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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.
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Tell me about it!
Sensor failure on cylnder #4.....
Input camshaft lobe positioning sensor low voltage!
Oxygen sensor no output.
arrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh!.....
How about just make it easier. Really the process is insane. Last time I bought a car I had it all set. I had the VIN of the car I wanted to test drive, I had a cashiers check for the down, I had a pre-approved loan that would cover the rest. 20 minute test drive, yeah I like it, lets pull the trigger. Then FOUR FREAKING HOURS of... I don’t what. Honestly. Yeah in there was 10 minutes of signing crap. But everything else was just, whatever freaking churn the dealership has. And sales people talking to me constantly about nothing, bad socializing. Fix that. I should have been in and out in an hour tops.
We paid by cashier’s check for our last three cars and still took hours, exactly as you stated............
Yes had the same issues with the fuel injectors $2.000.00
And a few other items the check engin light comes on like a pin ball machine.
Five different brand of cars over the last 15 years
Yes all of the paper work is crazy.
I leased my last car and we did a lot of the work over the internet, but as usual when I got down there to pick up the car I still had another 30 minutes or so of paperwork in the Finance office and I had already put down my downpayment over the internet.
I converted a Lincoln SA200 welder from hand cranked to electric starter after a few sore wrists and arms from it kicking back and hitting me with the crank. Especially after asking the previous owner who mentioned his brother getting some teeth knocked out cranking a similar engine on a baler.
The Model T was notorious enough about kicking back if you set the advance up too far that the injury came to be known as a “Ford Fracture.”
They are known as stealerships for a reason. They steal.
I had a Honda stealership change a 3 year to a 5 year between the sales desk and the finance desk.
Plus always lying saying something is broke on your car when there is not like the cv joint cover they said needed replacing at $150 each front wheel. Or the air filter that did not. I had a tire valve replaced as it showed cut and rotate the tires. I checked afterward and found the valve stem was new but the valve core was not screwed in all the way so the air leaked...
I go to a shop that verified the cv joint was fine. The mechanic look of disgust when I told them as if they had heard this before. The air filter I had replaced just a few months before.
The Toyota dealership is calling with cheap deals to try to get customers in to their service center.
A while back I went in for some dealer only work. Sat three hours waiting. Also they told me that I needed brakes.
Took it to the local guys I trust for some work and to do the brakes. They came out and said brakes were fine.
Asked me where I got the idea I needed brakes. When I said dealership they nodded and said it happens a lot.
The Toyota dealership is calling with cheap deals to try to get customers in to their service center.
A while back I went in for some dealer only work. Sat three hours waiting. Also they told me that I needed brakes.
Took it to the local guys I trust for some work and to do the brakes. They came out and said brakes were fine.
Asked me where I got the idea I needed brakes. When I said dealership they nodded and said it happens a lot.
All of the “dealership experience” crap is just that - crap. I hate buying a car, and nothing they can do can make me hate it less except show me what I want at a price I’m willing to pay. Nothing boils my blood faster than a sales person that ignores what I ask for and tries to sell me something else.
Best experience was a Hyundai dealer - we went in with a set of specific wants and a max price. The sales guy said he didn’t have what we were looking for. Great - 30 minutes spent, move on. Then he calls me a few days later and says he found one that meets our requirements if we care to come back. Was exactly what we wanted and bought it.
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