Ford Sales

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: bbhero

True. Here is the $64,000 question.. Do all the people who dislike SUV and trucks want them made illegal to buy or own?? Is that really freedom at the end of the day?? For the record I don't like the SUVs really at all myself. But I do feel like they should be allowed to be bought, sold and owned.

I agree. There are many things I don't agree with or don't like however it's not my place to say people can't have them. It's their choice and their money.

 

[Kira]

Hello, When you say, "It's their choice and their money" you are OBVIOUSLY right. The trouble is there is limited production capability and they spend big money making people want the dressed up models. As one poster pointed out, the regular cab models are second class citizens on the production priority list. They want to sell glitzy gems at higher margins. They are, by definition, NOT providing what many would buy-namely, cheaper versions of the same trucks. No ployanna here. Just remember, it's not something the customer is "choosing" in every case. It's something the customer is either settling for or has been made to think he wants. In the case of all the fleet sales, it's moving vehicles which are paid for by corporations. Cost and value considerations are minimized. An irony here is that the dressed up models which hit the market after lease command higher prices. The truck maker builds what you don't want yourself and gets to charge you more at every turn. And no, I'm not a hippie or a commie either. I just remember the day when markets weren't as specifically targeted or emblematic of the braggart, tattooed imbecile mentality. The farmer's pick up truck was plenty good enough and was cheaper to buy. Now they're all dressed up. Kira

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel

Yes, you know in Europe people have families that have a couple of kids and the stuff that goes with them, and take vacations, and somehow they seem to cope just fine with medium and compact cars.

Yes they do! They often drive 3 cars on vacation. Mom's car, Dad's car and a rental. I spend quite a bit of time in Europe. Certainly, the less wealthy cram themselves into small cars. And, let me tell you, it often looks absurd. The rest of the time, "holiday" includes multiple cars or a rental of larger capacity.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel

Yes, you know in Europe people have families that have a couple of kids and the stuff that goes with them, and take vacations, and somehow they seem to cope just fine with medium and compact cars.

Europe is not some sort of utopia where people make choices that promote the greater good. Far from it. Their choices are dictated primarily by the gas prices and the space available, especially in the big cities. Then you have a host of government incentives called fees and taxes to discourage the public at large from buying bigger and thirstier vehicles. And then you have the wealthy that drive, guess what? Big sedans and increasingly popular SUVs. In America, people should buy what they want, that's the foundation the whole country was founded on. It's nobody's business what others are spending their money on, period. Don't be too quick to throw away this huge asset in the name of some feel good notion because once it's gone, people will have to fight and die to get it back.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Cujet

Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel

Yes, you know in Europe people have families that have a couple of kids and the stuff that goes with them, and take vacations, and somehow they seem to cope just fine with medium and compact cars.

Yes they do! They often drive 3 cars on vacation. Mom's car, Dad's car and a rental. I spend quite a bit of time in Europe. Certainly, the less wealthy cram themselves into small cars. And, let me tell you, it often looks absurd. The rest of the time, "holiday" includes multiple cars or a rental of larger capacity.

There's a lot more wagons in Europe though, and even my Focus has equal or greater cargo volume than many of the CRV/Escape/Cherokee sized SUV's. And I suppose the extra cost of gas makes stuffing into the smaller car for a couple weeks of vacation, or renting a van, a reasonable proposition instead of paying for the extra costs of a larger vehicle that rides mostly empty for the other 50 weeks of the year... Of course if they've got money to burn, then they buy whatever, just like we do.

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

Originally Posted By: Cujet

Yes they do! They often drive 3 cars on vacation. Mom's car, Dad's car and a rental. I spend quite a bit of time in Europe. Certainly, the less wealthy cram themselves into small cars. And, let me tell you, it often looks absurd. The rest of the time, "holiday" includes multiple cars or a rental of larger capacity.

I also spend a significant amount of time in Northern Europe and while vacations are the exception, I see the majority of typical Europeans with two children using ordinary compact cars to do daily driving errands. The SUV/CUV, and big sedan are the glaring exception this includes all but the most wealthy folks too.

 

[whip]

Originally Posted By: Kira

Hello, When you say, "It's their choice and their money" you are OBVIOUSLY right. The trouble is there is limited production capability and they spend big money making people want the dressed up models. As one poster pointed out, the regular cab models are second class citizens on the production priority list. They want to sell glitzy gems at higher margins. They are, by definition, NOT providing what many would buy-namely, cheaper versions of the same trucks. No ployanna here. Just remember, it's not something the customer is "choosing" in every case. It's something the customer is either settling for or has been made to think he wants. In the case of all the fleet sales, it's moving vehicles which are paid for by corporations. Cost and value considerations are minimized. An irony here is that the dressed up models which hit the market after lease command higher prices. The truck maker builds what you don't want yourself and gets to charge you more at every turn. Kira

This is complete hogwash. Manufacturers aren't the reason people want extended cab loaded trucks. People started buying trucks as family vehicles, and manufacturers responded by making them nicer. They sell what people buy, not the other way around.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: whip

Originally Posted By: Kira

Hello, When you say, "It's their choice and their money" you are OBVIOUSLY right. The trouble is there is limited production capability and they spend big money making people want the dressed up models. As one poster pointed out, the regular cab models are second class citizens on the production priority list. They want to sell glitzy gems at higher margins. They are, by definition, NOT providing what many would buy-namely, cheaper versions of the same trucks. No ployanna here. Just remember, it's not something the customer is "choosing" in every case. It's something the customer is either settling for or has been made to think he wants. In the case of all the fleet sales, it's moving vehicles which are paid for by corporations. Cost and value considerations are minimized. An irony here is that the dressed up models which hit the market after lease command higher prices. The truck maker builds what you don't want yourself and gets to charge you more at every turn. Kira

This is complete hogwash. Manufacturers aren't the reason people want extended cab loaded trucks. People started buying trucks as family vehicles, and manufacturers responded by making them nicer. They sell what people buy, not the other way around.

Exactly true and I believe a lot of this is driven by the current mantra of "all Big Business is bad!" I recently purchased a new Ram and was able to choose from hundreds of available models. All were in the dealer's network and available in a day. Everything from a stripper 6 banger to a loaded Laramie Limited, 25k to 65!

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

Originally Posted By: whip

They sell what people buy, not the other way around.

No, today with many folks having a lack of ability for critical and independent thought buy what the marketing hacks tell them they want.

 

[HM12460]

I must be lucky! Been looking at new trucks and the new supercabs/crewcabs do not impress me at all. The only thing that remotely caught my eye was a new Toyota Highlander and the Honda CR-V. Think I'll just drive the Dakota for 2-3 more years and look again.

 

[Anies]

While their vehicles look nice, both mine and my wife's experience with several dealers and Ford Corporate themselves have put us off from the brand. Once her lease on the Fusion is up she is going to look else where. Granted they have some truly stellar looking products that serve many people well with miles and reliability, for others like ourselves, the experience wasn't nearly as pleasant. Do love the look of the new F150, but the pricing on quad cab trucks is crazy (this goes for all the big truck manufacturers), especially if you are just using it for A to B transportation.