Ford has no clue who their customers our

[Gregs24]

Huh? Struggling to shift them? Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about. It would seem that gives us something in common.

Perhaps you’re confusing me with another poster. That can happen when one is compelled to refute every statement that offends his delicate sensitivities. And has to always get the last word in…

I wasn't the one that felt the need to 'join in' with an insult, but hey each to their own! Nothing delicate about me

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[Marty1000]

In the year 2023 the lowest price V8 sports car was Camaro priced around 40K. Since they no longer make that car if you select the 2025 Model year~45K Mustang GT today, there is no other new V8 car on the market under 40K. Ford can keep the price as is today or increase it, but if you want to own new iconic car with 5.0 liter V8 like the DH having 100hp per liter that are naturally aspirated you have only one choice at I say pretty good price. My guess is that they know the customer and the market very well. They are now the only game in town for such a V8 powered vehicle. BTW- they have over 100 Markets around the world where they can sell this American V8 Icon!!

 

[robvas]

Ford marketing has entered the chat

 

[Rocket Man]

where? I don't see them.

 

[Cucurú]

Ford has no clue who their customers are the GTD is way overpriced and not even for the regular Mustang buyer. Chevy is selling a 233 mph Corvette for 174,000 + and we got this 325,000+ GTD that cannot even be bought by a regular Mustang customer you have be some youtuber to get one. I think chevy is doing it wright making as many Corvette's as their customers want. Mustang sells are down because they are over pricing the Mustang for what performance they are delivering. This is just my opinion I have bought allot of Mustangs in my life but do not have one because Ford has dropped the ball with what they are charging for the new ones. I will not pay GT500 or GT350 Shelby prices for a 5.0 performance level Mustang. Ford has lost their minds especially with the quality level they are ponying up with the new Mustang.

Seems Ford is going the way of Harley-Davidson. I could say more, but it will get very political. These companies seems to not give a tripe about us.

 

[OppoLock]

In the year 2023 the lowest price V8 sports car was Camaro priced around 40K. Since they no longer make that car if you select the 2025 Model year~45K Mustang GT today, there is no other new V8 car on the market under 40K. Ford can keep the price as is today or increase it, but if you want to own new iconic car with 5.0 liter V8 like the DH having 100hp per liter that are naturally aspirated you have only one choice at I say pretty good price. My guess is that they know the customer and the market very well. They are now the only game in town for such a V8 powered vehicle. BTW- they have over 100 Markets around the world where they can sell this American V8 Icon!!

They phoned it in this generation. Have never lost so much steam on something I waited so eagerly for.

Considering their record-low sales saying literally everything we need to hear about this S650, they're either going to continue to bleed off whatever's left of the former customers by increasing cost, decreasing value, and continuing to halt innovation on what actually matters (hint, it's not UE engine-backed graphics; it's not Lenovo Thinkbooks glued to the dash, etc), OR they're going to facelift the hell out of this thing, make the exterior stand out with some GTD-inspired elements and making actual, practical improvements to the driving experience.

So disappointed in Ford's moves the past couple of years.

 

[Gregs24]

They phoned it in this generation. Have never lost so much steam on something I waited so eagerly for.

Considering their record-low sales saying literally everything we need to hear about this S650, they're either going to continue to bleed off whatever's left of the former customers by increasing cost, decreasing value, and continuing to halt innovation on what actually matters (hint, it's not UE engine-backed graphics; it's not Lenovo Thinkbooks glued to the dash, etc), OR they're going to facelift the hell out of this thing, make the exterior stand out with some GTD-inspired elements and making actual, practical improvements to the driving experience.

So disappointed in Ford's moves the past couple of years.

The trouble is those things you don't like such as the digital dash (prefer it myself) are what younger buyers like. The problem with older traditional buyers is that they die and stop buying cars. The only business that makes money out of dead people are funeral directors!

Honestly the current Mustang is a 'legacy' product. Keep making it whilst they can and sell for a reasonable profit. Thank you Ford for keeping the current car going as long as they can.

