November 2005 Mustang Sales Decrease

Hadda70Mach1 said:
Be it because of CAFE standards or something else, it's unfortunate for Ford - and those of us interested in buying a Mustang GT - that they are able to produce so few GT's. And of those produced, such a small percentage seem to have the MT that it's a sin! You would think that between the appearance of the car and the horsepower, Ford would have known there would have been significant demand for manual transmissions.

I love the car, but with each passing month with no GT's available, I look around more and more at alternative vehicles. I'm sure I'm not alone.
It's not the CAFE standards, the manual 5 speed is rated for 2 MORE miles per gallon than the Frenchy 5 speed auto. And 351CJ, you're never going to sell me on the auto 5 speed. I was reading my owners manual last night, Damn thing has no dipstick, you HAVE to bring it to the dealer, just to check the fluid level or to add fluid. That's just plain RETARDED. Not only do they stick you with the initial added $1000 option, but they'll stick it to you later in service costs and lost time.
 
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D.Hearne said:
At the dealer I bought mine from yesterday ( ordered it and waited almost exactly 6 months :notnice: ) They've got three GT's, and two V6 cars. The 3 GT's are:2 converts, one is a new 06, the other a used 05. Both are loaded with options and automatics. The other GT is a new 06, Tungsten Gray, automatic. These 3 have been sitting there for two months. ( I also pointed that out to the sales manager:D ) One V6 car is a coupe, the other a 'vert and they've been around a couple months as well. If and when they DO get manual GT's in, they're only on the lot less than a week. Mine stayed overnight, parked in the showroom, next to the my salesman's office:rlaugh: I was told that the GT-manual trans cars are only allocated for 16% of production, I wonder why? The 5 speed auto is built in France:notnice: If it weren't for that fact, I'd have seriously considered one, but it being a new design and built by a bunch of whiney Frenchmen, gave it a double whammy.crapola In addition, it's a $995 option, plus I've also got a freind who's a die hard Ford guy, stock car racer, engine builder and happens to work in a trans shop who's told me that they've already worked on a few of the 5 speed autos kept me away from the auto's. Some one in management needs to procure more Tremecs to increase the manual car production. All in all, sounds like someone at Ford made a nice deal with the French, that's ended up costing them sales. :flag:
This is your theory of why mustang sales are down. People tuned into transmissions coming from a Ford Transmission plant opened in 1973 and they're not buying mustangs now.:bs:
 
D.Hearne said:
:D Black leather with red accents? :D Got to be gay:D
Wait,... :rlaugh: You think Black and Red is gay and sales are down because of French made transmissions. :stupid: I think a person who uses phrases like "double whammy" is more likely to be gay than someone who drives a black car with red accents.
 
srothfuss said:
Guy's what if the ford dealers have gotten a bad reputation about the Mustang (lack of GT's and long wait times) This would hold many people away from buying a new car now. I know I am still waiting!

Also, Ford is doing what DCX did with the Pacifica when it was first intorduced... They only have the top of the line GT's (Convertible versions) which is the most expensive model for the time being and this is also going to have a negative effect on their sales.

The marketing for the car is all but disappeared in my area, they are hard to find and the dealers don't want to sell them... This was expected.


I have a GT Deluxe 5-speed.. off dealer stock here in Tennesse. Plety of 5-speeds, and no mark ups. They sell very well here at this dealership while another one that is still asking $3000 over... doesn't sale many, though both have mostly V6's

IN this area there is not a lack of 5-speeds, and no I would not have purchased an automatic... and they do tend to stand on the lots longer.

There are no incintives to purchase a mustang right now for a noraml person, some dealers still wont let you get one on X or A plan pricing, gas prices are high, we are at war, a good portion of our contry is still in ruins form the summer, and on top of all of that a lot of people purchased cars when they could get "Employee Pricing" this summer. That was not available on mustangs. So some that would have waited to purchase a Mustang migh have bought, dare I say, a GTO when it was available at GMS pricing? 100hp more, plus no dealer markups and more room?
Or maybe other cars that they felt they were getting a better deal on.
 
Kyle F said:
I have a GT Deluxe 5-speed.. off dealer stock here in Tennesse. Plety of 5-speeds, and no mark ups. They sell very well here at this dealership while another one that is still asking $3000 over... doesn't sale many, though both have mostly V6's

Or maybe other cars that they felt they were getting a better deal on.

Sounds like all the "I gotta have a Mustang right now, at any price" customers already bought theirs.

The slowing Mustang sales could be due to customers are now waiting for a better deal and will wait for the exact model / color / options that they want. The US auto companies have done a good job training customers to NOT buy a US brand vehicle unless there are rebates or 0% APR.
 
I just think the price is too high period. In 99 a cobra was the price of a no optioned gt now. If im gonna spend that kinda money ill just get like new 03/04 cobra. I know its a different chasis and everything but i dont think theyve fully justified the price increase
 
I just recently got a call from the salesman who tried to sell me an 06 mustang gt (almost bought one before but couldn't unfortuantley) and told me they now are offering incentives to buy mustangs. I can now get it for invoice if I choose.

I didn't think about it before but previous mustangs always had incentives on them by now so that is probably a large factor in why they aren't selling as well.
 
