<HEAD> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=3DGENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>It is not a reason of why Ford "can't" do something, but more of a rea= son of why they "should" do something. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It is currently possible to order a vehicle at one dealership and have= it delivered to a different dealership. It is done internally between deal= erships all the time. For example, say a certain car dealer or dealership g= roup owns a Lincoln-Mercury dealership in one city and a Ford car and truck= dealership in another city. These two dealerships can be several 100 miles= apart or even several states apart. If the Lincoln-Mercury dealership need= s an internal work truck they order a truck through their Ford dealers= hip and have it delivered (drop-shipped) directly to their Lincoln-Mercury = dealership. Drop shipping a vehicle to a different location is done all the= time. So internally Ford ia already set up to do this. There is a Ford dea= lership right across the street from the new Mustang factory, (AAI or Auto = Alliance plant) in Flat Rock, Michigan on I-75 just south of Detriot.  = ; </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>A dealership can sell any car over list price if people are willing to= pay for it. Bassically dealerships all buy their vehicles from the pa= rent car companies at the same price as one another. Ford or any = other parent car company cannot force their dealers to only sell their= cars for list price. Dealers are able to charge under, above or at li= st price as they see fit. If a dealer sells a vehicle over sticke= r the parent Ford Motor Company dosen't make an extra dime from the transac= tion.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The new 2005 Mustang is a hot seller. The 2007 GT500 Cobra Mustang wil= l be made in limited numbers. Ford is capacity constrained on how many Must= angs they can make at the AAI plant. Ford Motor Company does not need = any special group order from us. It will not help them sell any extra Musta= ngs Gt or Cobras because demand outstrips the supply. Ford is going to sell= every one they make without any help. The is great for the dealerships but= not for us the Mustang enthuiast. So what's in it for Ford Motor= Company to cater to us? </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Would you be willing to pay an extra $1000 or $500 to fly into Detroit= (fly in at your own expense) get a tour of the new Mustang plant= (with lunch) pick up your car and drive it home. Regardless of w= here you buy or pick-up your car from you usually take it to your near= by dealer to get warranty work or service performed. Ford should have= a deal set-up where you can order a Mustang at your local dealership = but have it delivered at the Flat Rock Ford dealership across from the AAI = plant and include a plant tour in the deal. They should set it up so t= hat picking up your car and the tour is on Thursday. Fly into Det= roit after work on Wednesday, tour and car delivery on Thursday and dr= ive it home on Friday. Your local dealership gets the sale, the F= lat Rock Ford dealership gets a fee for preping your car and deliverin= g it, the assembly plant gets a fee for giving you a tour and the pare= nt Ford Motor Company make a profit on the whole deal. What's wrong with th= at? Sounds like a win-win-win situation for everyone. Just think if you cou= ld schedule delivery of your new Mustang on the week just before the Woodwa= rd Cruise in August? </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I know the suggestion will come up of why can't I get my tour at the s= ame time my car is being build so that I can watch it get built. There are = a lot of internal reasons why Ford can't do that. A car in not built in a s= ingle day. Also what would happen if there was loss of production on t= he line and your vehicle got delayed? They are running overtime on two shif= ts. You want to see your car get partially assemblied after midnight then h= ave to be back again the next morning at 6 AM to get finished? If you fly i= n and plan to drive it home you'd like to be sure your car is ready for you= to take home when you get there. Most likely the assembly plant would= have to plan to build it a week or two in advance before you plan to = be there. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think picking up a Mustang in Detroit at the assembly plant and= getting a tour at the plant is something that Ford could do all year = round. If there is a $$$ incentive for them to do it, I don't know why= they don't consider it. Maybe we can talk them into the pilot program for = this?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Here's the question, if you could order a Mustang at your local dealer= ship and come to Detriot, get a tour of the assembly plant and take your ne= w Mustang home with you. Assuming the cost of how you get here and lodging = is your own out of pocket expense. How much extra would you pay for this op= tion and how many would be willing to do this? </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Jim Seisser <BR><BR><BR= >-----Original Message----- <BR>From: gt350hz@aol.com <BR>Sent: Mar 24, 200= 5 5:04 PM <BR>To: rogerhol@willapabay.org, shelbymustang@carmemories.com <B= R>Subject: Re: Ford's Rejection, my rant <BR><BR></DIV><ZZZHTML><ZZZBODY> <DIV style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana'"> <DIV> <DIV>There was no reason that Ford could not have made arrangements with th= e greater Detroit area Ford dealers to handle a few hundred cars. = ; The cars could have been processed through the local dealers and the driv= e would have brought free publicity to Ford and the Mustang. &nbs= p;It would not have been the same glamour as picking it up at the factory (= like you could with a Chevrolet Corvette), but it would have achieved = a publicity and customer benefit.