Ford to report record losses?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070124/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_ford_outlook

(Sorry if this is a repost)

These scare-mongers just don't understand EXCLUSIVITY! They just don't get the pleasure we all get from knowing that the dealers are looking out for Ford, and us, by keeping product unsold on their floors.

For all the doubters out there, the GT500 WILL be a sound investment, because, if this keeps up, there'll be no Ford anymore, hence the nostalgic value which will attach to these cars. IN FACT, the few dozen or so which have actually sold will fetch more -

B.J. auctioneer - "...this particular car is particulary rare, in that it was one of the few-hundred which actually saw the outside of the showroom..."

Still "Ram I.M. Inthabutt and Son Ford", will be alright, Jack, cos they'll just switch over to being a Toyota dealership. Everyone's a winner!

Enjoyed the sarcasm. But I think Ford will be sticking around. They're just going to be much smaller.

I think so too. They're lucky enough to have sufficient loyal customers to probably keep them afloat when they ought to go under.

There's some truth to that. Ford has survived and probably will survive in spite of itself. The company has done some stupid stuff and built some vehicles that were less than exciting.
But I bleed Ford blue and will buy Ford as long as they are made.
Just let me have a Shelby at no more than sticker. Please, pretty please.

If they can't get better control of their dealers, they're done. The markups have got to stop. The GT500, Bullitt, Boss, etc...no common man is ever going to see one of these in their garage, that is, unless they want to retire when they're 80.

+1

These ADM dealers are their own worst enemy. They are chasing some quick short term easy profits at the expense of putting Ford out of business. Have they thought through what they'll be doing once Ford is gone?

My post from another Bulletin Board. Right now I am so upset with Ford that I will probably never buy another one.

My thoughts.....
Ford is in serious trouble with all their brands. I want to buy American, I prefer American but Ford is doing a lousy job in keeping me and apparently many others from buying American cars.

1. I have a 2005 Ranger ext cab, lots of upgrades and extras. My son just bought a 2006 Tacoma, with a crew cab. Miles ahead of the Ranger. Feels better, seems like a better truck. I went to the Ford dealer to inquire about getting a Ranger w/crew cab. The sales manager told me not available. Maybe in 2008. Meanwhile Toyota, Nissan, Chevy, Dodge all have that option. Not Ford. I asked my son why he didn't look at the Ranger. His answer, The Ranger platform has not been updated in over 10 yrs.

2. I love my LS, unfortunately Lincoln brings out an exciting product and then no engineering improvements are ever made.
They keep the car a few years and then shut it down. I.E. Mk VIII, LS.
The only thing you can count on is the Town Car and that client base is dying off.
The LS is no more. Yes, I have had 4 problems with it and they have been covered under warranty. These were interior issues like headliners , seats, water leaks. I don't think Lexus or Infinity would have this type of problem. Like I said, now the LS is finished the Wixom plant is closed down. American workers are now laid off. The new MKZ is now made in Mexico with Mexicans. So why should I buy American now?? Especially when the Japanese have American plants, hiring Americans.

3. Read the latest about the Edge, the new CUV. The only thing that makes me want to buy it is the Ford nameplate. But read the reviews. 600 lbs heavier than its competitors. That is like riding around with 3 200 lb men all the time. The gas mileage is already seriously compromised by the added weight.


4. My daughter wants a Murano. We took one out for a test drive and I have to admit it is a nice vehicle. I don't care for its looks but it is well made and the interior is smart and modern looking.
She doesn't even want to look at a Ford. I forced her to test drive an Escape. She hated it. I have to admit the Murano is a better vehicle.

My daughter and friends all want Japanese cars. Ford has a real perception problem with younger buyers and they better start changing that.

5. I have thought about buying an F-150 with a crew cab, but Ford is now shutting down the F-150 plant here in Norfolk. My neighbors and friends are losing their jobs, so someone from Ford please tell me why I should remain brand loyal.

Just a few of my thoughts....

Maybe it's time for Ford to do to the same thing to Mercury that Chrysler did to Plymouth?

