Check this article out.....when will it end????

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060801/..._ge/auto_sales

 

Sad..Sad..Sad...I thought I had alot on my plate, but I would not want to be Bill Ford.
Course they only fell 9.7 vs 14.1 for GM and 10.4 for Chrysler. Those guys arent sleeping to well at night either

Interesting that chrysler is continuing on with the Employee pricing and ford continues to lag.. I know it cant be good for dealers... but what happened to 'Way Foward" or whatever it was where they were going to be setting the standards instead of following.

 

Yeah it is sad, espicially considering all the jobs and have been lost (and continue to loose) The number that scared me the most is that the F-Series trucks are down 45 percent, because right now without truck sales Ford would be in trouble. Right now it's like Ford almost has all thier eggs in one basket, with their trucks. I know the Fusion is doing alright, but it's nowhere close to being up there in sales with the Camry and Accord. With gas prices at $3 I guess people are turning away from hig heavy gas guzzlers, I guess time will tell!!

 

I wouldn't worry about that too much. The truck sales are bound to slow down quite a bit with all three companies as the 2008 MY trucks are just around the corner, and people are waiting to purchase the new vehicles. This happens everytime a refreshing of the line-up is done.

 

When will it end?

When that inbred moron (Bill Ford) is no longer in charge.

Harsh, but true.

 

It's not just the 08MY that's slowing truck sales. It's that people don't want them anymore. I see trucks for sale everywhere now that gas is so high. Same with SUVs.

-F150 sales won't pick back up until there is a diesel under the hood.
-Ford needs to market the hell out of cars that get good MPG.
-All the Superduties get crappy mileage, even the diesels, so there are less casual SD buyers.
-Ford needs longer warranties.
-Ford needs to build the trust in American economy cars. Had they have done this in the 70s, they wouldn't be were they are right now.

Also the foreign companies are starting to come out with bigger trucks themselves. Nissan is claiming a 3/4 ton diesel in the future and I'm sure Toyota will follow suit. Just the Toyota name alone will sell those trucks like hotcakes.

Mike

Edit: Finally, no one wants SUVs anymore. I see a lot more people buying crew cab pickups and 4 door cars.

 

It is interesting that toyota sold more trucks in July...

 

Fords slide will stop when people quit buying Nissans an Toyotas. Fords truck sales are compared to a year ago when a record number 126,000 were sold. Actually Fords F-Series had one off there better months for the year.GM had a similar drop last month. They were the first to have employee pricing. Actually Chrysler is in much worse shape then Ford. Even with there employee pricing there vehicles are not selling. That figures its a Dodge nuff said. Ford has great vehicles an if people cant see that then there not looking too close.

 

Chrysler in much worse shape than Ford? You're obviously not following the automotive world closely enough if you think that's the case. Ford is in the worst shape out of the 'Big 3' right now. That is a FACT.

Ford can't seem to stop the bleeding. Yes, they're making some decent cars as of late. BUT - many of them are too bland and boring for anyone to take notice. They need to take a few risks here and there. ESPECIALLY when it comes to styling.

A 1.2 million vehicle recall doesn't help either.

 

When they get rid of the following:
Bill Ford Jr. (I know he's trying as best he can, but the situation calls for an outsider.)
The Ford family's special stock class.
U.A.W. contracts as they currently exist.
Crushing debt load.
The Town Car/Crown Vic./Marquis
The 500
Jaguar
Volvo
Range Rover
Aston Martin
The plants they bought back from Visteon.
Any relationship with Navistar.
The '08 Super Duty re-style!

When they do the following:
Follow up on the success of the Mustang with more distinctly Ford cars.
Develop the 4.4L diesel V-8 and put it in the F-150 and Expedition.
Make Lincoln competitive with Cadillac at least.
Realize Ranger sales are falling because the truck is no longer competitive, and come up with a completely new design.
Speed development of the new V-6 family and the 'Hurricane' V-8.

 

So whats Bill Ford done to ruin Ford. Its safe to say 4 years ago when Bill Ford took over he saved the company. We might not talk about Ford today without his leadership. Bland cars. What do you call Toyota. There about as bland as they get an they sell lots off cars. So whats the story there. Fill me inguys.. The main culprit for Ford is gas prices. There SUVs are not selling an trucks are losing favor with the public. Bottom line is trucks make way more profit then cars. The same with SUVs. Cars are not losing Ford money. There new cars are selling quite well. It takes eight cars profit to make what one SUV an truck makes per vehicle. Small trucks maybe losing favor with the public. Fords ranger is actually competing quite well with GMs new small trucks. Bottom line trucks an Suvs make Ford there profit. End off discussion. When they dont sell. Ford loses tons off money. GMs no different trucks an SUVs are there bread an butter. Its nice to think cars will save Ford an GM but its there trucks an SUVs that there banking on. There will be a diesel inthe F-150 an Expediton is time.

