Another dire sales report [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS]

[FlaFlash]

Yep its bad on the Ford front. Bought a 24 monday GT Prem 10spd , Variable exhasut 3.55’s for $8k off msrp. Got the Ford 3.9% deal also. Been working a while to get a smoking deal and it finally happened.

Yea....there are some deals on 24's out there now. My dealer has some GT premiums for over $9,000 off msrp now along with EB deals. Link

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[DevilDog]

I suspect another factor is cars are just not as central (self image, lifestyle, hobby, etc) to recent American generations as they were/are to ours. Sadly.

I think there's some truth to that. I also think young people aren't as into cars as those of older generations. I have a friend who has a son who's 25 and has never had a driver's license. He takes Ubers everywhere or his friends drive him. I also believe the economy is having an impact on sales.

 

[AzkAdAsh]

Demand for American "ICE" Muscle is dying off.

I don't think the demand is dying. EVs are getting discounts, incentives, tax breaks, and low APR financing, while ICE prices are being inflated, marked up at the dealers, have higher APRs and are taxed like crazy. I think the demand is still there, but I think automakers have to consider that a lot of states have laws on the books to ban ICE sales by the year 20xx, and by making EVs more affordable and pricing most people out of ICEs, they can start forcing the transition nationwide earlier so they're not penalized if they're not meeting the target year for EV only sales.

 

[Snowflee17]

I feel like new cars just aren't better than something built 8-10 years ago. So why upgrade?

I would like to want a new Mustang, but I prefer not to have direct injection, PWTA cylinder bores, over 4,000 lbs weight or a huge price tag.

And I don't think the issues are specific to Ford. Heck, Dodge is completely lost. GM doesn't make a sporty vehicle with a manual transmission anymore. Porsche prices are crazy. My opinion is that every automaker needs a reset.

There are way too many small turbo engines out there. Even the 5.0 is overstressed now. Ford should have gone to a larger CI engine to make additional power. Quality is down at almost every automaker.

The largest contributing factors on prices are the unrealistic emissions standards, the BS war on fossil fuels, and unrealistic UNION Contracts!!!!

 

[Instant Action]

My '13 GT Premium stickered in the higher 30s, and was discounted something like 5 grand or more. Think I walked out the door with a 35K loan and a $550 a month payment, and my credit sucked.

Now I'm looking at a GT Premium convertible, 12 years later, and it is going to be over 70K!

Or you can look at mine for sale here; https://www.mustang7g.com/forums/th...gray-gt-manual-convertible-2800-miles.165936/ for 20k less

 

[cbrenthus]

Or you can look at mine for sale here; https://www.mustang7g.com/forums/th...gray-gt-manual-convertible-2800-miles.165936/ for 20k less

Appreciate it, and that's a good deal, but I'll be trading in if I do this. I know I could do better selling my Bronco outright, but I HATE selling vehicles. People lowball, make appointments and then ghost you, ask ridiculous demands like I'll give you $40K, 2 RC cars, a parachute (used once, never opened, needs cleaned) and a 1 year membership to the Jelly of the month club!

 

[Instant Action]

Appreciate it, and that's a good deal, but I'll be trading in if I do this. I know I could do better selling my Bronco outright, but I HATE selling vehicles. People lowball, make appointments and then ghost you, ask ridiculous demands like I'll give you $40K, 2 RC cars, a parachute (used once, never opened, needs cleaned) and a 1 year membership to the Jelly of the month club!

I hear you and that is why I advertised it here as opposed CL or FB in the hope that the more knowledgeable people here have already done their research and know what they want without all the stupid demands

 

[roadpilot]

I'm glad you like your new Mustang, but not many people are buying them anymore. I want Mustang to become a best seller that's hard to resist.

"It's the economy, stupid." - James Carville

 

[smurfslayer]

Agreed, I remember when forums used to be a place for performance mod talk and who's going to do what next. Now it's mostly seeing who can come up with something to complain about next. Ford really did a disservice to this gen mustang not having quick aftermarket support follow along with it.

There was a lot of mod talk, a little auto-x, track days, group buys, but let’s be real: Forums were still the precursor to social media and you still had the constant complainers, whiners and knuckleheads. But in those days, the Mustang was a different car altogether, and targeted at a different demographic.

The Mustang of today is the car of classic rock; the aging rockers who spent shamelessly and need to keep touring because they need the money. But the thing is: Their music is still legit.
Of course, modern country music is now where 70’s rock was by and large so there’s some crossover. I much prefer the forum space to the ubiquitous social media of today.

Most of the material on why the sales are low has already been covered, but consider that Ford followed the Pied Piper down the path of EV enlightenment not really to chase Tesla, but because the last US regime made the entire ICE industry and fossil fuel industry a demonized enemy of the American government. Ford fell for this hook, line and sinker. They did a hard pivot on corporate direction pursuing vehicles nobody wanted, with premature tech not suitable to an overwhelming majority of US markets. To put the icing on this cake made of shìt, the EV’s Ford produce are selling at a significant loss, and underperform. To make up for this, EVERY other vehicle in the Ford lineup has to amortize the loss of the EV line.

The Mustang cannot be competitively priced from Ford, period. Even if Ford realized and admitted their EV blunders, they could not extricate themselves from this lack of profitability for 6-10 years. And they won’t scale it back to the level they need to for rebalancing the rest of their vehicles to a more competitive price point.

As far as aftermarket support, and mods I’d say take a look at the Ford Performance catalog, not for what you can do, but some perspective. The Mustang is the favorite son. Right up there with the Bronco. The F150 Raptor Not so much. I think that will go before the Mustang.

 

[Wiley Marmot]

Nailed it! +1

 

[robvas]

I don't think the demand is dying.

 

[caddison524]

Price is definitely the problem.

Theres BARELY any incentives on the Mustang GT. No competition so why should they. MachE you can lease a Select model for 199 at my local dealership. No wonder it sells lol.

 

[caddison524]

Inflation has caught up with people. Many having to adjust priorities,

This. A lot of us young millennial, Gen Z, and gen Alpha are in to sports cars. Just cant afford em lol.

 

[MaddNomad]

Price is definitely the problem.

Theres BARELY any incentives on the Mustang GT. No competition so why should they. MachE you can lease a Select model for 199 at my local dealership. No wonder it sells lol.

That’s what I’ve noticed too going to the dealer and placing an order for a Mustang. Even the salesman joking said “you want to throw a Mach E in there too?”

 

[Bear376]

The decline in sales of Mustangs is the same reason that the Camaro and Challenger are gone from the ICE muscle car mix: Insurance companies. There are other factors, but if the reality is that anyone under 35 who buys a GT may find the insurance payments more than the car payments. My nephew has driven Porsches and wrecked them. He tracks a GT350. He is used to high insurance premiums, but when it came to getting his teenage son a car, he was shocked by the premiums. Son is now driving a old Lexus SUV

Also think about many of the 'improvements' to cars over the last 60 years. Every few years, the insurance companies roll out a new test to expose a vulnerability in cars. The insurance rates go up for those cars that fail, and manufacturers engineer fixes. Then you may have NHTSA regulate it, which means a cookie cutter fix. And don't forget the role EPA and CAFE play in the process.

And if that isn't enough, manufacturers have to contend with liability attorneys perched like vultures over any hint of risk.

All of this, makes cars that are heavier and more complicated. Reliability of the cars is great from a mechanical perspective, but everything is connected electronically and that is where the majority of complaints originate.

Yes, the original Mustang is at risk. The pure ICE Mustang is not likely to make it to 75 years. But the heart of the Mustang may endure for future generations.

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