- #2617 of 2770
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Re: interesting discussion going on here... [speculator]
by akirby
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May 26, 2009 (6:09 am)
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Replying to: speculator (May 25, 2009 7:41 pm)
Just have a base model and then let the customer pick and choose from an option list of individual items the way he wants his car to be equipped. Now everthing has to come in a package. Just another way to drive up the price of a vehicle above and beyond what a customer may actually need in a vehicle.
Gee - that's what Ford used to do and the dealers were complaining that it was too cumbersome and that they needed more packages and less individual options. That makes it easier to order for stock.
You sure don't sound like someone who owns a dealership.
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- #2618 of 2770
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Re: interesting discussion going on here... [akirby]
by esfoad
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May 27, 2009 (10:50 am)
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Replying to: akirby (May 26, 2009 6:09 am)
I agree with akirby but also, the foreign car companies have proven that if the packages have the right "mix" of options there is no need to offer those individually. Makes for less vehicles on the dealer lot and less chance to have to order a vehicle the way you want it. Hey, nothing's perfect.
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- #2619 of 2770
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Re: interesting discussion going on here... [esfoad]
by akirby
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May 27, 2009 (11:58 am)
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Replying to: esfoad (May 27, 2009 10:50 am)
The F150 had something like a million different option combinations a few years ago. It's great if you want to special order but it makes it tough on the dealers to figure out what to stock.
You can question some of the option packaging or standard items but I don't think they can afford to do a la carte options any more.
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- #2620 of 2770
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Re: interesting discussion going on here... [akirby]
by marsha7
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May 27, 2009 (1:02 pm)
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Replying to: akirby (May 26, 2009 6:09 am)
I believe one of the things that did drive up costs was the ability to order any possible combination of options, where some car nut calculated that there were over 10 million (???) possible vehicles that could be made...instead they need to do what the imports do, make 3 or 4 levels of cars, and those are the option packages available...when Honda makes Accord Ex's, they make a bunch, with and without leather...then LX's and so on...you do have option availability, but really quite limited compared to what GM and Ford used to offer, part of what may have accelerated them into the current situation...
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- #2621 of 2770
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Re: interesting discussion going on here... [akirby]
by speculator
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May 27, 2009 (1:19 pm)
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Replying to: akirby (May 23, 2009 2:24 pm)
Lincoln is not going back to rear wheel drive. Ford cancelled the new global rwd platform design for the replacement of the Aussie Falcon. Instead it will use the North American Taurus platform when it introduces the replacement for the present Falcon after 2013. Where can I find the info that Lincoln is going back to rwd? Really I would like to know. The Taurus SHO is not a optional performance package. Insurance companies are classifying it as a new model. That's the info that I get from my connections with Ford. The real reason for offering option packages on vehicles is because of corporate greed. It has nothing to do with what is good for the consumer but what is good for the company. I take it that you are in the car business. Hasn't a client ever complained to you about having to purchase a whole lot of other items that he has no use for but yet in order to get the item he does want he has to buy 4 or 5 other items in a package that could cost 2 or 3 thousand dollars. Ford and the other manufacturers only need to have a base car for each model and the only items needed as standard are ac, power windows ,power door locks power trunk lid realease ,rear window defogger and stereo. If the customer wants something else let him pick and choose from an option list. See in the old days that's the way business was done. Now there is a Taurus SE, SEL and Limited. The only difference is is that the higher the price the car is the more standard equipment is added. This only drives up the price. while the consumer is left with either take it all or it's nothing. The idea is to make a car more affordable. Easier for a family to purchase.
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- #2622 of 2770
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Re: interesting discussion going on here... [speculator]
by lilengineerboy
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May 27, 2009 (2:23 pm)
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Replying to: speculator (May 27, 2009 1:19 pm)
Fusion S - AC, power pkg
Fusion SE - AC, power pkg, stereo, wheels opt:SYNC/sun
Fusion SEL - Leather + SE + blind spot, nav optional
Fusion Sport - big engine, slushbox
Accord DX or VP or whatever they call the base now - AC, power pkg
Accord LX-P - alloy wheels, 6 speaker stereo
Accord EX - 6-cd changer, sunroof
Accord EX-L - Accord EX w/leather, nav optional.
Hmm seems pretty similar to me.
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- #2623 of 2770
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Re: interesting discussion going on here... [speculator]
by akirby
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May 27, 2009 (2:41 pm)
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Replying to: speculator (May 27, 2009 1:19 pm)
You don't know what Lincoln is going to do in 2 or 3 years and just because global RWD is on hold now doesn't mean it won't be restarted. I think it depends on how well Ford is doing financially and what happens with gas prices. They'll need a new platform for the mustang soon and it would seem silly to make a new platform that only the Mustang could use.
What I mean by the SHO being a trim level is that if you don't want the SHO package then you can get the same vehicle in SE, SEL or Limited trims. Calling it a different model is just marketing BS.
As for trim levels and options - the SE IS the base model. If you want more options you get the SEL, then the Limited. Are there people who want to get the SE model but with only one or two options instead of the SEL? Of course! There always will be. But for every one of those people who don't buy a Ford for that reason there are hundreds more who will step up to the SEL model to get that option and Ford makes more money.
And that doesn't even consider the dealer's viewpoint. I can't believe you own a dealership and think everything should be optional. Not everyone is willing to wait and custom order a vehicle, especially when the Honda and Toyota dealer down the street has one of every color and option package sitting on the lot ready to roll.
Either you don't own a dealership or you haven't set foot in it for a long time. Why don't you go ask your sales manager whether he wants the current packages or a la carte options on a base vehicle and tell us what he says.
I think you're stuck in the 70's. It's a different world now.
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- #2624 of 2770
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No help from Lincoln dealers
by ameliap
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May 27, 2009 (6:04 pm)
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I have been trying for 2 months to order and purchase a new 2010 MKS. I can't get a Lincoln dealer to return my calls or emails. I have talked to 4 in and out of my state. I either get told that you can't order them yet, which I know isn't true, or if I question their price quote, they won't call me back, or they try to send me onto a different vehicle or they keep sending an email saying "didnt you get my earlier email" which is they didn't send me an earlier email or I would've responded. You would think these guys would want a sell. Is there a Lincoln dealer out there willing to sell a 2010 MKS with the Ecoboost engine?
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- #2625 of 2770
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Re: No help from Lincoln dealers [ameliap]
by marsha7
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May 28, 2009 (8:17 am)
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Replying to: ameliap (May 27, 2009 6:04 pm)
Not to rain on your parade, but is it possible that they HAVE been emailing you and it was placed in your Spam or Trash folder???...just a thought, no intent to insult...
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- #2626 of 2770
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Re: 2010 MKS Ecoboost pricing [emrnibbles1]
by nvbanker
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May 28, 2009 (10:32 am)
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Replying to: emrnibbles1 (May 21, 2009 12:07 pm)
Gee, if Subaru used recycled plastic for seats and wood chip scrap from furniture manufactures, they would be HAILED for their environmental conscience instead of lambasted for being cheap.....
Ford can't win, no matter what they do.
I have suede seats in my Mountaineer, and they hold up like iron. I'm thrilled with them, and also don't care if my wood in my Lexus comes from the Brazilian Rainforest or from North Carolina...... It's pretty, it holds up, and I like it.
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