Posted on 10/02/2007 9:58:30 AM PDT by decimon
DETROIT - Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales plummeted 21 percent in September as the automaker saw a steep drop-off in car sales, according to results released Tuesday.
Ford's car sales dropped 39 percent compared with last September, while its truck sales were down 5 percent. The automaker said a 62 percent reduction in sales to rental car fleets partly was to blame. Ford has been trying to cut back on rental sales, which can hurt brand image and profits.
Other automakers also were expected to report lackluster sales for the month, as jittery consumers put off big-ticket purchases in reaction to the credit crunch, high gas prices and the troubled housing market. Wall Street analysts predicted overall sales would be down 4 percent for the month.
The Associated Press reports unadjusted figures, calculating the percentage change in the total number of vehicles sold in one month compared with the same month a year earlier. Some automakers report percentages adjusted for sales days. There were 25 sales days last month and 26 in September 2006.
“I believe the European Ford Focus shares the same platform as the Mazda 3, which also gets consistently good reviews and is available in the US. Who knows why Ford has decided to sell a different, worse car under the Focus name only in the US.”
I own the Mazda 3 and it shares very little in the way of parts with Ford. So far, I love it. The platform is also shared with the Volvo S40.
I suspect part of the reason they don’t sell the Euro-Focus here is due to legacy union concerns.
I will never buy another Ford product! I have had three well maintained Ford cars blow engines before 100,000 miles.
They need to stop blaming the rental fleet sales. A lot of people rent cars and when the cars are uncomfortable and of poor quality, people won’t buy them from a dealer.
A couple of years ago I was travelling a lot for work and had a lot of rental cars. Most of the time I got a Chevy Malibu, a Ford Taurus, or a similar “American” counterpart. I was always glad to get back to the comfort, fit, and finish of my Honda Accord (70 percent US content), even though my Accord had 50,000 more miles on it than any of the rental cars.
On two occasions I got Nissans as rental cars, one an Altima, the other an Xterra. Both times I enjoyed my rental experience. Earlier this year, when my wife and I were in the market for a new SUV, I remembered my rental experience, and we ended up with a Nissan Xterra.
The huge numbers of Ford and Chevy cars sold to rental fleets increases their exposure. If they made quality products, even at the bottom of their lines, those rental vehicles would sell themselves when people were looking for a new vehicle. Instead, most people say, “I drove one of those as a rental, I have no need to drive one now.”, and they go to Toyota or Honda.
Ford’s given reason for not importing or producing the Mark II Focus for US sale is that “the sticker price for the car would have to be very high for the segment and nobody would buy it.”
Meanwhile, the Mazda 3, which IS a Mk II Focus with different trim and bodypanels, is selling quite well and nobody seems to balk at the price.
So, the consensus of most is that Ford is talking out of their nether regions.
However, Ford says that they will sell the Mark III Focus here... in 2012 or so....
“It’s oft been said that ol’ Henry would turn in his grave if he knew how the Ford Foundation has gone.”
That’s very true.
“They make good trucks. They need to make better cars.”
Actually, they are both good. I have a 2005 F150 and a 2008 Fusion. I checked the Honda, Hyundai and the Toyota and in my opinion the Fusion beat them all in value. And getting 33 mpg is not bad either. The rest are fine but in the end the Ford was the better car and value. The trunk opening was only comparable in the Hyundai. Both the Toyota and Honda had the old fashioned type. I’m 6’6” and 260 pounds and have plenty of room. Very comfortable road car and the looks have drawn many favorable comments. I’m sick of looking at the others quite frankly.
Now if one wanted to criticize the old Taurus, that is one thing. I would agree. They let that car decay into a piece of garbage before they pulled the plug. The 500/Taurus is a completely different animal. Killing the rental sales was a good management decision because that just pushes a lot of smoke filled vehicles into the car fleet that tarnishes the image.
