Ford has no clue who their customers our

[Germansheperd]

Seems Ford is going the way of Harley-Davidson. I could say more, but it will get very political. These companies seems to not give a tripe about us.

This a very astute comment. You do realize Jim Farley is on Harley Davidsons board of directors right?

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[Rocket Man]

Can you please expand on the Harley-Davidson thought?

I think he is referring to DEI.

 

[young at heart]

The trouble is those things you don't like such as the digital dash (prefer it myself) are what younger buyers like. The problem with older traditional buyers is that they die and stop buying cars. The only business that makes money out of dead people are funeral directors!

Honestly the current Mustang is a 'legacy' product. Keep making it whilst they can and sell for a reasonable profit. Thank you Ford for keeping the current car going as long as they can.

I don’t have to like these things (and I do not) to recognize that they are accurate and truthful. I don’t like the stick-on iPads, but they’re there. I can either adapt and enjoy the cars for what they are while ignoring what I don’t like, spend a lot more $ getting something else or lay around and carp about it. I choose the former. I’m on my second ‘24 because a loud 500 hp V-8 is hard to come by under $100 large. And just like with Harleys, at 75 I have aged out of their target market and I accept that. It’s reality. But at the same time even at only 200 miles (bad weather) I can confidently say that my new Tremec HP equipped DH is easily the most exhilarating factory stock automobile I’ve ever owned. Where you gonna score that for $73K? So my choices are to either enjoy the heck out of or sit around and bitch about the screens and how much more it costs than last year’s model. What you think I’m gonna do?

If there is a next person coming through the door why would you negotiate on price? It isn't lazy it's common sense!

Interest rates on finance are a whole different topic, but certainly rates tend to be higher for vehicles that are easier to sell.

Again, like it or not (in this case I do like it), it’s accurate and truthful. A free market is always self regulating.

 

[Germansheperd]

Yes, but the next person coming in the door could be a week to a month later. I didn't mean to imply that they were lined up out the door.

Most dealerships that I drive by never seem to have a lot of customers at the front door trying to buy cars, most are on the side trying to get them worked on or buy parts. That was true for the 25 years that I worked in the industry and still holds true today. So I would stand by my lazy statement and they need to negotiate in order to move volume.

Very few individuals are retiring as car salesman, most do it as a "filler" job while looking for their actual career anymore mostly because they are not making a decent living on their commissions from selling 1-2 cars a month. The guys that hustle, negotiate, and move volume end up with a decent career in car sales. I suspect some of this comes from Elon Musk selling Tesla's through kiosks alsom, lol.

Oh I don’t know. I started in the car business when I was 26 and I retired at 45 after 20 years in the car business- 17 of those 20 years were VERY lucrative. I have been retired now for 7 years.

 

[Germansheperd]

I think he is referring to DEI.

That and the business model. Advertising to people who are not your core customer. Finding out the company donates to projects you are totally against. Insanely jacking up prices for the same old product and not giving you anything for your money.
Yeah HD was down in 2024 with a couple of new bikes just like Mustang was down with a refresh- can you say birds of a feather?

 

[gtstang462002]

Oh I don’t know. I started in the car business when I was 26 and I retired at 45 after 20 years in the car business- 17 of those 20 years were VERY lucrative. I have been retired now for 7 years.

And I bet you hustled in your career to make that happen. It didn't just fall into your lap.

 

[MaddNomad]

That and the business model. Advertising to people who are not your core customer. Finding out the company donates to projects you are totally against. Insanely jacking up prices for the same old product and not giving you anything for your money.
Yeah HD was down in 2024 with a couple of new bikes just like Mustang was down with a refresh- can you say birds of a feather?

I always thought Harley and Dodge had similar problems making the same stuff over and over again, but after reading your breakdown I agree.

 

[Germansheperd]

And I bet you hustled in your career to make that happen. It didn't just fall into your lap.

It was truly “you eat what you kill”. Make as much as you can, invest, and try to make the best life decisions.
NOBODY gives you a thing in the car business.

 

[Gregs24]

it’s not a legacy product. It’s an iconic one. Icons lose their luster when they languish. They regain it when they win.

Oh I agree Mustang is an iconic product, the current Mustang is a legacy product with the V8. I very much doubt there will be another V8 Mustang after this one (with a mid life refresh)

 

[Germansheperd]

I always thought Harley and Dodge had similar problems making the same stuff over and over again, but after reading your breakdown I agree.

