Ford to sell old F-150 beside new one?
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Ford to sell old F-150 beside new one?
I saw an article on this the other day. They wanna hit 1,000,000 in sales next year by selling the current 04 as the "Heritage" F-150 and the new one in the same showroom.
I am not sure if this a good idea, as I think a truck buyers main quotient is price....most don't care about frilly interiors and such...opinions?
I am not sure if this a good idea, as I think a truck buyers main quotient is price....most don't care about frilly interiors and such...opinions?
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What's with everyone selling or planning on selling old versions of their cars simulateneously with the new versions?! 
I gotta tell you, unless the new F150 has some MAJOR flaws, I don't see the point... there are only so many new trucks that can be sold each year...
What would the point be of offering two full size trucks!?!?
I gotta tell you, unless the new F150 has some MAJOR flaws, I don't see the point... there are only so many new trucks that can be sold each year...
What would the point be of offering two full size trucks!?!?
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Originally posted by Darth Xed
What's with everyone selling or planning on selling old versions of their cars simulateneously with the new versions?!
I gotta tell you, unless the new F150 has some MAJOR flaws, I don't see the point... there are only so many new trucks that can be sold each year...
What would the point be of offering two full size trucks!?!?
What's with everyone selling or planning on selling old versions of their cars simulateneously with the new versions?!
I gotta tell you, unless the new F150 has some MAJOR flaws, I don't see the point... there are only so many new trucks that can be sold each year...
What would the point be of offering two full size trucks!?!?
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From: Ohio
Originally posted by formula79
Another crazy thing is the new truck costs a $1,000 more than the old one to make, which hurts thier profit margins big time. Supposedly they are gonna wait till after launch (to avoid recalls) and look for ways to cut corners...
Another crazy thing is the new truck costs a $1,000 more than the old one to make, which hurts thier profit margins big time. Supposedly they are gonna wait till after launch (to avoid recalls) and look for ways to cut corners...
Interesting...
I suppose they have pretty good margins on trucks, so the $1000 increase in cost wasn't as big an issue as it would be with a car or something, but in the days where processes are streamlined, and platforms are shared... it seems odd that they could add that much cost to a truck
Still, there are only so many truck buyers out there, and with the amount of commercial business, who you've got to figure don't put a whole lot of emphasis on styling and such, I don't see the point of offering two full size trucks from the same division, unless there is a functional shortfall with the new truck.
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From: Crystal Falls, MI USA
If you go back in time to 1999, when the new Silverado and Sierra trucks debuted, those trucks also sold next to the old version of the truck until MY2000. So this is nothing new. They do this until the full ramp up of production of the new generation of truck.
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Originally posted by 1990 Turbo Grand Prix
If you go back in time to 1999, when the new Silverado and Sierra trucks debuted, those trucks also sold next to the old version of the truck until MY2000. So this is nothing new. They do this until the full ramp up of production of the new generation of truck.
If you go back in time to 1999, when the new Silverado and Sierra trucks debuted, those trucks also sold next to the old version of the truck until MY2000. So this is nothing new. They do this until the full ramp up of production of the new generation of truck.
comes in.
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Turbo's right. When you are replacing a vehicle that has as many versions as a large line of pickups (different wheelbases and cab configurations), being made in more than a couple of factories, you can't introduce them all at once.
Just think of the initial financial hit of converting over such a huge and varied line, and the production laspe as these plants get up to speed. It makes complete sense to phase in production.
Just think of the initial financial hit of converting over such a huge and varied line, and the production laspe as these plants get up to speed. It makes complete sense to phase in production.
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Originally posted by guionM
Turbo's right. When you are replacing a vehicle that has as many versions as a large line of pickups (different wheelbases and cab configurations), being made in more than a couple of factories, you can't introduce them all at once.
Just think of the initial financial hit of converting over such a huge and varied line, and the production laspe as these plants get up to speed. It makes complete sense to phase in production.
Turbo's right. When you are replacing a vehicle that has as many versions as a large line of pickups (different wheelbases and cab configurations), being made in more than a couple of factories, you can't introduce them all at once.
Just think of the initial financial hit of converting over such a huge and varied line, and the production laspe as these plants get up to speed. It makes complete sense to phase in production.