Think Ford will survive but like someone has posted - will be smaller. Saw a short news clip on NBC regarding dealers who are in trouble. Know this is a sore subject but the story featured a four generation dealership in Indiana which has been around 90+ years I believe. One of the third generation ers stated that a Ford rep used to drop by the dealership every 1-2 weeks. They never see a Ford Rep anymore. IMO there are dealers who want to keep "do right" by their customers but feel they are "one their own". For the less than honest dealers, its kinda like a blank check to do what they want to who they want

It ain't only GT-500s.

I was at 3 different Ford dealers over the last week. All 3 of them said the would not sell a Mustang GT on X plan. They said "We're getting full sticker for Mustang GT's"

WTF?
Ford had $1,000 rebates on them and the dealers are still pretending that they're in short supply and will not discount them. That's a good part of Ford's problems.

So much of this reminds me of an encounter that I had with a Ford salesman right after the new Thunderbirds came out. You know, the ones that were so special that they only lasted four model years. Anyway, this joker tried to tell me (in a bar, no less) how that the new T-birds were in such high demand that his dealership was requiring a $10,000 refundable deposit for customers just to place their names on the waiting list for the cars. He went on to explain that the way it worked was that once your name was on the waiting list, you were notified when the car came in that corresponded to your number on the list. If, when the car arrived, you didn't want it for some reason (you didn't like the color, for example), the dealership would then refund your deposit. He said there was no way to order one of the cars, and gave the impression that the whole thing was more or less "take it or leave it." I remember telling this joker that the T-bird was "just another Ford." I knew at exactly that point that I would never buy a new Thunderbird. The sad part is, back in 2002, well before the current model Mustang was born, had Ford competitively priced the car and reigned the price gouging by their dealers in, chances are I would have seriously considered one. As it was I picked up my second used Mustang Convertible (a low-mileage 96 Cobra) a few months later instead.
It's tactics like these, and the hands off "each dealership is a privately run business" mindset, along with the horrible customer service that is sinking Ford.

Most of my Local Ford dealers have lost me forever No more of the loyal customer with me,when they tried to Jerk me around on my 2006 Stang Gt....
I feel the 2010 Stang GT will be coming from Japan and I am sure it will be a better built car.First Ford has tons of dealers all over the place and the foreign dealers have a lot less...So I would think many dealers will close and that would be great maybe ford will not lose more money,as they are rated as JUNK bonds and GM is right behind ford.I am glad that ford is jacking people around on the Shelbys,,,maybe more people will get annoyed and go somewhere else...
I know the Vette Z06s are High too but Vettes hold on their resales not like Fords.
Its funny ford dealers in my area wanted $250,000 for their New GT ,and if you go to Autoweekly you will see Brand New GTs at $150,000-$163,000 with no miles on the car.....
I am sure the people that make cars in Japan don't have benefits like they do here in the US.........Glad GM are making their cars better and Mopar is doing well too......SWTrain

You are right,,,,,,
Its not Ford but its the uneducated Salesmen that sell them....
Most Salespeople are idiots,but their are a few that are not.
Like I have said in the past
Whenever I bought a car,the salesmen that waited on me 2 years ago are always gone....I was talking to a idiot Pontiac Salesman that like my 06 Stang Gt when I was changing my oil.....He was telling me how hottttt the GTOs are.I had to put him in his place after he said that.
I am glad that I don't know any car salespeople when I am at partys lolllll.SWTrain

Thanks, you beat me to it. Remember when the 05 GT's came out? They were up to the same games then.

At the beginning of Jan. I placed an order on a new Mustang GT using the X-plan and had no issues. They were nice enough to print me out the order sheet and as a gimmick let me hit the F4 key to submit the order to Ford. As per the dealer rep. the order was pulled two weeks ago. Hopefully will have sometime in March.

Ya know the media doesn't help in all this either. They are very willing to report the doom and gloom of a company. If you listen to the news you'd think that SUV's are now extict like T-REX. I bought an explore 5 days ago and I had a hard time finding one. The dealers answer "they are still selling" and are getting hard to come buy. That is true doing an online search of 2007 explores in my area dealers didn't have a huge selection. BUT no one is buying them???
There is a serious media bias against american vechiles.

I used to work in the media and now teach journalism. Sure, some journalists are bias just like some people are. It's kind of difficult to make a company look good that is losing billions of dollars and is confused as to what the people want. Is that the media's fault?