I did my part in August! Sorry to see their challenges.

"Even with the decline, though, Toyota surpassed Ford to become the No. 2 U.S. vehicle seller for the month. Ford sold 218,332 vehicles during August, down from the 255,112 vehicles it sold in the same month last year. Sales to daily rental companies were down 44%, while sales to retail customers declined by 13%.

In reporting its dismal performance, Ford highlighted brisk sales of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury crossover models, where sales were up 82% in August and up 48% so far for the year.

"We are encouraged by consumers' response to our new products," said the company in a press release. "Demand for our new crossovers continues to grow despite challenging economic conditions."

Still, Ford's overall truck sales fell 2.4% to 153,468 units, with its flagship F-Series pickup posting a 9.9% decline. Car sales tumbled 33.7% to 64,864 units amid the decrease in sales to rental-car companies.

At Ford's stable of luxury brands, Land Rover sales were up 32.2%, while Jaguar and Volvo both logged double-digit declines. The company has said it is considering the sale of the brands, which comprise its Premium Automotive Group."

 

Hard to see Ford falling on tough times. August is a hard month to sell anything but bottled water, beer and sun-tan lotion though. Kids are going back to school so many families have the added expenses of clothing, books, tuition and possibly dorms. That added to Ford pushing the most dated design on the block i think they arent doing so bad. I bet the book keepers feel differently though

 

Those bean counters always say "we hurting over here" I would like to know how it is that they lose billions of dollars in a time frame and still be in business.

 

Here is a related article about how some Ford dealers are deciding to turn in their Ford new car license to selling used cars of any make. Perhaps Ford's poor sales is the reason.

They Switch to Used-Cars Only
By Steve Finlay
WardsAuto.com, Sep 4, 2007 12:13 PM

Used-vehicle sales are an important part of franchised dealers’ operations – so important that some dealers are turning in their new-car franchises and selling used vehicles only.

That’s what happened this year with a Ford store in San Diego, CA; a Buick-Pontiac-GMC store in Charlotte, MI, and a Pontiac-GMC dealership in Syracuse, NY.

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After 28 years as a San Diego Ford dealer, the Bob Baker Auto Group in August month gave back its Ford franchise. It will sell used vehicles only from the former Ford store, while continuing to sell new vehicles for its remaining brands.

“We were once the top Ford dealer in the market,” says Michael Baker, CEO of the 10-franchise group founded by his father.

The Baker Ford store was one of four within a 5-mile (8-km) area at a time when Ford sales are down and in a market where “one out of four vehicles sold is a Toyota,” says the younger Baker, whose remaining franchises include Toyota.

Ford Motor Co. wants to reduce its dealership ranks overall and “as I considered this,” says Bob Baker, “it struck me that the timing is right for the move.”

In 2004, Ford blocked dealership chain Asbury Automotive’s $88 million bid for the Baker dealerships. Ford said it didn’t want Asbury to acquire Baker’s Ford store, claiming Asbury underperformed at Ford dealerships it owned elsewhere.

“We’ll never forget that,” Michael Baker says of the killed deal.

Turning in the Ford franchise, rather than trying to sell it, allows the Baker group to retain site control, he says.

Ford says it holds Bob Baker in the highest regard.

“We will miss his contribution, but we respect his decision and we are fully confident that Bob Baker Ford’s customers needing factory warranty service will be well served by the surrounding Ford dealers,” says Hal Dewsnap, Ford’s California regional manager.

Charlotte, a small town near Michigan’s state capital of Lansing, lost its Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealership May 1. This happened despite the Lansing area being home to two General Motors Corp. plants, where thousands of employees work and can purchase GM vehicles at generous discounts.

The Davis Auto Mart franchise business became too costly to operate because the auto maker required it to carry an inventory of 56 new units from among its three franchises, says sales manager John Simpson.

After deciding to let the franchises go, rather than sell them, the Davis dealership has become a mecca for all brands of used vehicles, Simpson says.

Losing the GM-employee customers with factory discounts won’t be a major blow because the profits are greater on late-model used cars, he says.

“Customers are used to finding a variety of brands of merchandise at Wal-Mart and Target – now they can find a mix of cars and trucks at our place, too,” he says.

Performance Auto Mall in the upstate New York city of Syracuse also has faced franchised dealership issues. Owner Ron Boukair says the dealership found a buyer for the Pontiac and GMC franchises in April and now has access to a larger and more diversified inventory.

“Years ago, with new-car shingles, we could go to factory auctions and buy good cars of all brands below market,” Boukair says.

That’s not the bargain it once was. “I now can buy a Chevy Impala for $1,000 less on the Internet than I could get at a closed factory auction,” he says.

Other advantages of being an “independent” dealer are freedom from costly and labor-intensive factory-mandated programs that could cost the dealership up to $4.5 million in annual gross sales just to operate because of requiring six or seven employees and special equipment and signage, Boukair says.

The Performance store plans to carry about 75% foreign brands and 25% domestic, a vast turnaround from the GM franchise days. Boukair says a multi-brand store will draw import-brand shoppers who would not usually patronize a domestic franchise store.

– with Mac Gordon
sfinlay@wardsauto.com

Some good reader comments at the article link:
http://wardsdealer.com/latest/used_cars_only/

 

Ford has nearly a century of acquired resources, they won't simply close up shop with a quickness. Instead it will be a slow more painful process as we see happening. Make no mistake, Ford has lost billions...documented. Plant closings, layoffs, and attempts at restructuring are an indication of that. Simply concluding that Ford must not be losing money because they are still in business is incorrect.

 

I wonder if they aren't figuring in the projected sales that they anticipated and didn't get and counted that as a loss.

 

They dont make any cars worth a damn is the problem.

They would be better off by killing the entire car line except the Mustang.

Keep Mercury and Lincoln to sell only a couple models (Marquis, town car, Continental) and thin out the ranks of their trucks (nix the escape)

They sell plenty of F series and E series, we know they are not hurting there

Isuzu did this about 10 years ago (went truck only) and it virtually saved them

Seriously, most Ford cars are ugly pieces of **** that no one wants

 

So let me get a couple things straight
In your opinion Isuzu is a success story?
Point 2: Ford should kill passenger cars and keep the mustang? Are you aware the Fusion and focus both outsold the mustang in August of this year. The Fusion has also won various awards for initial quality and customer satisfaction.

 

The REAL reason F-series sales are down is because Ford doesn't offer satellite radio right across the board, from XL to Lariat.

 

 

Toyota sales are down in August as well. That makes two months in a row.

From another forum, "Looks like the Turd can't stay afloat on rebates any longer...sales down 4K units over July despite incentives up to $8000. The people that got one wanted one, the rest just don't care."

 

These setbacks are just what Ford needs to shake things up. They have been resting on their laurels for so long they have been late to the party on the latest innovations and new model trends. They need to dump Jag and Volvo, cut salary bloat at the top, and concentrate on their bread and butter. The Fusion/Zephyr, MKZ, Edge, Mustang, Escape, and 09 F-150 will get them back on track. They need to do something with the Expy and Explorer because they are just plain tanking.

 

Never understood the point of these "Ford's sales figures are down . . ." type threads.

Anyway...

 

Its also posted when sales are up. People here are interested in the future and profitibility of the manufacturer that makes the best trucks on the road. I always enjoy seeing what current sales are from month to month