"Heritage-Edition" F-150 sounds a lot like "Malibu Classic"...
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Originally posted by Darth Xed
Makes 100% sense, and I totally agree... the way I read Branded's post, though, was that this was a long term proposition...
"Heritage-Edition" F-150 sounds a lot like "Malibu Classic"...
Makes 100% sense, and I totally agree... the way I read Branded's post, though, was that this was a long term proposition...
"Heritage-Edition" F-150 sounds a lot like "Malibu Classic"...
Ford Aiming for One Million F-Series
Ford Motor Co. wants to be the first automaker ever to top the million mark in the full-size pickup segment, the company told its dealers at a meeting in Orlando, Florida, last week, TheCarConnection has learned. The presentation was called to introduce retailers to an all-new version of the big pickup, which company officials have called their most important new product in decades. Normally, during a model update, manufacturers expect to see sales decline, but Ford has borrowed some tricks from its Japanese rivals and expects minimal disruption during the rolling changeover, which will begin with the Norfolk, Virginia plant next month. The conversion will be completed next year when the new truck goes into production at the completely rebuilt assembly plant at the Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan. During the changeover, Ford will keep the old truck, renamed the “Heritage” F-150, in production. In fact, it will be the only full-sized Ford pickup offered with a V-6 during the 2004 model-year. Combining old and new models, Ford believes it might be able to drive volume to one million in ’04 — though that is being described as a “stretch goal.” That would be at least 100,000 over the previous yearly record for the F-Series, long the best-selling motor vehicle in the U.S. What’s unclear is how much the struggling automaker will be willing to spend to achieve its goal. Incentives have been rising in the highly profitable segment, and many analysts predict they could rise even more in the face of a weak economy — and the launch of new import competition, such as the Nissan Titan. —Paul A. Eisensteinrd
Ford Motor Co. wants to be the first automaker ever to top the million mark in the full-size pickup segment, the company told its dealers at a meeting in Orlando, Florida, last week, TheCarConnection has learned. The presentation was called to introduce retailers to an all-new version of the big pickup, which company officials have called their most important new product in decades. Normally, during a model update, manufacturers expect to see sales decline, but Ford has borrowed some tricks from its Japanese rivals and expects minimal disruption during the rolling changeover, which will begin with the Norfolk, Virginia plant next month. The conversion will be completed next year when the new truck goes into production at the completely rebuilt assembly plant at the Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan. During the changeover, Ford will keep the old truck, renamed the “Heritage” F-150, in production. In fact, it will be the only full-sized Ford pickup offered with a V-6 during the 2004 model-year. Combining old and new models, Ford believes it might be able to drive volume to one million in ’04 — though that is being described as a “stretch goal.” That would be at least 100,000 over the previous yearly record for the F-Series, long the best-selling motor vehicle in the U.S. What’s unclear is how much the struggling automaker will be willing to spend to achieve its goal. Incentives have been rising in the highly profitable segment, and many analysts predict they could rise even more in the face of a weak economy — and the launch of new import competition, such as the Nissan Titan. —Paul A. Eisensteinrd
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From: Michigan's left coast
Originally posted by 1990 Turbo Grand Prix
If you go back in time to 1999, when the new Silverado and Sierra trucks debuted, those trucks also sold next to the old version of the truck until MY2000.
If you go back in time to 1999, when the new Silverado and Sierra trucks debuted, those trucks also sold next to the old version of the truck until MY2000.
As others said, it's nearly impossible for a manufacturer to switch over so many lines at the same time, and it gives them the ability to slowly ramp-up production of the new product (the Japanese have done the slow ramp-up for years). If something goes drastically wrong with the new model, you can fill the pipeline with the older model and give yourself just a bit of breathing room. Additionally, staggering the line change-overs allows you to use fewer people to launch the product, and probably has some minor financial benefits as well.
I don't see this kicking their sales numbers way up, unless they plan on giving away the old truck (buy one, get the second one half-off?
). It just seems like a good way to steal buyers away from your new product.
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From: Sterling Heights, MI
Yippee. I think it's pretty cheap and petty to get over 1,000,000 trucks sold a year by offering the old truck and the new truck at the same time, if that is in fact the only purpose. If the new truck is so great they should be able to top one mil anyway, right?