</DIV> <DIV>Lee 66 # 869 </DIV> <BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: = Roger <rogerhol@willapabay.org><BR>To: shelbymustang@carmemories.com<= BR>Sent: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 07:12:37 -0800<BR>Subject: Ford's Rejection, my r= ant<BR><BR> <STYLE> ..AOLPlainTextBody { margin: 0px; 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FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0em; COLOR: #000000; F= ONT-FAMILY: "Arial" } #AOLMsgPart_3_91c771da-0894-489e-a3cf-7361b39a4ece DIR { MARGIN-TOP: 0em; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0em; COLOR: #000000; F= ONT-FAMILY: "Arial" } #AOLMsgPart_3_91c771da-0894-489e-a3cf-7361b39a4ece ADDRESS { MARGIN-TOP: 0em; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0em; COLOR: #000000; F= ONT-FAMILY: "Arial" } #AOLMsgPart_3_91c771da-0894-489e-a3cf-7361b39a4ece H1 { MARGIN-TOP: 0em; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0em; COLOR: #000000; F= ONT-FAMILY: "Arial" } #AOLMsgPart_3_91c771da-0894-489e-a3cf-7361b39a4ece H2 { MARGIN-TOP: 0em; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0em; COLOR: #000000; F= ONT-FAMILY: "Arial" } #AOLMsgPart_3_91c771da-0894-489e-a3cf-7361b39a4ece H3 { MARGIN-TOP: 0em; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0em; COLOR: #000000; F= ONT-FAMILY: "Arial" } #AOLMsgPart_3_91c771da-0894-489e-a3cf-7361b39a4ece H4 { MARGIN-TOP: 0em; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0em; COLOR: #000000; F= ONT-FAMILY: "Arial" } #AOLMsgPart_3_91c771da-0894-489e-a3cf-7361b39a4ece H5 { MARGIN-TOP: 0em; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0em; COLOR: #000000; F= ONT-FAMILY: "Arial" } #AOLMsgPart_3_91c771da-0894-489e-a3cf-7361b39a4ece H6 { MARGIN-TOP: 0em; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0em; COLOR: #000000; F= ONT-FAMILY: "Arial" } #AOLMsgPart_3_91c771da-0894-489e-a3cf-7361b39a4ece HR { MARGIN-TOP: 0em; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0em; COLOR: #000000; F= ONT-FAMILY: "Arial" } </STYLE> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005><FONT face=3D'"Arial"'>Pete, et al,</= FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005><FONT face=3D'"Arial"'>Ford's rejecti= on of your Pony Drive Mustangers' request is an example of what's wrong wit= h our American car companies. Ford's lost ground financially every mo= nth for almost the last year. GM is considering closing yet another d= ivision, either Buick or Pontiac.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005><FONT face=3D'"Arial"'>Alternatively,= Toyota is operating under their 500-year business plan. I kid you no= t, they have one. Ford probably has about a 6-year plan, which is as = much or more foresight as you typically find in domestic corporations. = ; And as you might expect from an organization taking a long-term outlook, = T Motors will likely overtake G Motors in overall sales in the next year or= so. Ford will struggle and probably be a takeover candidate just lik= e Chrysler. Sadly, the Daimler buyout is what saved Chrysler and now = we're seeing great products from the new company, and that bit of history m= ay well repeat itself with other car manufacturers in Detroit.</FONT><= /SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005><FONT face=3D'"Arial"'>Everything cha= nges when you take the long view in business or civic management. I'm= trying to get my little local city council to develop a mere 100-year plan= so that we can make some orderly improvements in our sign ordinance (among= other areas) that won't cause people to write off a year's worth= of net income because some jackbooted councillors don't like the way busin= esses have legally invested in their signs for the last 50 years. A 2= 5-year phase-in of the new requirements doesn't seem so long when put in&nb= sp;a 100-yr perspective, and it becomes palatable to mom & pop operatio= ns when planning for the write-off and re-investment.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005><FONT face=3D'"Arial"'>I know this is= a digression, sorry (not). It's just that nothing surprises me anymo= re when I hear crap like this coming from Detroit. Had they been thin= king ahead back when they were turning out their abominable quality of prod= ucts 50 yrs ago they wouldn't be in this predicament, and it appears that t= he loss of the entire industry still doesn't get the message thru to them.&= nbsp; Toyota owns the economy car segment with their incredibly hi-tech &am= p; futuristic Prius, because of taking the long term approach. Look o= ut Cessna & Gulfstream when Toyota decides to sell the business aircraf= t that they've already developed.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005><FONT face=3D'"Arial"'></FONT></SPAN>= </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005><FONT face=3D'"Arial"'>Quality. = Customer care. Long term planning. This isn't rocket science.&= nbsp; Americans taught the principles to the Japanese in the late '40's, an= d now their winning the economic war. </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005><FONT face=3D'"Arial"'>Ford could've = easily run your transaction thru any number of your members hometown d= ealers and everyone would've been happy. They're too short sighted.&n= bsp; I'm sure they won't do the bulk deal for us Shelby buyers either. = ; It's not even worth the call.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005><FONT face=3D'"Arial"'>Apologies for = the rant,</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005><FONT face=3D'"Arial"'>Roger</FONT></= SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D281264914-24032005>'67GT500</SPAN></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV class=3DSection1> <DIV class=3DMsoAutoSig align=3Dleft><B style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: norm= al"><I style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style=3D"COLOR: navy"><F= ONT color=3D#ff0000>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D</FONT></SPAN></I></B></DIV> <DIV class=3DMsoAutoSig align=3Dleft><B style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: norm= al"><I style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style=3D"COLOR: navy">It= 's from Roger and Jane!</SPAN></I></B></DIV></DIV></DIV><ZZZ!-- AOLMsgPart_= 3_91c771da-0894-489e-a3cf-7361b39a4ece -- of end></DIV></DIV></ZZZBODY></ZZ= ZHTML></BODY><PRE> ________________________________________ PeoplePC Online A better way to Internet http://www.peoplepc.com</PRE>