Plus it is a fact that Ford has been jacking up ICE prices to make up for their 5 billion a year EV loss.
I always said if you hate Ford (or any manufacturer) just buy one of their EV‘s and they will lose 30-50k depending on model.

 

[robvas]

I can confidently say that my new Tremec HP equipped DH is easily the most exhilarating factory stock automobile I’ve ever owned. Where you gonna score that for $73K?

You could have bought a Mach 1 for $20k less in 2021.

That's the point.

 

[9secondko]

I think that they(FORD) have done more then nothing in the last 20 years, just look at the chassis IRS, MagneRide, brakes and other safety features. I am not sure you need re-design iconic vehicles every few years as long as you can properly target the product to the next generation.

Note Ford Mustang TV adverts are no more, but Facebook , Instagram and other media online is used to attract new potential younger buyers to the brand. Yes, the price is higher, but so is the price of other iconic vehicles on the market!

At every auto show I have attended over the years it was always the Chevy Corvette display that had the larger audience compare to the Mustang show area since that car is a bigger American Icon with C1 to C8 updates and always much higher priced compare to the Pony.

BTW- By the time I could afford to buy a base C8 they(GM) removed the Manual tranny so my wish to own a Corvette is no longer there. The DH was the second choice for me wanting an American icon with V8 and a manual. I am still hoping that Ford will make the Lincoln Mark-10 using the S650 platform in the future and maybe a four door Lincoln sedan with a manual that is not priced like the Caddy CT5V.

We are talking platforms.

the adding you’ve mentioned are band-aids.

it why the Camaro was such a problem. Because it had a platform thst maximized its potential, whereas the mustang has this fantastic engine tech but is saddled by its platform. It’s why we have to lay an arm and leg to get a Shelby to beat a camaro in handling. And then Chevy comes out with 1le and beats the much more expensive Shelby. It takes an even more expensive R Shelby to beat the affordable 1le. It shouldn’t have been. And now the dark horse finally beats it, but for Shelby money.

I had irs on my 2003 cobra. And that’s BEFORE the 20 years I mentioned. So thst doesn’t count. And the chassis is 20 years old. It has some band-aids as I’ve said before. But it’s the same old thing. We going to talk about brakes now? Lol. Ok. That’s some innovation there. Grocery getters have great brakes these days.

the point is Ford has done the bare minimum. It’s not that they’ve done nothing. If that were the car, the mustang would not exist today. It’s that they’ve done the minimum, ensuring that the car declines. You can only get a return on investment…if you INVEST.

INVEST SMALL, you get even less in return. INVEST BIG, and reap the rewards.

Ford has become risk averse. And that’s an issue. Heck? They torched ALL sedans in order to go full SUV, because they thought it was the safe bet.

now they want to call everything s mustang, ruining the name. And then they want to add cars (also called mustang) to help amortize the platform. That’s where the big mistake was made. Just develop a new mustang platform, And to help offset cost, go ahead and offer those other cars on modified versions of thst platform - but having their own distinct identities. The mustang wins, customers win, and Ford wins.

gotta get rid of both Luddite thinking and the weirdo faux-forward thinking that pretends to do something new and bold, but ends up just being stupid.

fire the people who push for naming everything mustang and hire people who are passionate about cars - those are the people who know what gets butts in seats.

 

[robvas]

The Chevrolet Camaro was a great car. The last model was about equal to the Mustang in performance.

However, the Mustang has a huge advantage when you start modding it, it has the dual fuel system. It's hard to get the Camaro above a certain point (say 600whp but don't quote me on exact number because each tuner does things differently) and then you need to start making fuel system modifications. Not to mention a much smaller aftermarket in general (for everything except the engine itself)

The other problem is the stock bottom end doesn't take to supercharging as well as the gen 2/3 Coyote.

I almost pulled the trigger on one at a local dealer, dark blue, base LT1 car. MSRP was like $36,500, only option was the automatic, and with discounts I think it was $32k? But changed my mind as I researched them as the first thing I would have done was stick a ProCharger on it.

On the other hand you can get pretty far with those cars with headers/camshaft/intake, unlike the Coyote engines if you stay NA.

 

[young at heart]

You could have bought a Mach 1 for $20k less in 2021.

That's the point.

Yes I’m aware. Don’t care so much. I’m not wealthy but 20 grand ain’t gonna keep groceries off the table.

Let the record reflect that I bought a new ‘22 Mach 1 and two new ‘23 Mach 1s. I traded one of my ‘23s toward my DH and still have the other. So I’m pretty familiar with the Mach 1.

 

[Rocket Man]

you told him
touche

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