 

[gtstang462002]

The trouble is those things you don't like such as the digital dash (prefer it myself) are what younger buyers like. The problem with older traditional buyers is that they die and stop buying cars. The only business that makes money out of dead people are funeral directors!

Honestly the current Mustang is a 'legacy' product. Keep making it whilst they can and sell for a reasonable profit. Thank you Ford for keeping the current car going as long as they can.

I agree, I like the dash in my S650, while I am probably not the "target generation, as I am in my mid 40's.

I almost walked out of the finance office from buying my car. I have prime credit 715-730 depending on who you look at and the best the dealer could come at me with on financing was 10.8% APR. I also had money to put down on the car if that helped to get the interest rate down. Dealer pretty much told me those were the rates and that was it. I made a phone call while sitting in their office to Navy Federal and got approved at 5.5%. Probably should have made that phone call first, but I figured Ford credit is usually competitive. Bottom line is no one wants to pay 10% + in interest on a car note so that is slowing car sales as well. It would be interesting to see how many sales start on the S650 and end up with a MachE sale because of incentives and "special financing".

Side note, dealers/salesman have gotten lazy since COVID and pretty well expect vehicles to sell themselves and are not willing to negotiate on pricing anymore. You are either going to pay their price or they are going to sell it to the next person that comes through the door. Case and point is the Toyota dealership down the street from me hasn't had a full lot of new cars to sell since COVID and can't keep more that 15-20 cars on the lot. As soon as they get a truckload of cars in the area gone out the door at sticker every time.

 

[Gregs24]

I agree, I like the dash in my S650, while I am probably not the "target generation, as I am in my mid 40's.

I almost walked out of the finance office from buying my car. I have prime credit 715-730 depending on who you look at and the best the dealer could come at me with on financing was 10.8% APR. I also had money to put down on the car if that helped to get the interest rate down. Dealer pretty much told me those were the rates and that was it. I made a phone call while sitting in their office to Navy Federal and got approved at 5.5%. Probably should have made that phone call first, but I figured Ford credit is usually competitive. Bottom line is no one wants to pay 10% + in interest on a car note so that is slowing car sales as well. It would be interesting to see how many sales start on the S650 and end up with a MachE sale because of incentives and "special financing".

Side note, dealers/salesman have gotten lazy since COVID and pretty well expect vehicles to sell themselves and are not willing to negotiate on pricing anymore. You are either going to pay their price or they are going to sell it to the next person that comes through the door. Case and point is the Toyota dealership down the street from me hasn't had a full lot of new cars to sell since COVID and can't keep more that 15-20 cars on the lot. As soon as they get a truckload of cars in the area gone out the door at sticker every time.

If there is a next person coming through the door why would you negotiate on price? It isn't lazy it's common sense!

Interest rates on finance are a whole different topic, but certainly rates tend to be higher for vehicles that are easier to sell.

 

[gtstang462002]

If there is a next person coming through the door why would you negotiate on price? It isn't lazy it's common sense!

Interest rates on finance are a whole different topic, but certainly rates tend to be higher for vehicles that are easier to sell.

Yes, but the next person coming in the door could be a week to a month later. I didn't mean to imply that they were lined up out the door.

Most dealerships that I drive by never seem to have a lot of customers at the front door trying to buy cars, most are on the side trying to get them worked on or buy parts. That was true for the 25 years that I worked in the industry and still holds true today. So I would stand by my lazy statement and they need to negotiate in order to move volume.

Very few individuals are retiring as car salesman, most do it as a "filler" job while looking for their actual career anymore mostly because they are not making a decent living on their commissions from selling 1-2 cars a month. The guys that hustle, negotiate, and move volume end up with a decent career in car sales. I suspect some of this comes from Elon Musk selling Tesla's through kiosks alsom, lol.

 

[robvas]

They phoned it in this generation. Have never lost so much steam on something I waited so eagerly for.

Go back and watch the 2024 Mustang reveal. So lame, and the people they had behind it? Ugh. DEI hires?