Klay said:
I just recently got a call from the salesman who tried to sell me an 06 mustang gt (almost bought one before but couldn't unfortuantley) and told me they now are offering incentives to buy mustangs. I can now get it for invoice if I choose.

I didn't think about it before but previous mustangs always had incentives on them by now so that is probably a large factor in why they aren't selling as well.

Good point. Since 2002 there has been $1,500 - $2,000 rebates on Mustangs along with big dealer discounts. Add on the 2005 price increase and the extra sales tax. You quickly get to a typical total selling price that's $4,000 more than the old Mustang (+15%) even before dealer markups. Too pricy for a lot of Mustang fans.
 
Incentives?

I do not believe there are incentives on Mustangs. According to Ford's website, there are not. I suspect the salesman who called Klay was bluffing a bit to try to get him to come into the dealership.

I do see a few GT's creeping onto the lots here in northeast Ohio, so I suspect the pricing on Mustang GT's will become more flexible in the near future.
 
If you guys need some GTs there's 2 dealships within 10 minutes of my apartment that have quite a few. There are many more in the DFW area besides those. Whether they're manuals or autos though, couldn't tell you. I ordered mine back in february and actually got it well before the delivery date. I Did end up paying a little over 1K msrp, but I needed a car and figured if I was going to shell out money for it, whether it be 20K or 30K; I better damn well get exactly what I want. Plus, it's the first new car I've ever owned(drove around an AMC powered hornet stationwagon since I was 18 which now resides in my parents backyard until I can get around to treating her nice).

I would say the biggest reason sales are down is incentives. Not everyone is an mustang afficionado. So, while they might like the car, why would they buy it when they can find other cars that are faster and cheaper? Hell, right now you can get a vette(not a Z06 mind you) for 7K off the msrp.

Know I don't really post on here. Just adding my crappy two cents. I love my mustang, but I don't love the dent directly behind the gas cap from some parking space idiot.

Jason
 
Hadda70Mach1 said:
I do not believe there are incentives on Mustangs. According to Ford's website, there are not. I suspect the salesman who called Klay was bluffing a bit to try to get him to come into the dealership.

I do see a few GT's creeping onto the lots here in northeast Ohio, so I suspect the pricing on Mustang GT's will become more flexible in the near future.

Let me clarify, there are customer incentives, and dealer incentives. There are currently no customer incentives. However, the greatest dealer incentive should be the Mustang Share Of Nation that will determine part of their GT500 allocation. The guys that didn't mark up their GTs and blew out Mustangs the past two years will be rewarded with better allocation than the jerks that slapped "Market Adjustment" stickers and watched their ponies start eating away at their floorplan expense.
 
Hmm well I know this particular dealer was selling gt's and v6's for sticker before and wouldn't accept my x plan. He may be just trying to get me there but he already knows what I can afford so no real point in tricking me to get down there only to find out they aren't offering any incentives. It's probably like Dyoct said though, they want to get more gt500's on the lot so they are selling their base and gt models at invoice.
 
My thoughts on sales is the LACK of tv advertisement. If they would talk more about the cars and show em more up close and a few features rather than saying how they plan to be more innovatetive and can't talk to the employee who is currently out driving a 150K GT.
It is a touching commercial, but, please ppl.
The only real advert on mustangs have been for herts rentals.
last nite i did see a com for the Explorer but again no real info bout the thing.
 
Mustang Woes

I guess the good news for me is that my local dealer will accept X plan on a Mustang GT. They told me this over a year ago.

The bad news is that they have not had a Mustang GT available to test drive in well over a year, and they don't know when they will. Until recently, the other dealers in my area were in the same boat. Call me old fashioned, but I thought it might be nice to drive the car before I ordered one. With winter coming I'm sure a GT will show up on the lot one of these days, but my interest just isn't what it was when I first went to the dealership eight months ago.
 
I am happy in getting my Stang Gt on Laborday at Invoice.
It might have been at tad high with the shaker100&Automatic
Upgrade seating among other things...
Its a 2006 stang Gt and the only one at the time in Pa. are,and still not many Gts around in Pa ,Nj and NY area....
MSRP $30,125
Invoice was $27,875.........Close to X-plan I would think,,,,,I wanted manual but very happy with the auto because of the ice in the poconos i am glad getting a auto...Had 3 stang Gts with Manuals 1995 ,2000 and 2003 and thought it would be nice nice getting and auto since i am retired and not driving around as much.....JT
 
Fox44ever said:
Not quite sure how long this retro kick is going to work.... look what happened to the T-Bird.

Oh, but the T-Bird was a hideous looking car, IMO. I know it was also "retro-ish", but it just didn't do it for me. And obviously the American public agreed.

I think the Mustang sales problem is simply because they're not building enough GTs and the V6's aren't selling like they anticipated. In fact, if anything, the GT and V6 are too close in price. 4 or 5 K more for 90 more horses and the "prestige" of having a GT? In these good economic times, I think that's driving people to the higher end model.

Build more GTs, Ford! :Damnit: I've seen so many posts on this forum about people wanting GTs but not being able to find/get one. I'll believe this whole "sales declining" thing when I start seeing as many GTs on dealers' lots as I see V6's.