Well hopefully the xplan will be good enough....

 

GM and Ford discount war continues



Monday August 1, 6:14 PM EDT


By Poornima Gupta

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. on Monday said they were cutting sticker prices and adding features on many cars and trucks in new marketing programs aimed at boosting U.S. sales.

The companies, in fierce competition with Japanese car makers, are hoping to lower their spending on buyer incentives and enhance their vehicles' resale values.

Ford also extended through Sept. 6 its incentive program reducing customer prices to employee-discount levels and expanded it to include some 2006 model-year pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.

DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division is also extending its program lowering prices to employee-discount levels, sources familiar with the plan told Reuters.



The moves to cut sticker prices came after Toyota Motor Corp., which has been relentlessly gaining U.S. market share, said last week that it was raising U.S. prices slightly on some 2006 model-year vehicles.

Deep discounting and high costs contributed to big losses in GM's and Ford's North American automotive operations in the second quarter.

GM, which has led Detroit's profit-draining price war for nearly four years, said its new "Total Value Promise" strategy is aimed at weaning car buyers away from big rebates by offering 2006 model-year prices that are closer to final transaction prices and by highlighting the value and quality of its vehicles.

Company officials said on a conference call the world's largest automaker will continue to use incentives in a targeted way because of the intensively competitive automotive market.

RESALE VALUE

Analyst Maryann Keller said cutting sticker prices was important because a vehicle's depreciation, or what it is worth for resale after three years, is often calculated by starting with the original sticker price, also known as manufacturer's suggested retail price.

By cutting sticker prices, GM and Ford can make the residual values of their cars begin to look a lot more like those of Japanese cars, Keller said.

"It sounds very rational. Whether they can execute it I think is going to be another issue," she said.

Sticker prices are especially important among the growing number of car buyers who shop on the Internet.

The new GM promotion, which replaces its popular employee-discount program, reduces sticker prices on about 30 of its 76 models by a range of a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. For example, the price of GM's best-selling Silverado Crew cab pickup truck has been cut by $3,055.

GM also said it has extended its bumper-to-bumper limited warranty on all Hummer and Buick brand vehicles to four years or 50,000 miles.

Ford quickly matched GM's strategy and slashed prices. The sticker price on its slow-selling Mercury Monterey minivan, for instance, was cut by as much as $6,340.

Ford also said it is expanding its employee-discount plan, dubbed the "Ford Family Plan," to include the 2006 model-year Escape, Expedition, Mariner and Navigator SUVs, Super Duty pickup trucks, and Econoline vans.

Both GM and Ford, which are fighting to regain U.S. market share from Asian rivals, have been hit hard by this year's dramatic slowdown in sales of mid- and full-sized sport utility vehicles, their most profitable models.

GM's U.S. sales jumped 41 percent in June because of its employee-pricing discount plan, touted by industry observers as one of the most successful consumer-incentive programs in automotive history. Ford and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division matched the discounts in July after GM extended its employee-pricing program through Aug. 1.

But analysts said there could be a "payback" effect when the discount program ends. Exceptionally strong sales in any one month can weigh on sales of mass market brands like Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford later on.

GM shares ended up 4 cents at $36.86 on the New York Stock Exchange. Ford closed up 11 cents, or 1 percent, at $10.85. DaimlerChrysler shares on the NYSE added 95 cents, or 2 percent, to close at $49.37.

 

Whooo hooooooo

I received a similiar email from my x-plan administrator..

Same deal

RE: Ford Family Plan

The Ford Family Plan has been extended through September 6th, 2005 and now includes select 2006 models in addition to the eligible 2005 models! Best of luck!

 

You know sometimes when you have too much time on your hands your mind wonders. I was taking a study break last night and my mind wondered WAY OFF. follow it if you can.

This would just pertain to 05' models bought before the new family plan incentives. Is there room here for a class action lawsuit???? What the heck you say. Well, the way I see it Ford has de-valued my vehicle in an unfair manner, plus over charged me from the beggining if they can offer these prices to the public now. The sticker on my truck was 42k I paid 37k and felt good at the time (no incentives in Jan.) Well, that same truck today is 35k. It just seems that Ford really gouged me and anybody else who bought an 05' vehicle before this incentive plan.

(now, listen, I know I may not have gotten the best deal on my truck big deal, I also am not a big lawsuit crazy guy, this was just a big **** idea I couldn't get out of my mind)

 

Lawsuit based on purchasing a truck at a higher price?....would the same pertain to Computers, TV's and the such?
I think this falls under "buyer beware".

 

To me its a roll of the dice. One time they are offering deals, then next time they are not. This was to clear out the 2005 trucks in stock. They usually run deals around this time to make room for the 2006. I guess you could have waited? Depends how bad you wanted your truck...

 

So is now the time to buy? Will the deals just get better? Or will they end..

 

the deals will end when the 05's are all gone, but they are saying that the 06 models will have a lower sticker price to begin with, but you will likely pay less now.

 

what truck did you get, a single or super cab?

 

Ok i got a question for you guys, so if ford is offering the empolyee discount to everyone what are the emplyee's of ford getting a better discount just wondering? Thank you for the replies

 

buy now, at this point no matter what happens you got a great deal. I bought mine a week before the family plan and paid the same amount as the family plan its a good deal.

 

When I bought mine a month ago... I asked the salesman if he was getting something because we were now getting his discount... He smiled and said that they were getting taken care of.

 

So has any one used there A- plan discount while the emplyee discount id going on. I have a friend that works at GM(but he drives a ford) but he was telling me that they are offering the emplyees 3500 below the emplyee price for the public. Thank for the replies

 

I have to go see if it is the same deal or not. My truck was 34,200 and with z plan i think it ended up being 26,750 or there abouts. The thing with the Ford family plan is that I couldnt deal. The only thing I could bicker on was the trade in.

 

Negative..not true. I just bought my Lariat under the Ford Family Plan on July 11, but I am also a Ford employee, eligible for D-Plan discounts. D-Plan is actually $100 more than the public employee price, so that's why I took the same deal as everyone else. A-plan is bottom line on all Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles. At A-plan price it's already an average of $1600 - $2000 UNDER invoice. A-plan is A-plan, and D-plan is D-plan. ONe advantage to being an actual employee, before they extended the family plan pricing was that you could get an '06 at $100 over A-plan. Now, Ford dropped the ball and put their most desirable vehicles on the Family Plan. We'll see how it pans out.