 

[robvas]

Side note, dealers/salesman have gotten lazy since COVID and pretty well expect vehicles to sell themselves and are not willing to negotiate on pricing anymore. You are either going to pay their price or they are going to sell it to the next person that comes through the door. Case and point is the Toyota dealership down the street from me hasn't had a full lot of new cars to sell since COVID and can't keep more that 15-20 cars on the lot. As soon as they get a truckload of cars in the area gone out the door at sticker every time.

Our Toyota dealer has more vehicles on the lot than I've ever seen.

And they've got big discounts on things like the Tundra.

During covid they wanted a $3,000 markup on a Sienna minivan, told them to piss off and got a Honda for MSRP.

 

[9secondko]

The trouble is those things you don't like such as the digital dash (prefer it myself) are what younger buyers like. The problem with older traditional buyers is that they die and stop buying cars. The only business that makes money out of dead people are funeral directors!

Honestly the current Mustang is a 'legacy' product. Keep making it whilst they can and sell for a reasonable profit. Thank you Ford for keeping the current car going as long as they can.

thinking of it as legacy product is what’s killing it. It’s not 1960 anymore. And just duct taping iPads isn’t helping.

The problem with catering ONLY to older buyers is that they’ve been there snd donr thst. The problem with catering ONLY to younger buyers is they have no money and tastes change on a whim.

so you take the legendary product and continue to reinvent, keeping it the top of its class as you carry it forward. It has the same spirit, but modern tech and performance.

I don’t mind the digital dash myself. I like it. But it could have been implemented in a much better way that modernized mustang cues while moving everything forward.

the problem with the car currently is that it could be so much more for the same money. But thinking such as yours keeps it stuck in the mud.

it’s not a legacy product. It’s an iconic one. Icons lose their luster when they languish. They regain it when they win. Actors in bad movies get seen as washed up. Fighters who lose get vowed as past their prime. But a quality win or movie puts them back in the bright lights.

the answer to the problem isn’t just “let it die.” Of course it’s dying. Ford did nothing with it. It’s the same car for 20 years. Even similar performance in that time. Not cool. This is an enthusiast car. And it’s very difficult to get enthusiastic about thst. And it’s looked very similar.

ford has done the absolute bare minimum with this car (which was successful for its category - in addition to being a halo product) while investing in other vehicles that aren’t even successful for their categories.

it’s not a secret either. Everyone knows. And when you’re spending 60-80 grand, that’s not what you’re looking for.

ford has the 5.0, the 5.2 and more that everyone lives. But they saddle it with a 20 year plus old platform and barely changed appearance, and what did they expect?

If you were planning to kill the mustang while trying to maintain favor with customers, this is how you’d do it.

you have to invest to get a return on investment.

that’s why the only real solution is to fire the members at ford pushing for this crap and replace them with car people. That’s always been a good bet in automotive history.

 

[kinelisch]

Seems Ford is going the way of Harley-Davidson. I could say more, but it will get very political. These companies seems to not give a tripe about us.

Can you please expand on the Harley-Davidson thought?

 

[Marty1000]

ford has the 5.0, the 5.2 and more that everyone lives. But they saddle it with a 20 year plus old platform and barely changed appearance, and what did they expect?

I think that they(FORD) have done more then nothing in the last 20 years, just look at the chassis IRS, MagneRide, brakes and other safety features. I am not sure you need re-design iconic vehicles every few years as long as you can properly target the product to the next generation.

Note Ford Mustang TV adverts are no more, but Facebook , Instagram and other media online is used to attract new potential younger buyers to the brand. Yes, the price is higher, but so is the price of other iconic vehicles on the market!

At every auto show I have attended over the years it was always the Chevy Corvette display that had the larger audience compare to the Mustang show area since that car is a bigger American Icon with C1 to C8 updates and always much higher priced compare to the Pony.

BTW- By the time I could afford to buy a base C8 they(GM) removed the Manual tranny so my wish to own a Corvette is no longer there. The DH was the second choice for me wanting an American icon with V8 and a manual. I am still hoping that Ford will make the Lincoln Mark-10 using the S650 platform in the future and maybe a four door Lincoln sedan with a manual that is not priced like the Caddy CT5V.

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