 

I posted some thoughts in another forum, but I'll throw a few others out here.

I tend to agree with folks who blame Ford's quality problems and poor warranty, more than Ford's designers. There's a lot of demand for simple, bland cars. Tauruses and Sables were not exciting but Ford sold a bunch of them--there's a lot of people who just need something to haul the wife and kids around. They have to be reliable, and they have to be thought of as reliable (not sure the Taurus and Sable qualify on that count--seems like I heard quite a bit about transmission problems and blown head gaskets). Not everyone wants, or can afford, a Mustang, and some of us don't want to drive a full-size truck everywhere either. As far as style and snazz go, I haven't seen any Toyotas that make my mouth water either--the difference between Toyota and Ford is that Toyota seems to build more dependable cars. If Ford wants to get business back, they are going to have to make sure they build cars that people can trust, with a good warranty for those problems that do get out--and make sure the dealers back it up, not squirm some way out of repairing them.

 

Bill Ford Jr. has done nothing to 'ruin' Ford Motor Company. The downward trend was well established when he took over. However, I am not too sure at this point he has what it takes to save it. The real question about Bill Ford Jr. is if his last name was Smith, would he be CEO? Time is running out very quickly, and drastic measures need to be taken NOW! Ford is in much worse shape that either DCX or G.M.. High gas prices are here to stay, and the large SUV market is gone for the forseeable future. Ford needs to figure out another way to make money. Yes, I think Toyotas and Hondas are bland cars. But, they are bland cars that sell at a profit in large numbers. You can't argue with that. And, when it comes to cars, I think Ford has copied the bland part very well (except for the Mustang). But, Ford needs to copy the profit and large numbers part! The Ranger might sell well against the Colorado/Canyon, but it needs discounts to do so. Now does it sell compared to the Tacoma and Frontier? Ford has ignored the Ranger too long, and it shows. I don't like what I see here. Toyota outselling Ford? Blame whatever or whoever you want, but someone better turn this mess around quick, or it will be out of business or owned by the Chinese.

 

Like I said truck an SUVs are the key to Fords survival not cars. I know several old Tauruses around here with more then 150,000 miles with no issues. Fords making dependable cars right now. Buit people have it in there mind it has to be a Toyota. Fords not relaible. Thats just terrible. Percieved notions. Toyota has had the most recall on there vehicles this year. Oh but Toyota can do no wrong. Yeh right. I blame lot off misinformation on consumer reports. I think they personally have it in for Ford as well as GM an Dodge. Its easy to talk about cars that you never driven an had an just waht you here. I here a lot off things everyday but who noes if there any truth to it. When you sell 900,000 plus of anything in this case trucks. You better make sure they sell because thats where the money is. Fords in the car business to but trucks is what makes the bottom line. If people have it in there mind that Toyota is flawless an Ford isnt. Thats hogwash. The newsmedia is quick to flash news about Ford,GM or whatever if its bad but Toyota is immune. BTW I have had Ford cars all my life an have never given me any trouble. My 88 Grand Marquies has over 180,000 miles with no issues.
Bill doesnt have what it takes to get the job done. Well everything takes time. The CEO gets the blame when the company is performing poorly. When the company is doing good nobody praises him. If gas prices right now were half what they are an Ford was selling trucks an SUVs like hotcakes we wouldnt have this discussion. Yes Ford has relied on them for to long to save there botom line. But safe to say thats what is going to save Ford. If its so easy to save Ford maybe you guys should take the job.

 

Thats exactly why Ford is where it is today and the reason why Toyota's sales soared 11.7 percent, with cars jumping 19.8 percent and trucks up 1.3 percent. The company outsold Ford by more than 17,000 vehicles.

Until Ford pushes itself into the car market, which I don't see it presently doing, they are not going any where but down.

Take away the Mustang and the F Series and Ford would have been out of business a long time ago.

With Gas prices going thru the roof, don't expect Truck and SUV sales to improve. Look at the couple of individuals on this board who has recently announced their new purchases....... it wasn't a ford or a truck.