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Ford's U.S. Sales Plummet 21 Percent
Associated Press ^ | October 02, 2007 | DEE-ANN DURBIN

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.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
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To: Slapshot68

Yes, it is sad ... If it was a decent car I might have bought one. All the on-line reviews (edmunds, autobytel ...) I read were lukewarm at best, and to actually see one was disappointing. Fit & finish were bad, and the thing just felt ‘cheesy’.


21 posted on 10/02/2007 10:11:49 AM PDT by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilisation is aborting, buggering, and contracepting itself out of existence.)
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To: 2banana
"Cramer last night said Ford is a buy..."

Some foreign automaker will probably follow China's Chery lead (they obtained Chrysler access through Cerebus) to likewise buy Ford for their name and dealer access.

Perhaps an Indian car company.

The imported cars will carry the Ford brand and be sold at Ford dealerships (really, the only valuable things left at Ford).

22 posted on 10/02/2007 10:11:57 AM PDT by Southack (Media Bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
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To: decimon
"... as jittery consumers put off big-ticket purchases in reaction to the credit crunch ..."

How about "... as wizened consumers rejected buying over-priced pieces of junk intended to fund pay and benefits packages for union members that far exceed the purchasers' own income and benefits ..."

23 posted on 10/02/2007 10:12:06 AM PDT by pierrem15 (Charles Martel: past and future of France)
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To: Clemenza
Time to take Ford private.

Okay. How much you got on ya?

24 posted on 10/02/2007 10:12:37 AM PDT by decimon
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To: sasafras
You read a lot into that didn’t you? God is punishing Ford for making ugly cars?
25 posted on 10/02/2007 10:13:05 AM PDT by kinoxi
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To: decimon

I hope their losses are attributable to the boycott some of us are honoring against Ford for all of the company support for some of the gay and lesbian filth-—hope their sales drop to o% in the USA unless they wiseup and stop supporting this bunch of animals


26 posted on 10/02/2007 10:13:25 AM PDT by cmotormac44
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To: decimon

However, it is a valid impression of how well (or poorly) the vehicle will hold up over time, as rentals often experience “accelerated aging.”

Detroit’s problems often show up quite quickly in rental fleets and similar situations. Anyone else remember GM’s Autoshow In Motion? And why they decided to kill it?


27 posted on 10/02/2007 10:13:29 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: decimon

That’s what happens when your competition is making a better product. It’s called a free market economy. The US car makers created a monopoly for years, but those years are long gone.


28 posted on 10/02/2007 10:14:02 AM PDT by khnyny (It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it..Aristotle)
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To: Southack

Chery got access through DCX well before Cerberus got interested or even made a bid.


29 posted on 10/02/2007 10:14:25 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: decimon
It would be the largest private equity deal in history. If this were a year ago, I would say that there was a chance. These days, I highly doubt it.

Nevertheless, if there is any company that needs to withdraw from the tyranny of the 10-Q, it is Ford.

30 posted on 10/02/2007 10:14:40 AM PDT by Clemenza (Rudy Giuliani, like Pesto and Seattle, belongs in the scrap heap of '90s Culture)
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To: kinoxi

“They make good trucks. They need to make better cars.”

I hear they make better cars now. Much of their line is a meld between them and Mazda. I believe the Fusion is a Mazda 6 and the Edge is a CX-7 or a CX-9?
Problem is, Ford is reaping what they have sown. They made some real crap, and now people like me don’t want any part of their garbage.
I had a Windstar with 22k on the clock and the dealer couldn’t fix the tranny. Last Ford I owned.


31 posted on 10/02/2007 10:14:54 AM PDT by brownsfan (America has "jumped the shark")
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To: decimon
If they'd just bring over the Ford Transit, I'd buy.


32 posted on 10/02/2007 10:15:08 AM PDT by Restore (see the Cool Aviation Blog at http://coolaviation.blogspot.com/)
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To: Minn
Ford has been trying to cut back on rental sales, which can hurt brand image and profits. How does that work?

Rental car agencies buy in quantity at discounts. Then after a year, they dump all these cars on the market. If people like Ford, they will be tempted to buy the almost new rental car instead of a new Ford. Of course the almost new rental car has been driven into the ground and the buyer become unhappy with the Ford brand name.

33 posted on 10/02/2007 10:16:22 AM PDT by Always Right
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To: brownsfan

There was a guy here on FR who said he was on the design team of your Windstar’s transmission. You may be happy to hear that I thoroughly flogged him verbally when he claimed that it should never have had any problems.


34 posted on 10/02/2007 10:19:48 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: DGHoodini

Ford panders to homosexuals and the homosexual agenda. For this I won’t purchase a ford. They can financially contribute to whatever abnormal behavior they care to just as I can use my purchasing power any way I care to.
Ford can kiss my ass.


35 posted on 10/02/2007 10:21:20 AM PDT by Joe Boucher (An enemy of Islam)
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To: Always Right

“Only 10,000 miles on this new Taurus!” Yeah, but it looks like it was put on a quarter-mile at a time.... (Drag racing is done in quarter mile full throttle sessions.)


36 posted on 10/02/2007 10:21:20 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: brownsfan
I personally wouldn’t buy a Windstar. I’ve heard of more than one instance of an Aerostar with 300,000 plus miles on it however. They changed the design and it didn’t (doesn’t) work as well.
37 posted on 10/02/2007 10:21:47 AM PDT by kinoxi
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To: decimon

I, like many others on this post - am supporting the AFA Boycot!


38 posted on 10/02/2007 10:22:34 AM PDT by csistrueblue (I'm glad I homeschool Ping!)
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To: khnyny

You reap what you sow!


39 posted on 10/02/2007 10:24:15 AM PDT by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ("Don't touch that thing")
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To: Southack; decimon

No, no! Can’t be that right-wing boycott that’s doing it!

Heck, those people don’t even wear shoes most of the time, how much impact could they have on car sales.

< heh, heh >


40 posted on 10/02/2007 10:24:30 AM PDT by FormerLib (Sacrificing our land and our blood cannot buy protection from jihad.-Bishop Artemije of Kosovo)
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