Posted on 11/20/2025 9:42:56 AM PST by Red Badger
Sometimes, image is everything
As someone who has formerly worked in retail spaces, I learned firsthand how the setting in which a particular brand displays its products in its stores could make or break the shopping experience for both buyer and seller. This is the reason you see sales associates and other employees in clothing stores like Zara and Uniqlo meticulously and continuously adjusting displays, removing clutter, and rearranging loose clothing pieces.
While the buying experience may not be exactly apples-to-apples, much of the same sort of mindset can be applied to car dealerships. Everything from a sales associate’s introduction and the way cars are presented in a particular showroom can be the first impression of a specific brand to many new car buyers.
Furthermore, Ford knows firsthand that the dealership experience can awaken a sense of anxiety or dread in even the most eager car buyers, and has unveiled a new concept to help buyers get into new Fords.
They’re not salespeople, they’re “brand ambassadors,” says Ford
Ford is revamping the way buyers visit the dealership, as it has recently introduced what it calls “Ford Signature 2.0,” a new, unified global retail experience developed in collaboration with Ford dealers worldwide to enhance the purchasing and servicing experience for buyers. The automaker says that its new approach has been developed on “years of learnings and pairing behavioral science with human-centered design to foster lasting relationships,” and is meant to offer seamless options to ensure that each and every buyer’s Ford experience is painless, whether they buy in-person or online.
As part of the Ford Signature 2.0 experience, dealerships are tasked with creating spaces that establish “trust and community” between the dealership and the community at large, as dealership staff globally will be trained on guest experiences that prioritize service, communication, and anticipating customer needs.
Ford is focusing on some core principles in its newest endeavor. Dealers will be focused on providing a “hospitality first” experience, where dealership staff aren’t salespeople, but “brand ambassadors,” where food and beverages are available in showrooms and service areas, and where sales and service talks can be done in less hostile “dedicated hospitality spaces.”
In addition, the Blue Oval says that its redesigned dealers will provide customers with “immersive brand experiences” that enable more familiarity between buyers and the cars they want to buy, allowing them to “see, touch, and learn about products, accessories, and technology.”
Ford hasn’t gone into specifics on how it designed its dealerships, stating that the redesigns are meant to “optimize flow and functionality and enhance the experience for guests.” From the pictures that Ford released, it seems to envision dealerships that look more like an Apple store, where walled cubicles are replaced by common areas with big tables, and an emphasis on customers, with some interesting arrangements displaying certain vehicles in their environments.
As for the service side, convenience is the game that Ford is aiming for. For customers who do not want to potentially spend hours on end waiting for their cars to get serviced, Ford is offering its Pickup & Delivery service to allow dealerships to pick up customer vehicles for service and return them to customers at their convenience when service is done.
In addition, for select routine services, Ford Mobile Service dispatches certified technicians to service customer vehicles at a preferred location, including their home or workplace. They state that through the third quarter, Ford has offered 3.8 million remote experiences around the world, including Pickup & Delivery and Mobile Service.
Ford isn’t the only automaker embracing change
Ford isn’t the only automaker that is hard at work revamping its dealerships into experiential gathering places. Subaru of America announced the first full redesign of its retailer network, a bold, new immersive redesign of its facilities intended to transform the dealership experience.
Dubbed the Subaru Connection Hub, it aims to go beyond selling cars, focusing instead on creating a deeper sense of brand immersion that speaks to long-time loyalists while also attracting a new generation of first-time buyers. Subaru is banking on interactive product displays, digital configurators, and customer-focused lounge areas to make dealerships feel less like a traditional dealer and more like a Subaru community hub.
Final thoughts
It’s a good thing that automakers are responding to customer concerns about the dealership experience, because, truthfully, buying a car is not a pleasant experience for everyone. Buying a car at a dealership is a fearful experience that many people dread. Unless you are buying from an automaker that does direct-to-customer sales like Tesla, Lucid, or Rivian, car buying is a complicated, deceiving ordeal that involves mind games and a lot of willpower. It’s no wonder that digital partners like Amazon are seeing car sales as an opportunity.