Here's a big
at Ford.
Here's a big
at Ford.
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Originally posted by Z28Wilson
Yippee. I think it's pretty cheap and petty to get over 1,000,000 trucks sold a year by offering the old truck and the new truck at the same time, if that is in fact the only purpose. If the new truck is so great they should be able to top one mil anyway, right?
Here's a big at Ford.
Yippee. I think it's pretty cheap and petty to get over 1,000,000 trucks sold a year by offering the old truck and the new truck at the same time, if that is in fact the only purpose. If the new truck is so great they should be able to top one mil anyway, right?
Here's a big
at Ford.
Explorer: 35,423
Moutaineer: 4,249
Aviator: 2,793
Total: 42,465
Trailblazer: 25,708
Blazer: 5,257
Envoy: 12,729
Bravada: 965
Total: 44,659
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From: South Jersey
Originally posted by Z28Wilson
Yippee. I think it's pretty cheap and petty to get over 1,000,000 trucks sold a year by offering the old truck and the new truck at the same time, if that is in fact the only purpose. If the new truck is so great they should be able to top one mil anyway, right?
Here's a big at Ford.
Yippee. I think it's pretty cheap and petty to get over 1,000,000 trucks sold a year by offering the old truck and the new truck at the same time, if that is in fact the only purpose. If the new truck is so great they should be able to top one mil anyway, right?
Here's a big
at Ford.
The new trucks are fantastic, and make much of the newer competition (especially the GM trucks) seem cheap, outdated, and unrefined. If Ford doesn't drop the ball and have a bunch of recalls, they will probably be able to sell a million a year.
On a side note -
My Chevy truck is a 1988 "New Style." GM made both styles in the 1988 model year.
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From: Fletcher, NC, US
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but selling new and old versions of the same product line at the same time is nothing new.
Take the Sierra and Silverado, sister trucks for a while now; isn't the 2003 Sierra still the "old style" while the 2003 Silverado the "new style"? In fact, the new Silverado is the ONLY chevy truck of its type to be the "new style"; everything else based on it hasn't caught up yet. GM's full size SUV's right now (Yukon/Tahoe/Suburban) and the Sierra, even though they are based right off the Silverado, they are the "old style" for 2003. It's nothing new.
In 1987 when the new generation chevy truck was intruduced, for a few years after, till 1990 or later, the Suburban, K5 Blazer and heavy duty stuff like Crew Cabs and 3500's were still using the same ol' design that was introduced in 1973! Took 'em a few years to catch up and be based off the 87.
Speaking of 87.. in 2000 you could still get a "Classic" version of the C/K 1500 type truck.. it looked absolutely identical to the 1987. same ancient looking grill, simple trim, etc. Totally unlike any other 2000 gm truck. if that's not selling new and old side by side, I don't know what is!
Just a few examples. New/old simultaneously has been done for a long time now all over the map., primarily with trucks. nothing to get excited about.
gt
Take the Sierra and Silverado, sister trucks for a while now; isn't the 2003 Sierra still the "old style" while the 2003 Silverado the "new style"? In fact, the new Silverado is the ONLY chevy truck of its type to be the "new style"; everything else based on it hasn't caught up yet. GM's full size SUV's right now (Yukon/Tahoe/Suburban) and the Sierra, even though they are based right off the Silverado, they are the "old style" for 2003. It's nothing new.
In 1987 when the new generation chevy truck was intruduced, for a few years after, till 1990 or later, the Suburban, K5 Blazer and heavy duty stuff like Crew Cabs and 3500's were still using the same ol' design that was introduced in 1973! Took 'em a few years to catch up and be based off the 87.
Speaking of 87.. in 2000 you could still get a "Classic" version of the C/K 1500 type truck.. it looked absolutely identical to the 1987. same ancient looking grill, simple trim, etc. Totally unlike any other 2000 gm truck. if that's not selling new and old side by side, I don't know what is!
Just a few examples. New/old simultaneously has been done for a long time now all over the map., primarily with trucks. nothing to get excited about.
gt
Last edited by kizz; Jun 5, 2003 at 02:25 PM.
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