mstang

From a dealer's perspective, with IUP limited to 30% of our February allocation, all the IUP's will be assigned to cover sold units, leaving 70% that must be ordered without IUP for inventory (for us 12 units). And presumably there will be the same numbers for next month.

Virtually everyone on this site has said they would wait for the IUP, but we as a dealer must still sell these non-IUP cars.

My topic is - what suggestions do TMS members have to market these units?

Price is an obvious factor, but we still have to sell these cars at the same price levels but without the cost of IUP, so "sell them for half price" isn't constructive.
I am thinking more marketing here, and it has to make sense money wise.

An example would be ordering ISP, adding full Lemans stripes and the brushed aluminum dash plating then getting a decal in the style of the old "Sprint" script and calling them a "Sprint Edition" at a cost of $500 to $600.
What are your thoughts?

This is your assignment, should you choose to accept it...

Altoid

If you want true to life answers you will have to present a true to life scenario. And can’t really believe the same amount will be produced month to month when there is a hold up this month and it could be gone tomorrow and push the IUP back to 70%+.

As for marketing it personally I cannot stand the car without IUP so that would be hard to market it. You would have to price it very low as to me the interior becomes cheap, thus the overall product must adjust to reflect it. The IUP lite is not that great but it better then without it, maybe if Ford came out and told us the official reason we could work around that but without knowing its very hard as you could include everything else in a IUP lite version 2.

Galaxie

Steve, great topic,

Here are a few other ideas:

how about other than lemans stripes, there are Boss302 style stripes as well. They look really good with the '05's.

Definitely go with some kind of dash panels. At least have them available to offer to the customers. Some people might want a carbon-fibre style, whereas some could prefer the IUP style dash panel. Best to have it as a customer's choice.

EDIT:
Try to keep things on topic, the question is, what ideas are there out there to make a car without IUP more appealing to a typical customer. Obviously people who want IUP and won't consider it otherwise won't be steered either way.

BLAKE

Offering pre-installed aftermarket appliqués?

EDIT: Don't know if this matters, but personally, my biggest issue is that I want the two extra guages. I don't care about the MyColor, but it needs the guages and aluminum trim, IMO.

05GT-O.C.D.

This makes it sounds like dealer's are having a hard time moving the '05's off the lot???

Ponyman

The mustangs will sell. I originally ordered IUP, got fed up w/ the delay, and bought from a lot. There are plenty of enthusiasts who will purchase the cars- it's very early to begin worrying about it.

Jim

Racer

Steve, I agree with Blake about the two additional gauges. It seems as if the dealer could get the gauge panel facing from Ford and make it a dealer installed option. And I also agree with Galaxie as to the Boss 302 striping. If you can take a non IUP car and make it unique, without overkill, it should help move them off the lot.

holderca1

The issue with that is everyone is just assuming that the IUP hold up is the MyColor. But to me that doesn't make since, if that were the case they would be offering a package that has everything but MyColor. Instead we have a package that has just the shifter and steering wheel. So that leaves me to believe that there is a possible shortage in all of the other components. The best bet for dealers is to order aftermarket parts and install them.

Ranger

For customers wanting the IUP, concur with some of the previous comments: have a aftermarket dash kit(s). available, additional striping option(s) and the IUP Lite.

,,,,,,,,and hope they don't look at pages 16-17 of the brochure!

jwede

I'm holding out for the message center which can't be decoupled from MyColor as they are integrated.

I'd love to see a package with everything but MyColor.

r22tech

To market it: Don't junk it up with aftermarket dash stuff...think "TRACK VERSION". Order them stripped, then throw some carefully selected 18"s with sticky tires, race shocks/springs, strut-tower brace and call it a day!!! It is what it is, and you won't fool anyone with compromised replacements for what is wanted in the IUP equipped cars. There are plenty of buyers for bare-bones V8 Mustangs, especially if it Already has performance mods that they would be throwing on anyway!

Galaxie

Another thing that could be considered is to offer the 1/4 window louvres offered in the aftermarket.

78Mach1

AFTERMARKET IUP, its worth the extra $70 if the car is off the lot a month earlier! Always having atleast a couple IUP cars on the lot will move the deal along with those picky buyers, and there's alot of them! I would not buy without IUP and leather!

daveyramone

I like the non-IUP cars... I guess I'm in the minority. The all-black dash looks clean and simple. I don't need the flash to go fast!

As for the question, just toss the aftermarket dash overlays on the cars and leave it at that. The aftermarket jobs look better anyway since the centers of the air vents remain black instead of receiving the cheap-o silver look as in the factory IUP cars. Plus, the extra guages are merely idiot lighst with needles so not having them isn't a major deal. And the MyColor? Who cares? I'd be programming mine green (like the non-IUP cars) for that retro feel anyway.

In summary: send all the unloved and undesireable non-IUP GTs to me!

HorsC

The way i look at the IUP ordeal...For the people who haven't kept up with the 05 Mustang since day one, the cars without the IUP probably look really great to them if they do not know about the IUP...But to those of us that know about the IUP(most of us) after seeing it find it rather impossible to leave it plain without the IUP...And either must have the factory IUP or go aftermarket.
that is just my $.02

legend05

I myself , in a way, would feel cheated without the IUP.
Its not the money part of it.
Ford offered it, people bought and I want it.
Offer the aftermarket stuff along with the correct stripping.
Not those toothpick stripes ford is offering. Give the 2005 orders
something a little different from the 04 buyers.
They can have thier "my clolour"
We will have the aftermarket bling with the stripes.

Great thread Steve

jsaylor

I like this thread too. As for the lack of IUP I could easily live without the info center, or even the two extra guages for that matter. Don't get me wrong as I like my guages, but the oil pressure guage is next to useless as without giving you a genuine, numbered reading it is really more of a "you just blew your motor" guage.

I could also live without the my-color option, even though I would not mind having it. Ford's green-lit guages have never done much for me and I can at least relieve some of this by turning them blue or white with my-color. But, it is hardly a must-have. That said, I am glad that Ford introduced the ISAP as the steering wheel just does not work without the aluminum trim IMO.

If it were up to me I would order as many cars with leather and the ISAP as I could. The leather seats and the aluminum trim on the steering wheel make a huge difference in how this car look all by themselves IMO.

Even so though, I might order one or two as "strippers' as somebody above suggested. Even though the interior does look relatively plain this way there is something about owning a car that has no options on it but the ones which make it faster. My 73 Mach-1 had originally been ordered this way, and it was always a conversation-starter with people when they noticed the interior was plain.

jsaylor

Heck, wheels packages can make a huge difference too. Imagine a new Mustang in black (like this one) with these wheels on it.

http://www.americanracing.com/gallery/deta...=V&section=gall

dingo

Give the cars their own unique stripe package like the Boss 302s and market them as a special dealer package such like that of the '68 California Special among other dealer specials of the 60's. Who knows...maybe someday they will be extra valuable?

houtex

4 gauges, leather steering wheel, bright dash trim. That would be mandatory.

I'm with blake, I can live without the Mycolor. Problem is, Ford didn't do that, did they?

Therefore I am one of those who, no matter what you did, without them gauges, the car is not sellable to me. Mustang has had 4 gauge clusters since '94, and probably some before then, and to not have them now is stupid. This is my rant, and now it's over.

Good luck with it, though.