But as a bona fide car enthusiast, I feel seeing cars up close is an essential part of car buying. Although you can buy clothes and return them to retail stores, I think these kinds of “additional touch-and-feel” retail experiences are needed going forward, especially given that cars are considered a major purchase for many Americans.
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Build a car that has no electric windows, no electric seats, no electric anything except radio and lights..............
The last vehicle I ordered was built in early Jan. and finally made it to the Dealership around June 15th.
[the same year]
Every one will leak eventually...........
I have a convertible and they will as well, but I knew that when I bought it.............
Sounds like a plan!.................
I'll admit I've been spoiled by electric starters.
“Ford Is Redesigning Dealers to Make Car Buying Feel Easier”
“Hey sales guy! What’s in those five gallon buckets? Motor oil?”
“Nah, K-Y jelly. Helps make car buying feel easier.”
Okay, I’ll make an exception in your case!.................
Anyone that trusts a car salesman is going to get the deal that they deserve.
I hope the writer means that Ford is redesigning dealerships and not dealers. Or are they working on some creepy robotics? 🤔
They are initiating a new propaganda program...........
I am old enough to remember “Win on Sunday, Sells On Monday.”
Long before wokism and political correctness, Nascar was something to behold. The cars all looked different. The above phrase had to do with bragging rights, and actual performance.
I also remember tuning up my own cars with timing, dwell, points gap; yes, I had a gapper tool and a timing light. Advancing and retarding the distributor.
Today’s auto companies took the massive government checks and produced EVs, as long as the cash and subsidies flowed. They were just like the Soviet tractor factories. Each day, the tractor company’s employees would walk by row upon row of brand new, rusting tractors outside the tractor factory. Inside the factory, everyone “had a job” producing more tractors to put outside in yet another row.
....Or, just sell your cars at a set price, without all the negotiation and attempted screwing the customer over. Easier, the customers are happier, and a dealership only needs maybe two sales guys per shift, instead of an entire department of them!
Re-arrangeing the deck chairs on the Titanic?
I’m glad I don’t have to do what they make you do when I go to buy groceries or shop at the department stores.
They have a set price. If I like it I pay it. If I don’t I go elsewhere..................
Could care less about all the touchy feely BS. I also don’t want a relationship with the dealer. They’re not a charity, their mission is to make the highest possible profit off of me. I respect that.
What I do want:
1. A price that is reasonable. Your product is a commodity, I can and will go elsewhere. You have no leverage on me whatsoever.
2. Don’t waste a second of my time with BS. If I’m not the most important priority for you, I’m walking. Considering the cost of a new or late model vehicle I deserve it.
3. Give me a damn good reason to buy from you. It’s not about what you can upsell me on. It’s about what YOU will do for ME.
4. Make it convenient for me.
5. Don’t embarrass yourself. If your salesperson isn’t able to speak English, has body odor, doesn’t know his product, wants to tell me all about his stupid boring life, lacks class and professionalism… it tells me all I need to know about you the dealer.
What I will give you the dealer: Professionalism and respect for your time. I will have likely already done my homework on the vehicle I’m looking at. I have great credit, and probably will show up ready with a contact at my bank for you to close the deal with. Lastly, I will set my expectations with you, politely of course, so you’re not surprised if I get up from the table and walk away.
I guess I’m a prick. Whatever…
Lord have mercy…. It’s a rocket that corners.
I once owned a 1969 BMW 2002. The wiring diagram for the entire vehicle fit on one page of the owners manual.
Electronic ignition, airbags, anti-lock brakes, and backup cameras were offered decades before cars were computerized.
If only Detroit would go back to making cars that weren’t held hostage every few thousand miles for electrical issues.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.