Fords going downhill
 

i just recently saw that the f150 is no longer the leader of vehicle sales......hmm i wonder why

uh, gas prices?????

The "BIG" three are all in trouble:
Outdated buisness model, Poor mangement,Massive red tape to do anything, Gridlock in general. just like our goverment with the same problems.

For years they had it easy, My Daddy bought a Ford, My Grandaddy,ect.. Like the Harley thing. Some people buy just the name But,
I think this time might be differant. The next generation of truck buyers will not fall for this.

Check out the truck sales for May and 2008 as a whole.

PickupTrucks.com - News and Sales

Tacoma is the only truck that improved in sales comparing May '07 to May '08, by 1313 vehicles.

Wonder why Camry & Corolla sales are now higher than the F150?

It's all about the fuel prices and mpgs. It's all around on the net as to why trucks/suv's aren't selling.

in tj's mind I'm sure the only reason is because they no longer have the 4.9 I6 with a standard transmission, the be all end all of motors that can be put in a truck!

I do miss the manual and the 4.9L, they were a great combo! Had one in my '80 F150 XLT. But like you, don't consider this Fords downfall.

That is just for the month of May they are still way ahead for the year and still the #1 Truck!

Money is more important than loyalty....
 

It's not like it costs $10 a month extra to run an F150 for a month over, say, a Corolla. People are struggling to live within their means; many are totally over their heads in debt already, and they just *ain't* gonna buy a big cool truck once the cost of a fillup (and the mpg underlying) hits them in their food budget. And those people who need or still want a truck will have their pick of 1-2 year old used trucks, still under warranty and with low miles, for half or 2/3 the price of a new one.

Car and truck buyers are pretty fickle, and they move quickly and in large numbers to vehicles that make sense for them today, whereas the product development cycle (and thought process) of the domestic auto makers moves glacially.

The sad thing is that even if Ford sold a Focus for every lost F150 sale, they'd still go under, based on the relative profit margins for the two vehicles.

George

well rollerstud its not really my mind its a fact that the f150 isnt the top selling vehicle anymore.im not trying to be a dick,but look at gas there will always be a demand for trucks,its not just fords downfall but all of the big 3,btw a 4.9 isnt an ideal engine for a mom to pick up groceries or kids from school.the bottom line is as much as gas prices go up people arent going to keep buying trucks,but there will always be a demand

So TJ, what's your point? I'm lost.

We all know that truck sales are dropping due to fuel prices, which isn't only impacting Ford and the Big 3, but all full size trucks (yes including the Titan and Tundra). By your 1st post, it seems as though your are trying to speculate that there are other reasons why the F150 is doing so bad, not just due to fuel prices. Just trying to figure out your agenda.

People in the snow belts who sold thier rigs for one reason or another will be saying "WTF" come fall when the weather man starts talking about snow. My old '88 will be for sale soon. I've had that ole wonderful lady for 20 years and I'm gonna get a new one in 2010.

Tim

no i think the 5.4 is an excellent engine just has crappy mpgs,and is hard to work on

Dunno about that....
 

I'm thinking that people in the snow belts have alternatives like 4-cylinder Escapes, things like Fusions/Milans with AWD, and frankly, I have been driving front wheel drive cars for many years--in the snow belt--and really haven't had problems at all. If anything, an agile medium size car with AWD would be safer in most conditions than a larger, taller truck--especially one with part time 4WD. Add stability control that's becoming mandatory, and the 4WD truck just ain't needed to get through stuff unless you are legitimately doing a Forest Ranger's job, or doing construction waaay out in the sticks, etc. Or if you have to drive a big load of drywall through the snow at least once weekly... And maybe ya already got an old beater truck that could do that and tie up only a few grand of your money (not a new 40k loan...) The guy with the beater (or even a more recent truck--like my E150 van from '02) has the old truck to serve that role, so he goes and buys himself an Escape, or a Fusion, whatever. Parks the truck most of the time and it'll get thru the next 10 years easy. This is gonna make a big hole in the new truck market for some time to come....

I keep rooting for Ford (and have to wish well for GM and Chrysler as well), because I'm a Detroiter and things ain't been good here for a lot of good folks. And with truck plants shutting down, it's gonna be very grim.

At least they build Focuses in Wayne, MI, Mazda6's in Flat Rock, MI.

George

Well, when it's snowing and you need to HAUL something big, let's see the 4cyl Escape do it...Even with a trailer....

For quite a few years, many people have been buying pickups for everyday cars, mabey now people will buy vehicles more appropriate to their lifestyle. That alone will decrease sales of pickups.