eci

be "thankful"? Ford should be "thankful" it has paying customers.

eci

I just bought a Weber Summit S-670! 3 weeks till delivery!

RedWings

The S-670 is a bad motherf*cker when it comes to Grills.

I picked up a Weber Genesis S-320. found a good deal on slickdeals.net so I got it for $731 shipped. Usually $849+Tax at Home Depot/Lowes.

Mas35NYR

Yes and it's called full disclosure!

eci

Nice! Webers rule.

You'll hate me, mine was free. Cisco Systems rewards points. I'll have to pay taxes on the award though, they 1099-MISC me at the end of the year.

Source

Your car is already built dude, you're going to get it. It isn't going to magically disappear the longer it sits on the lot there. They aren't going to forget about your car.

They should build teleportation machines at the factory...

hudson2212

I might as well toss out some unwanted opinions here.

First off, my build has not even been scheduled yet, so the only way the delay affects me is holding up the start of my car (well that and a pesky volcano in Iceland) One thing I have noticed in all of the threads I have seen about the delay is that more than half of the people who say "relax" have not even ordered yet. I think a lot of them are trying to be helpful, but I think some of them are actually working to build up extra drama by inciting those already worked up. I will be honest, RedWings, I am not positive which side of that fence you are on, but it kind of looks like you have developed a personal hobby out of harassing IT_Guru. Your time and effort, I will not say I have never seen somebody having a bad day and decided to poke a bit just to get some entertainment.

When it comes to tracking, why does everybody assume it is going take a ton of time and money. Since Ford maintains ISO qualifications it is beyond a safe bet they have tons of reports and forms on every car going through there. (if you have ever been through an ISO audit, you know how extremely painful they make it if every little box is not filled in) That being said, it would be short sighted to assume they do this on paper, so it is a very safe bet they have a very large database that shows exactly where everything they build was for each day. There is no need for a team of people to translate this into some kind of website that allows you to see where your car is, just get a couple of code monkeys (programmers) and let them go at it. I see a lot of posts about how in the past they had no idea what was going on and that was fine, well times change. There is no reason not to make some info more accurate and share it more freely. I am not saying post blueprints before the car is even developed, but be a bit more clear in how things are going.

The secrecy thing I feel is more a product of the corporate environment than worry about scaring away customers. The funny thing is that most employees probably officially know less about what is going on than people outside the company looking in. I have never quite figured out the corporate mentality that says workers in the dark is the way to go, but I have seen it every where I work. So I do not know that it is withheld to protect their image, but more because that is the way they have always done it, kind of like the tracking of the orders.

I am sure someday in the future it will be easy to log in and see where my car is, but I imagine that will not be until auto makers develop a way that it benefits them, because it will not come about to make the small percentage who special order happy.

I would say that is my two cents, but I am sure that is grossly over valued.

cdynaco

So does Blue Oval still do their update thing by volunteers? I emailed my VIN and on their lunch they provided the progress update.

But again - they're built in less than one day. Once its on the line you aren't going to learn any more.

RedWings

What would be awesome if Ford allowed you to pick the car up from the factory after it was completed. That would be a hell of a perk. Let you tour the plant first and when you are done you take delivery of your car.

So IT_Guru could have had his car a few weeks ago.

IT_Guru

I'd gladly make the 180 mile drive for me.

cdynaco

Don't you think that most of us that comment to be patient have gone through it before?

I don't think ISO posts in real time which is what the twitter/fb/ipod/texter crowd is wanting...

RedWings

It wouldn't be the first time i'd go back to Michigan to pick up a car. In '04 I flew in to grab a '04 Grand Prix and drove it back to VA. What an awesome ride home with a new car.

RedWings

What he is saying about ISO is that they must retain records of each product during the building phase so its easily identifiable. Most likely this is done electronically. So the data is there, its just a matter of converting that data to a form that can be easily retrieved/displayed on a public website for customers.

The only problem I see is after its off the line. I don't know what kind of records/data they keep on ETA on deliveries. That may be a same day decision. They'll just say we'll ship number 1-150 today and the record is updated.

IT_Guru

If you guys are already tired of me complaining about waiting for my car - you should hear my wife, she's been listening to it since January!

I'm sure all this will melt away the first time I get to mash the gas with the windows down on the highway though.

RedWings

My GF won't even talk to me about the Mustang. She can't stand them for some reason.

Then again she drives nothing but imports. I don't know how since her father is a big Ford fan and the rest of her family are huge GM people.

PodLite

I think Ford should have disclosed the fact that there has been a delay in getting the Mustangs to dealers. I'm not saying that they should divulge into what the hold was about, but just mention to reps, dealers (whoever can get the info down to the customer) that the ETA might not be met. It wouldn't take much time at all to just send out a general memo that there's a hold. But with that said, there's no reason to actually share details about the hold...that info wouldn't make a single difference either now or later. Here's a comparison: Surgeon's are taught to perform procedures in specific ways. For example, the length and angle of cuts should be made according to guidelines. But they often misjudge and perform cuts and do other things that are outside of what's considered "normal" and they know in their heads that "Oops, I messed that up." But they adjust the steps that follow in the surgery and in the end they perform an operation that they believe will provide a successful result. Even in this case, the surgeon never discloses the "screw-up" to the patient.

cdynaco

Yeah they do!!

RedWings

Lucky SOB.

I love Weber a lot. I currently have a WSM, the S-320, and want a performer next.

All-Or-Nothing

I voted no. Quality Control should be their main concern. Announcing the hold is fine but the details should just be kept to themselves.

cdynaco

Right.
And any communication they choose to offer during manufacturing is simply a courtesy.
Because its their car until you sign on the dotted line and write the check at the time of delivery.
A down payment for placing your order is not the same as becoming owner of the vehicle.