3/24/2005 Shelby Group, The "Bulk Order" idea was vetoed by FORD, when requested by The Great American Pony Drive. David Turnbull, the organizer for 2004, received lots of help from FORD for the Pony Drive, but was turned down for his idea, to have a group of Mustangers, pick up their 2005 Mustangs at Detroit. Here's the Ford reply: Letter received from Ford Friday, Feb. 25 “Dear Dave, Thanks again for this morning's open discussion on Ford Motor Company's support of the 2005 Pony Drive. As you know, we greatly appreciate you and your members' enthusiasm for and support of the Mustang. It is owners like you that make the Mustang one of the most recognized and sought-after vehicles in the world – and we hope that all of you will continue to be advocates for the car. While we would very much like the 2005 Pony Drive to succeed, we are unable to facilitate the ordering, scheduling and delivery of Pony Drive members' new model Mustangs. Unfortunately, that process must take place through our franchised dealer network. It is only through this process that we can ensure the fair and unbiased handling of all customer orders. As you know, the new model Mustang is the industry's most sought after vehicle and long waiting lists dictate that we follow normal procedures. We still would like the 2005 Pony Drive to succeed and you and your members will continue to have our support where we are able to contribute. If your activities coincide with other Mustang events, we would welcome a coordinated presence to the benefit of both the 2005 Pony Drive and Ford. If you need promotional counsel and support, we would be happy to provide that where appropriate. We hope that you and your members continue with the plan to make the 2005 Pony Drive a success, and know that you have our support. David Fee Mustang & Thunderbird Marketing Manager†I began discussing the Pony Drive ’05 with Ford while in Dearborn last May. Last week, I get a call telling me that Ford would not give us the allotment of cars needed to make this happen. Since then, we have been corresponding and talking over their reasons to see if anything could be done to salvage any portion of getting these cars. I just completed a ½ hour call from Ford to further discuss what could be done. Their position hasn’t changed and now the Pony Drive has to make a decision as to what comes next. I disagreed with their corporate decision and they explained the position they had to take at this time. This is why we had the notice on the web site as this was to be posted after that conversation, making sure that it was truly cancelled. ( David Turnbull ) For the latest information check out _www.PonyDrive.US_ (http://www.PonyDrive.US) Pete Geisler Orlando Mustang 407 688 1966
O.K., Folks, let's look at this from another angle. I hate to use the analogy but here's what BMW and other Euro companies do for European Delivery plans: There is a nationally set discounted price for a given vehicle and the various available options. All you do is go to the local dealer of your choice and set the "wheels" in motion". You agree on a date that the vehicle will be picked up and, voila!, you arrive, the car is there at the delivery center, you are treated royally, drive all over Europe for as long as you want, bring it to a designated site and it's shipped back home. What we need to do is get a ""golden pass" that ensures we, as a group, get to order our cars at an agreed-upon price from whatever dealer we choose. If we want to pick it up in De-Troit or have it delivered to the dealer, that's our choice. The dealer gets a reasonable profit, Ford Corporate doesn't rub the dealers the wrong way and we get our cars. Hell, the same can be done via Sam's Club, USAA, etc. Why can't we? We need a Dealer/Owner who is on the President's Council to propose this. Anybody know one? Regards, Stan ----- Original Message ----- From: ORLMUST@aol.com To: DRCundiff@netscape.net ; rvanderh@med.wayne.edu Cc: shelbymustang@carmemories.com Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 9:41 AM Subject: Re: Shelby bulk order 3/24/2005 Shelby Group, The "Bulk Order" idea was vetoed by FORD, when requested by The Great American Pony Drive. David Turnbull, the organizer for 2004, received lots of help from FORD for the Pony Drive, but was turned down for his idea, to have a group of Mustangers, pick up their 2005 Mustangs at Detroit. Here's the Ford reply: Letter received from Ford Friday, Feb. 25 “Dear Dave, Thanks again for this morning's open discussion on Ford Motor Company's support of the 2005 Pony Drive. As you know, we greatly appreciate you and your members' enthusiasm for and support of the Mustang. It is owners like you that make the Mustang one of the most recognized and sought-after vehicles in the world – and we hope that all of you will continue to be advocates for the car. While we would very much like the 2005 Pony Drive to succeed, we are unable to facilitate the ordering, scheduling and delivery of Pony Drive members' new model Mustangs. Unfortunately, that process must take place through our franchised dealer network. It is only through this process that we can ensure the fair and unbiased handling of all customer orders. As you know, the new model Mustang is the industry's most sought after vehicle and long waiting lists dictate that we follow normal procedures. We still would like the 2005 Pony Drive to succeed and you and your members will continue to have our support where we are able to contribute. If your activities coincide with other Mustang events, we would welcome a coordinated presence to the benefit of both the 2005 Pony Drive and Ford. If you need promotional counsel and support, we would be happy to provide that where appropriate. We hope that you and your members continue with the plan to make the 2005 Pony Drive a success, and know that you have our support. David Fee Mustang & Thunderbird Marketing Manager†I began discussing the Pony Drive ’05 with Ford while in Dearborn last May. Last week, I get a call telling me that Ford would not give us the allotment of cars needed to make this happen. Since then, we have been corresponding and talking over their reasons to see if anything could be done to salvage any portion of getting these cars. I just completed a ½ hour call from Ford to further discuss what could be done. Their position hasn’t changed and now the Pony Drive has to make a decision as to what comes next. I disagreed with their corporate decision and they explained the position they had to take at this time. This is why we had the notice on the web site as this was to be posted after that conversation, making sure that it was truly cancelled. ( David Turnbull ) For the latest information check out www.PonyDrive.US Pete Geisler Orlando Mustang 407 688 1966