GhostTX

Did you slip someone at the factory a $20?

I hope I get as lucky...

moc1976

I know that hindsight is always 20/20, but it doesn't take a marketing expert to know that the first model year of an all-new Mustang is going to see higher demand on GTs. I would like to see past sales figures, but I'm willing to bet that the first year of a new body style has historically seen higher GT sales. Let's think about it, the Mustang is a car that is very popular with "car" people. Most of these "car" people are going to want the V8. So, even though in the past, most sales are the V6 (and I'm not ripping on the 6er at all), they had to expect that a lot of GT orders were on the way with this car.

Heck, they haven't even stepped up production of the engine since there is no overtime at the Romero plant.

I know I'm venting here, sorry to anyone offended, but this really could have been alleviated (not avoided) with better planning/marketing on Ford's part.
:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:

bryman

Exactly, I agree completely with moc1976. Ford "botched" the launch by poor planning and execution, not by design of the car. Now, every day people wait they are losing more sales and allowing other manufacuturers to catch up (for example develop a new Camaro). They are losing money and turning away customers, and it's all their fault.

mr-mstng

Ford only built 124K mustangs when the 94 model came out. So, it appears demand was a LOT greater than anticipated.

Since 79, the mustang production exceeded 200K in the following years:
79 369K
80 271K
86 224K
88 211K
89 209K
00 218K

Source: The timeline

Interesting how (with the exception of 79, it spikes a year or two AFTER an update.

I'm not sure if anyone knows what the maximum AAI can churn out is?

moc1976

Rob, thx for the research, but I was looking for slightly different information, which my brief research has not found. I was wondering if the percentage of GTs sold goes up for the 1st year of something new in the lineup. What I would be interested in would be on the following years, was the % of GTs higher?

94 - new body style
96 - new 4.6 L V8
99 - new body style

moc1976

I don't know why I was trying to do my research elsewhere, when everything I needed was right here on the MS

Anyway, this is by no means scientific, but here's what I found in the timeline.

94 (new body)
total production 123,198; total GTs (vert + coupe) 55,973 = 45.4 % of total output, and cobras were 4.9% of the total

96 (new 4.6L)
total production 135,980; total GTs 49,541 = 36.4% of total output and cobras were 7.4% of the total

99 (new body)
total production 133,907; total GTs 33,333 = 24.9%, cobras 6%

03 (for comparison)
total = 155,370, GTs were 26.9%

So, it looks like Ford has been decreasing the % of GTs over the last few years. With the retro design, they should have gone back to the retro % of GTs

Hellcat6

Marc,

Good job on the research. But I'm not sure I can agree with your conclusion that "Ford has been decreasing the % of GTs over the last few years". Looks to me like the public has been buying fewer GTs over the course of your research. Wouldn't that contribute to Ford's low-balling their estimate on how many GTs they would sell in 05?

Oscar

This may sound like a stupid question but I am going to ask it anyway.

If I have a VIN and a Build date, does that guaruntee me a car, or will someone pull the rug out from under me and shatter my dreams. I love these cars, but I can't see waiting another 5 months to get one.

Oscar

Hellcat6

Oscar,

It could slip a bit one way or the other but you should be good to go!

jwede

The dealer could not honor your agreement and sell it to someone else.....I think it hashappened before, but not likely

Oscar

Cool, after waiting for so long, I am just in the "sky is falling" mode. Thanks for the positive reinforcement guys.

jwede

Me too. I sit and ponder what else could go wrong now. I'm stuck in disaster recovery mode......

Super Sonic Blue Mustang

The only thing that will be rare in 05 is the color Sonic Blue and Legend Lime and especially on GTs due to Ford taking away the colors after 05 production is done.

moc1976

Drew, I guess it comes down to the proverbial question of which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Is the public demand less for GTs, or is Ford producing less, resulting in fewer sales of the GT

One thing I do know, if there are so many GTs in the order banks, Ford could be selling a whole heck of a lot more! Its 2005 and I would think a huge Fortune 500 company like Ford would be able to adapt to this increased demand, even had a contingency plan for it. I understand that they had to do an estimate based on past years, but if it were me in one of those board rooms, I would have been asking questions like; "Well, what if we have a huge increase in demand with this car, will we be able to step up production of the IUP and GT models?" Looks like they were able to on the IUP, but sadly not the GT

Super Sonic Blue Mustang

Not sure, but I heard somewhere that 05 orders will not automatically roll over to 06 orders. You have place another order when they start taking 06 orders.

Very sad news for those who have been patiently waiting all this time. I feel for them.
[/b][/quote]

Sad news but this is what happens when a product is in high demand. You can't blame Ford for this because a company never really knows how a new production model is going to do they can only speculate. One thing is for sure I guarantee Ford does not let this happen for the 06 model year and beyond. I am glad the demand is high this way the Mustang will live on with this design for a long time.

Webba

I would love to see them fill orders faster myself however it isnt as easy as saying "lets make more!!". They are increasing production but doing that requires new equipment installed on the line, tooling, raw materials, etc. And I would assume the qutomated equipment they use is specialized. It is made just to do a certain thing for them. So they then rely on an equipment manufacturer to tool up and make the equipment for them, transport it, install and work out the bugs, and then produce product. We do work for alot of these types of companies and the lead-times are long. Remember there are only so many hours in a day unfortunately.

Super Sonic Blue Mustang

Glad I ordered when I did and that I ordered a V6 instead of a GT

In 2 weeks I will be a cruzing fool in my 05 Stang!!!!!!

jwede

Well, probably closer to three, but who's counting......

moc1976

I'm not saying that it would be easy to increase production, I said that they should have made a contingency plan in case demand for the GT/IUP was higher than what they projected. That doesn't appear to be the case, with the delays involved with getting more IUP and the fact that GTs are still being produced at a pace far under the demand.

Webba, I'm not trying to argue with you, but what new equipment would be needed on the line to produce more GTs? If they are already producing the GTs in this factory, they should have the equipment that they need to make them. Now, I agree that they need more/different materials to make the GT as opposed to the V6, but that's my beef. The article states that they haven't been working overtime at the V8 engine plant, why not?

I also know they increased production numbers for the entire year, but I wish that increased production was mostly or entirely GTs.

Guess I'm just frustrated cause its been over 10 weeks since I ordered and I'm still c/u. Who else can I blame but Ford? Guess its my fault for not ordering earlier

jwede

10 Weeks? I don't even remember when I was 10 weeks....

There has to be a logical reason as to whey they are producing what they are producing (as far as the mix goes) If dealers are taking the V-6s as to fill their allocation then Ford will build them.