They do not have to be Mustang related, ask any Ford question and if I do not know the answer, i will find it out for you. I generally check messages 4-5 times a day depending on business and check my email quite a bit more as i have a lot of out of town customers and vendors I do business with.

I have almost 24 years of sales, truck management, finance, and commercial/fleet experience; not to mention a first hand knowledge of Ford's ordering and allocation system. Be happy to help.

 

O.K. - Here's a non-Mustang question...

Do you have any details on the 2006 Ford CV police package? I have heard rumors ranging from "no significant change from the '05 Crown Vic" all the way to "new body style, new suspension, etc."

Also, what is Ford's strategy in the police car market now that Dodge is roaring back into the hunt with it's Charger package? While the Ford CV is a good police package (I've had 3 of the current generation '96, '98 and now a '03) and seems through minor upgrades and refinments, to be getting better all the time - it is basically unchanged in several years. It seems to me that after Dodge left the police market in the late '80s and Chevy left in '96 (after building one of the hottest police cars of all time) that Ford went a little stale. Competition is a good thing.

Thanks,
Randall Dias

 

If yoo PM me with your address i will send you a 2006 CVPI brochure. There are subtle changes for 2006.

 

Can anyone tell me when the Shelby will be available to order? I have touched bases with every SVT dealership in my area and they all keep trying to sell me an 06. I already have an 04 that I am happy with and the only thing that will get me out of it any time soon would be the Shelby.

Will the Shelby be availble in a convertible?

 

As far as I know, Ford has not announced an official intro date for the Shelby. Most unofficial sources say late summer-fall of 2006. They are probably going to be limited production and I know most SVT dealers already have a bunch of deposits for a wait list. My store has 12 deposits. You may be able to get one around 2008.
Ford has not announced a convertible model but there have been spy shots on this forum of some driving around Detroit.

 

That is odd because I have walked into several dealerships with my checkbook out wanting to leave a deposit to get onto a waiting list and everyone says there is not waiting list. This is not at just one dealership but more like 9 or 10. Am I doing something wrong here?

 

It depends on the dealership. I would bet that a lot of salespersons have no idea about the Shelby, they can't make any money off one today so they do not care. It is up to each dealership whether they want to take deposits on the car. I personally have 5 deposits for SHelby's. I told each customer very clearly that we have no firm info from Ford and that the car likely will be available later next year as an 07 model and that is all the info we have. Nothing has been mentioned about a vert model. I also clearly told all 5 customera that at this point we had no idea on pricing or how many we would be getting, it is ALL conjecture at this point.
We did tell them we would guarantee getting them a car even if we had to buy them on the open market at a price over MSRP. They could then decide yes or no. I just want to take care of my customer base because after 23+ years I am in it for the long haul and not a quick sale.

 

We just moved from Chicago to Houston or I would be paying you a visit.

 

Pay me avisit anytime. Like your ride, my last 2 verts were yellow GT's. Traded the 04 for my 05.

 

The commercials on TV for the employee discount program say "At participating dealers". Are there actually dealerships that are not honoring/participating? Also, for 3 months I have been trying to get some touch up paint for my black 05 Mustang. My dealer keeps telling me that is out of stock or on back order. Is it really that hard to get black touch up paint? Should I go to another dealer just for touch up paint. The next closest dealer is 3 counties away or I would have gone there already and tried to get it. Thanks.

 

I do not know of any dealer not participating in the program. Ford told us that if we sell 1 vehicle under the plan then we have to sell them all [other than the excluded vehicles]. I would not think that black pouch up paint is that hard to come by. I will ask my parts guy after they open this AM.

 

You asked for it, gimme the straightness on this:

In the SAME plant, they make a car with bronze (I don't know the exact color name) paint (the 6). But you can't get the Mustang in that color. You can't even order it. It's sort of a Ford color, but also it's in the SAME PLANT. What's the big problem with getting it?

I know, I know. They have a specified color chart for Mustang. So why not charge, what, $500 extra? Or even $1000? $2000? It'd be worth it, especially since it'd cost way more than that to do it after the fact. It's not like I'm asking for an all red cloth interior, ya know...

And be as excruciatingly detailed as you want. I can take it. There's never been a great answer to this, other than "You just can't." So I'll appreciate it ever so much.

Thanks!

/Still no Emberglo.
//Yes, I'm a pill about it. Sorry.

 

This is a very good question, and unfortunately I do not understand manufacturing limitations to give you a fact based answer. I do know that some high end manufacturers like Ferrari and Porsche give customers the option to paint their car to any sample. Porsche I believe charges 5 to 6 Grand for this option.
You would think it would not be that hard to load up the paint can with any color and paint away. But I guess it's not, or I think they would do it.

 

I know on trucks we can special order paint with a minimum of 5 units. We can also order a truck as a single unit for special paint [out of the special paint catalog] but it will sit until 4 other orders come in for that color. We can do the same thing for vans and squads as well as F650/750's. There is NO special paint options for the Mustang. I do not know the reason but one guess would be that AAI owns the plant; another would be that the cost would be prohibitive as paint is bought in bulk from what I am told . Wish I had a better answer for you.

 

With the family plan going on, does this cut into the salesman's profits or is the commission percentage bumped up to accomodate the decrease in price the vehicle is sold.

 

Each dealership is different but most pay what they call a "mini"; anywhere from $100 - $150 flat. Salespersons can;t make a lot this way, hopefully they sell a few more plus some used so at least they get a paycheck.

 

Here's a question about Sport Tracs. - I have a 2002 with a 5 speed manual transmission. I love this truck. People tell me it looks brand new. I wanted a leather interior, but Ford would not pair a manual transmission with leather seats.

Question A:Why on earth not? It seems like that combination would be very appealing to enthusiasts.

Question B: Last time I looked at Ford.com new Sport Tracs couldn't even be had with a manual transmission. WTF? Any inkling of why they would limit the transmission choices? The 4.0 V-6 definitely performs better mated to a manual than to an automatic.

Question C: Hope I'm not being a pain, but Ford's apparent attitude against manual transmissions has me steamed. When I replace the Sport Trac (ca 2008) I'm seriously considering talking to Dodge. I can get a Ram or Dakota with a V-8 and leather and a SIX - speed manual transmission. With gears the more the merrier. Now if an also-ran company like Dodge can offer this combination why can't or won't Ford, the finest car company on the planet? (Obviously I'm a Ford fan, though I loved my 72 vette.)

I know all of the above sounds like a rant, but I'd really like an answer. I've only owned one automatic in my life and I swore never again. (At least not while I am still in full possession of my *********.) I'd even go Japanese to avoid an automatic.
Does that sound desperate?

Extra Credit - I'm planning on ordering a 2006 Torch Red GT some time in December so as to have it some time in March or early April. Do you think this will be enough lead time? If I can't order it below MSRP here in Savannah what kind of deal can you make me? I'm talking about a convertible by the way.

 

Dumb question, but I can't find it anywhere - what is the phone number for the order information line - the "evil robot lady"

 

While I do not have an official answer by Ford, I would guess that rhe reason they stopped offering the manual trans in the Sport Trac was lack of orders. If only a handful out of thousands order a particular option then economically it does not make sense to offer it. Also the Sport Trac has been dicsontinued.

We do offer a manual trans in the Ranger, F150, and super duty.

As for the GT vert, I would order one at $1000 off MSRP since you are a TMS customer.

 

How important are the surveys after a dealership sells a car? From what I can gather, some salesmen care about them more than the actual price of the car.