You say that like it's a bad thing..... ;-)
Ford started manufacturing in a sweat shop in Viet Nam and Ford proudly flies the flags of every nation it is operating in at its corporate headquarters....except for Viet Nam; unless they have started flying the flag again unbeknown to me.
“Buy a gently used 03-04 Mustang Cobra with the IRS and the blower. They’re faster and handle better (with a couple of elementary mods). And if you change the pulley, you’ll be faster than the current GT500.”
My 03 Cobra had the head assembly(engine tick) and transmission(throw-out bearing) replaced under TSB’s and then I had to replace the clutch and pressure plate at 50,000 miles at my expense. That and severe wheel hop convinced me to sell it. The Shelby GT500 MSRP plus gas-guzzler tax came to $45k and the dealers want $20k over MSRP. I bought a 2005 Crossfire SRT-6 with 2500 miles for $25k and just love it.
“Who knows why Ford has decided to sell a different, worse car under the Focus name only in the US.”
It’s cheap, cheap, cheap. Ford needs a cheap, fuel-efficient car to sell in large numbers here to bring up their CAFE numbers. Have you seen how cheaply you can buy one for? For the money I’d say the domestic one is actually a decent deal - quite reliable since they’ve worked the bugs out, and actually fairly fun to drive. Not particularly refined and materials, and fit and finish are not the best, but then it doesn’t sell for Honda Civic-type money, either. I don’t think people here are willing to pay Honda Civic type money for a Ford Focus, and more than they would for a Hyundai Accent or something like that. They would actually need to sell a better small car to change perceptions of their small cars, but hardly anyone’s willing to take that chance. They’re probably better off just leaving that market segment to the Japanese and concentrating on providing the kind of cars people in this market want - i.e. big and comfy (within reason). But now the Japanese have upped the size of their mainstream family cars like the Accord and Camry, so the competition is tough - the new Accord is actually rated as a large car by the EPA.
The plan is working!
My brother and I will not buy another Ford until they convincingly permanently repudiate their anti-Family / anti-Christian stance ... two families, just drops in the proverbial ocean. But we are a couple of guys who have had at least five Fords each.
Apparently there are at least a few other drops being good stewards. <><
That's sort of what they do with the F150. They claim it is the best selling truck in the world. However, when you take the Chevy and GMC sales together they blow Ford away. Chevy and GMC are, for all intents and purposes, the same truck.
The good news is that the plan is working. The bad news is that the plan is working.
My grandfather retired from Ford and I am eligible for an A-plan discount. There is a Ford plant in my township.
In 2005 I bought a 2500HD Chevy Silverado truck and have never regretted it. Ford has tremendous reliability and quality issues.
Ford’s only hope at survival is to reduce the varieties of vehicles it offers while at the same time increasing quality and reliability.
Heck, engineer and build a highly reliable vehicle that comes with a 10 year or 200,000 mile powertrain warranty.
Unfortunately, I bought a MazdaSpeed Miata three years ago, one of the Fords I mentioned.
As I say, it will be the last Ford I buy - and unless I find an auto manufacturer that I can support, I’ll buy used from such as http://christiancarsales.com/
Just because the culture is in the toilet doesn’t mean you have to be flushed with those who ride to the cesspool.
This is very true...it just blows my mind why they don't just introduce that one into the US market. It's an excellent car, I've seen it firsthand this past summer in Italy. Additionally, Ford stopped making the hatchback version of their Focus in the USA for 2008. That was their most attractive small car. Dumb management, Ford needs an influx of new blood with an eye for design.
>>Ford’s car sales dropped 39 percent compared with last September, while its truck sales were down 5 percent. The automaker said a 62 percent reduction in sales to rental car fleets partly was to blame. Ford has been trying to cut back on rental sales, which can hurt brand image and profits.<<
?? Don’t they own a couple of rental car agencies? Are they gonna have them buy Toyotas?
I agree. I’ll be looking for a new truck soon. I won’t be looking at Ford because of their arrogant support of the homosexual agenda.
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