Ford CEO Farley making the tough decisions

To expand on this, Best Buy and Costco still make money. Costco because you bought a membership to go in the store to buy that iPad. And Best Buy because they make their money on high margin accessories and Geek Squad protection plans.

Dealers can sell cars at MSRP and still be profitable!! Service department, parts department, extended warranties, kickbacks on financing, marking up gap insurance...

Why would a dealer sell a hot item at MSRP when they can gouge you for it?
 
Exactly. If an iPad costs the same at the Apple store as Best Buy, Costco, etc. Ford can do this too.
No. Best Buy and Costco are retailers. They are not a Apple Franchise, just an authorized retailer and as such they can agree or not agree to the sales relationship, and hence get or not get the iphone.

Unlike Auto Dealers, which in most states they have their very own super special bought and paid for by the dealers associations campaign contributions Automotive Franchise Laws. Why do you think Tesla refuses to sell through a dealer network.

Its exactly why Ford is trying to make EV's a seperate arrangement. Dealers can sign up if they want, or not.

Here is the lengthy SC laws specific to Auto Dealer Franchises.

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t56c015.php
 
Why would a dealer sell a hot item at MSRP when they can gouge you for it?
They don't, and they shouldn't. But they get away with it because the OEM's have restricted distribution and limited supply. For retail goods, if people are dumb enough to pay, then its on them.

When I came into the industrial manufacturing world 30 years ago almost all highly recognized product brands were sold by similar arrangement through limited exclusive territory wholesalers who jacked up the price. New suppliers, mostly from off-shore, were locked out - so they simply hired their own sales force and started selling direct to the customer. They took a ton of market share, and put a few of the old companies out of business in the process.
 
They don't, and they shouldn't. But they get away with it because the OEM's have restricted distribution and limited supply. For retail goods, if people are dumb enough to pay, then its on them.

When I came into the industrial manufacturing world 30 years ago almost all highly recognized product brands were sold by similar arrangement through limited exclusive territory wholesalers who jacked up the price. New suppliers, mostly from off-shore, were locked out - so they simply hired their own sales force and started selling direct to the customer. They took a ton of market share, and put a few of the old companies out of business in the process.

Except they can and they do.

We're mostly if not fully aligned.

The manufacturers are trying to pull back something they've benefitted from for almost a century.

End users cant stand it and when they have a viable option - they exercise it.
 
OK so the only reason direct-to-consumer sales and dealers selling cars at MSRP isn't a thing is because of lobbyists.

So what, the companies that make the car are doing the hardest part. They can win. It might take a bit but it's the future.

I'm all for freedom in personal life and business but the way it is now just doesn't make any sense. Even if forced to sell at MSRP plenty of way dealers can make a healthy profit.
 
Except they can and they do.
Thats what I said - They don't sell at MSRP for a hot product, and they shouldn't - it makes most sense to gouge for it. I was answering it in tense of your question "why should they sell at MSRP when they can gouge for it"

And gouging for it is there right if someone is dumb enough to buy it.
 
OK so the only reason direct-to-consumer sales and dealers selling cars at MSRP isn't a thing is because of lobbyists.

Pretty much.

Early on the lobbyists and politicians were worried about the very few manufacturers gouging the customers so they put dealer franchise laws in place " to protect the consumer" by disallowing them to sell directly to end users.

As with many things this morphed and now has nothing to do with the consumer and everything about protecting the dealer network under the guise of protecting the consumer.

I can and others can make a case for paying MSRP even though we'd like a discount.

I personally cant begin to entertain anything above that in such an expensive purchase.
 
i’m sure that farley is a real nice guy, smart, well-educated, traveled, sensitive, treats animals kindly…but i would like to know if he ever got dirt under his fingernails. “Farley was born to a banker father in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he spent his early years, before moving to Greenwich, Connecticut. Before university, Farley attended Portsmouth Abbey School, a college preparatory school in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He graduated from Georgetown University and then later, the University of California.”

i am of the opinion that many of corporate america’s problems stem from its mba uniclass. very few of our current captains of industry have spent any time in the trenches of life. i would be more interested in a farley at a ford if his wikipedia bio noted that his youthful summers were enjoyed changing oil in a jiffy lube service pit. he could have picked up alot about the car industry from his day’s foreman i bet.
 
