Check the sales numbers. Trucks are not selling. (fuel prices) That is what is causing alot of Ford's problems.

 

hrm. well then they should just make the trucks that much better, were people dont even care about gas.

 

Your not serious are you?

The challenger, yes...the rest, IMO, "yuck".

 

I like the looks of most of the Chrysler products, but that is as deep as it goes. Don't think they have the quality yet and there fuel efficiency sucks, literally.

 

From my view point, I don't think the Company is repairable anytime soon.
Too many unwise decisions, (Nassar, Contour, Mystique, no SVT) just to name a few. What we don't need is another Mulit-Milion Dollar Salary like we just got....If the public knew, or really cared how many million $$$$$$$$$ are WASTED everyday with this Vice Presidents idea and that, they would be shocked...I watched as over $300,000.00 was spent in paint and overtime just so the floors could be color coded and labeled where the trash cans were to set, and to where the tradesmen were to set their tool boxes, and etc. while at the same time our plant could not produce a "marketable" part for the Assembly Plants...makes me sick to think about it now...
Then there was the 1 year period where they decided to replace 1 person with an automatic destacker to feed blanks into a press. Spent 1-1/2 million $$$$$$ and never put the destacker into operation....decided that the person feeding the blanks into the press was easier to replace if he was sick or absent, than it would be to repair the multimillion $$$$$ automatic blanker when it broke....Ended up taking it outside into the "graveyard" and cut it up for scrap......this is only two incidents in one plant, now multiply that by the number of plants in the Company and you get the idea.....Oh yea, Bill Jr. publicly stated in the beginning that he would take NO salary for the first year, of course he need not do so as be took approximately 15 million in stock options that year..

 

Well someone likes them because they are selling like crazy and thats the point of an automanufacturer...to sell vehicles. Ford lost over $1 Billion in the first half of 2006 alone.

 

So I dont "hi-jack" this thread..I sent you a PM Marc.

 

I can see that, and it makes perfect sense.....I just find their trucks to be hideous, and their cars to seem cheap....Hell, the road noise will drive a man nuts. So, maybe quality is the main issue, but IMO I think all of their product looks like crap, but that's just my opinion.

 

I think just about every current dodge model is Fugly. Especially the trucks and SUVs.

 

I like the look of the new Ram. I think it looks good. I don't know about long term realiablity but they look good. I can't wait to see the new Dodge Challenger! I think Chrysler is trying new things and styles some are hits and others missess. Atleast they are trying. Ford has done nothing lately and they are banking too hard on the F150. Other then their trucks Ford what else is Ford known for? Mustang and Focus

 

Again, that may be your opinion...but the fact is that they are selling and in order for Ford to stay in business they need to sell vehicles. As an automanufacturer, you cannot expect to stay competitive and ignore what your consumers want. So you may think the Ram, Charger, 300M, Magnum are all ugly, but they are different, powerful, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, they are SELLING. Hell Id buy a new Challenger, how can you beat pure muscle RWD combined with a kickass design??

 

Me too.

But, as far as Dodge making good sales.....that just means the consumer isn't as knowledgeable as we are.....MAYBE.

I see Dodge trucks all over Athens, and I don't think it's because people think the Dodge looks better, well, maybe some do, or it's a better product, I think the problem is our Ford Dealership. They treat their customers like crap, I know...I was a customer for a day. I also asked a few of the folks I know that have a Dodge truck, and they said because Ford didn't even listen to their needs, wants or anything. They said here's the truck for you, take it or leave it....pretty much. At least that's what the dude told me.

I took my truck in because the AC overflow was running over in the passenger side floor...the drain was clogged, and the dash had to be removed to fix (in case anyone has this issue, that's what it is). I came in to the service department to drop it off after work the day before, and my wife was going to pick it up after work the following day. The guy at the service department, told me it should be fixed by noon. SWEET!

~NEXT DAY~

My wife called about 2 that afternoon to make sure it was going to be ready by the time she got off work, they said they didn't have a white 2004 F150 Heritage on their lot. She continued to explain that I had dropped it off yesterday when I got off work, and it was to be ready by noon. Well, the sales lady got rude with my wife.....I don't like anyone to disrespect my wife, for any reason.

Well, the wife called me and I called the service department, and they told me the same thing. The little lady got pretty snooty with me too. I told my boss, I needed to jet and go take of an issue with the truck, and explained the issue to him.

When I pulled up, and went to talk to the lady, she was even more rude in person. You see my truck from the bay (where you drop off your vehicle). I got her to leave her "post" and look ... She said, "well damn".

That's just the tip of the iceberg. The name of the dealership has changed names twice since I've lived here and the service has sucked every since. I didn't buy my truck their for that reason. I have a feeling alot of people in Athens know that about the dealership and it has left a bad taste in their mouths about Ford.

Just an observation.....It's not irrelevant, is it?

 

IMO 1997 Models for Ford, Chevy,& Dodge. were there best body styles EVER.

 

Yeah, when I heard about Ford's 0% APR for 72 months, along with incentives and X-Plan, I started to go get another Expedition, and trade my Acura MDX in. I figured the 0% for 72, incentives, and X-Plan could (As they have in the past) combine to get me one sweet deal...

But, I said "Nah, I'm gonna keep my Honda!!" Even though I am a confessed autoholic, trading in a vehicle as nice as the MDX after only 6 months, seems kinda, crazy, even though financially, the hit would be almost negligible...

Almost...

 

I hear you there Bighersh but I couldn’t pass up the deal for my daughter and I can tell you once my lease is up on my Ranger I will most likely have a Toyota Tundra. Went and checked one out at my son’s dealership and while it may pain some here to here it, it’s a much better built and better quality truck then the F150.

All around, when you get in and close the door you can hear the quality and durability of the truck. To top that off the dealership treats you like family. That’s not because my son works there because we were there a day before when my son wasn’t working to look at the Mariner for my daughter and they had no idea who I was or my daughter.

Completely different experience then any of the 4 Ford dealers we have around here. I have bought most of my past 6 – 8 vehicles from one particular Ford dealer. The only reason I purchased them all there was because they are huge and had the best prices but their service, and even many of the salesmen treat you like crap (unless your purchasing something) and I have bought enough vehicles where I should be treated like GOLD when ever I walk in PERIOD.

The other 3 Ford dealers which are smaller and should treat you like GOLD because they barley sale 2 vehicles a day act like it’s a pain to talk to much to you or deal with you.

My biggest grip about Ford is their STUPID surveys they love to send out and having a salesmen or service person tell you ”Please make sure you mark all 5’s on the survey or it don’t really mean anything”

FORD DON’T GET IT and they very likely could be on their way out which would be an absolutely great thing to happen because there is nothing like a good lesson to teach other business on how to do business correctly.

I have read in many post here and other sites, post from very misguided and ignorant people who seem to believe Ford is not responsible for their dealerships and dealerships are somehow a private business separated from Ford.

That is not true, Ford IS responsible for the vehicle from raw material until delivery to the customer AND until 3 years or 36,000 miles, everything in between, including dealerships, warranty work, etc is nothing more then middlemen who perform work FOR Ford…

Ford needs to get their stuff together quickly. The first good thing, or best thing for their business would be to just completely get out of the truck market as they will not be able to compete within the next 5 – 10 years with Toyota so they should cut their losses now and get into the other markets like the Mustang, SVT, etc. Trucks and SUV’S will not be Ford’s money maker because they just don’t have the know how nor quality control to compete with its competitors…