind ordering online. Of course as the father of two Gen Z college kids, if Amazon is a day late the world has proverbially ended.
Many years of marketing analysis would argue otherwise. Some buyers will wait, others want or need it NOW or at least in a reasonable timeframe; days or a week, not 6 - 8 weeks. Made to order costs more for both seller and buyer.Consumers are willing to order cars and wait or pickup the cancelled orders in a waitlist. Inventory on lot is thing of past or indication no one wants your product….
Many years of marketing analysis would argue otherwise. Some buyers will wait, others want or need it NOW or at least in a reasonable timeframe; days or a week, not 6 - 8 weeks. Made to order costs more for both seller and buyer.
Your talking about very special cars which I understand. However the last vanilla everyone has it family car we bought I had set up the deal completely remote, wife chose colors based on the website, and we got there and she didn't like the interior color. Fortunately it was a Rav4 so we simply switched to a different color interior - no fuss at all.I'm a Gen Xer, last generation before the world went mad. My last car was a factory order although that was more driven by timing lease return dates and being a limited run car anyway. I currently have a regular production vehicle on order as well. It's not limited run but it is limited inventory which means limited choice. I've never been one to take just anything that's sitting on the lot. I am not going to pay the cost of a new car and "settle" for only what's available now. That's a Gen Z attitude, ordering a car takes MONTHS, it's a patience and delayed gratification event. Definitely not things the younger generations thrive at. I waited 14 months for the TTRS, I've been waiting 2 months for the Allroad and they haven't even started building it yet LOL
I fully expect the Allroad to be the last new car I buy outside of some lottery winning event. New cars are not cobbled together by any means, but they are not exciting or most times attractive anymore. I have specific taste's that run counter to the average American and politics keep the good European stuff from being available here. Everything on my short list of cars to buy is at least 5-10 years old. It's really wrecking havoc with my desires for specific builds, can't factory order a 10 year old car. It's actually the reason I ordered the new Allroad, I would have much preferred the older Avant instead of the lifted and cladded Allroad, but finding a decent example of the Avant that wasn't silver or black and had the right options was impossible.
Best comment. I retired from GM with over 32yrs and nothing has changed - your comment is still true today. This is just market adjustment. The old rule of thumb was to have a 60day supply of inventory available. That allowed enough variety for customers to find what they want, buffer any assembly down time issues and maintain decent profitability. When you climb above 90 days there are costs associated with that (rebates, inventory interest expense etc)....when you are below 30 days that means you're selling very well.Anyone who has line worked in the auto industry knows this is not unusual.. Makes no sense to overbuild and have excessive inventory, finding space to store all those cars and pay additional taxes on all those vehicles just sitting there.
Not to mention lower carrying costs. I believe the days of tons of choices are waning. Simplicity saves manufacturing costs and errors.Covid flipped the table on all that research and data. Car makers will choose the profitable path.
Unless you want to keep your "number 1 selling truck in America" title. (F150)Best comment. I retired from GM with over 32yrs and nothing has changed - your comment is still true today. This is just market adjustment. The old rule of thumb was to have a 60day supply of inventory available. That allowed enough variety for customers to find what they want, buffer any assembly down time issues and maintain decent profitability. When you climb above 90 days there are costs associated with that (rebates, inventory interest expense etc)....when you are below 30 days that means you're selling very well.
That doesn't effect anything as there are still vehicles on dealer lots to sell with plants idled. It is not like they are shutting production down with no trucks to sell - they have too many so they can still get the sales numbers if people buy.Unless you want to keep your "number 1 selling truck in America" title. (F150)