MSRP is Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. It's just a number. This is the market, folks. One reason I sorta stick to Lexus, at least the dealership I have been buying from, is they seem to want repeat customers. I did not pay MSRP on our 2021 RX450h F Sport, even though this particuliar, white on red, is the most in-demand vehicle they sell.
 
I will never forget how I was treated at several Ford dealerships and the quality of the vehicle. That was in only Ford in my past and there won't be one in my future.
 
Spot on. Dealerships are constantly changing management and ownership. Short term business. For the most part, they could care less about customers.
I've read that the average new car buyer buys 5 to 6 cars in their lifetime. By the time they want or need another, all the people they dealt with before are gone, and often the dealership. The dealers know this so there is no incentive to keep long term customers happy. And "brand loyalty" is a bad way to think when buying a vehicle.
 
i’m sure that farley is a real nice guy, smart, well-educated, traveled, sensitive, treats animals kindly…but i would like to know if he ever got dirt under his fingernails. “Farley was born to a banker father in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he spent his early years, before moving to Greenwich, Connecticut. Before university, Farley attended Portsmouth Abbey School, a college preparatory school in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He graduated from Georgetown University and then later, the University of California.”

i am of the opinion that many of corporate america’s problems stem from its mba uniclass. very few of our current captains of industry have spent any time in the trenches of life. i would be more interested in a farley at a ford if his wikipedia bio noted that his youthful summers were enjoyed changing oil in a jiffy lube service pit. he could have picked up alot about the car industry from his day’s foreman i bet.
Yes on MBA's ruining everything they touch. If you have years in an industry or business and then get an MBA, it might help you. But today they are hiring MBA's right out of college. Look at the marketing decisions by Gillette, Bud light, Miller and others. Young MBA's making these huge mistakes.
 
Yes on MBA's ruining everything they touch. If you have years in an industry or business and then get an MBA, it might help you. But today they are hiring MBA's right out of college. Look at the marketing decisions by Gillette, Bud light, Miller and others. Young MBA's making these huge mistakes.
On the Bud Light campaign, the person that signed off on it was a Harvard MBA alumni.
 
I rented a Fusion and a Fusion hybrid in San Diego for the day. I found both cars easy to drive. I really liked them both. The market is for SUVs I guess. Go figure.

I'm on my fourth Ford. I honestly think that an affordable yet fun small sedan might help.
Valid question-how small (compared to) and at what price point? Nissan has the Versa-something that size?
 
They really screwed the pooch with the PowerShift trans. The focus would have been such a perfect compact car otherwise.
Burned my kid.

After a lifetime of great Ford products I felt good recommending and going with him to buy it. Felt terrible.

Luckily he got clipped hard enough to total it but suffer no injury at all- drives a Mazda 3 now.
 
I rented a Fusion and a Fusion hybrid in San Diego for the day. I found both cars easy to drive. I really liked them both. The market is for SUVs I guess. Go figure.
We put 157k on a Fusion Hybrid - great car … But, without a pickup anymore - prefer the SUV’s to do basic (utility) things …
 
Ford has made all of its own problems.
They axed their car line up.
Let their pickup truck quality slide so far down that many loyal ford fans I know have switched to Ram.
Their dealerships don't give a crap about the customers, which has hurt the brand exponentially.

My company vehicles, and personal vehicles, don't include a single ford product...and i was raised in a blue oval family.
All ford had to do was keep making cars, and keep quality up, and I would have been a life long customer.
But after buying more than 20 fords, i never will again.
 
Back
Top