Ford's Farley: "You Don't Orphan Four Million Customers Overnight Without Some Fallout"
Speaking with the New York Times, Ford Marketing maven Jim Farley had some soothing words for Ford dealers: we’re not going to cap yo ass [paraphrasing]. Yet [extrapolating]. Farley’s also taking the opportunity to hammer home Ford’s mantra: we didn’t take government money, so we’re cool, right? This time, Farley went further, predicting that FoMoCo could benefit from the death of those Detroit automakers who did/do. “Mr. Farley was particularly critical of the Chrysler plan, noting how it would affect millions of consumers with little warning. ‘It seems very abrupt and unplanned,’ he said. ‘You don’t orphan four million customers overnight without some fallout.’ Some of those customers, primarily those in rural areas, will migrate to Ford dealerships, he said. ‘It really depends on how G.M. and Chrysler handle these orphan owners,’ he said. ‘If they don’t give them a lot of attention, it will result in consumers going to other brands.’” Hint. Hint. Of course, there be dragons. And Farley knows it.
“We are very concerned how they are going to handle those 44,000 units [from canceled ChryCo dealers],” he said. “It’s like a liquidation sale now, and the biggest issue is whether they will cut prices to move the inventory.”
And if they do, which they will, The Blue Oval Boyz can’t touch this. Farley said his employer isn’t going to match any Chrysler or GM fire sale prices. Do we believe Ford will stand fast on margins and lose share, should share be theirs for the losing? In a word, no.
More by Robert Farago
Comments
Join the conversation
@Nullomodo: Ford's fuel economy might be in line, but look at the power levels on some of those motors. The 210hp V6 in the Ford Mustang is against a 250hp V6 from Dodge and a 304hp V6 from GM. The 315hp V8 in the Mustang GT is against a 376hp V8 from Dodge, a 332hp V6 from Nissan and a 426hp V8 from GM. The 310hp V8 in the F-150 is against a 390hp V8 from Dodge, a 381hp V8 from Toyota, and a 403hp V8 from GM. For the power deficiency that Ford runs in several segments, I would think that should be the big time leaders in fuel economy, not just midpack. - And, yes, the Ecoboost system will help the power numbers. However, Ford recommends the use of premium gas, the fuel economy isn't amazing, and the price of entry is very high. For example, compare the SHO to a Charger R/T AWD. The Charger has a more powerful engine, runs on regular gas, starts at $4K less, and only gets 1mpg combined worse. And, although it's a SUV versus crossover comparison, the MKT Ecoboost pricing puts into the territory of the GMT900 hybrids and GL320 BlueTEC. These should return the same combined fuel consumption number as the Lincoln.
Can't we just dump these lousy cars in the ocean and make a reef? We could start with the Sebrings.
ajla - You are right that there are a few areas where the powertrains don't stack up well in terms of power. The 2010 4.6 Mustang GT V8 is eclipsed by the LS3 Camaro bar-none in terms of acceleration, but still handles better, and beats out the more powerful Challenger in both 0 - 60 and handling numbers. Also, for those who want ultimate power, the 540 hp GT500 has nearly 100 more hp and lb/ft of torque at the cost of only 2mpg vs the Camaro SS. The 5.4 in the F150 is underpowered compared to the competition, but due to the design of the truck it still has greater towing and payload capability than any of the rivals. I agree it needs a power boost, and thankfully that is coming in the form of the new 5.0 and 6.2 liter engines due sometime at the end of this year or beginning of next. The 4.0 Mustang V6 is outdated, underpowered, and yeah, needs to go, but it's cheap, and that alone drives a lot of sales for V6 Mustangs. As far as the comparison between the MKT and the GMT900s - the Escalade Hybrid comes in at over $30,000 more than the MKT Ecoboost, that's a lot of gas, and the Mercedes BlueTec has an 8,000 price premium, a hp deficiency, the added cost of diesel, and only 1mpg more.