2018 Bullitt Mustang (and Features) Confirmed in Window Sticker

Can't wait for next week. I go to barret Jackson on Wednesday the 17th. If the Bullitt is there I'll get some pics for u all.

It's not even about building hype or marketing... That is happening all on it's own but true Mustang fans are kind of being left out in the cold to search for these clues.

The Dodge Demon buildup was cool and it was a lot of fun for automotive enthusiasts.

IMO, Ford should be doing something similar.

Bullitt3383 said:

Actually the main reason the 08 did not do as well was due to when they released the car. 2008 was the start of the recession and no car maker was doing well. In fact the 2001 was also released in a down market.

Conversely The 2003/2004 mach 1 had very little marketing and did very well.

They may do things differently for the 50th but they will most likely not have a huge marketing budget for a niche car. Also I will be surprised if they only make green Bullitts..

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I'd like them to bring back True Blue for it also.

Well they are not even doing any buildup to the GT500 either and that's even more of a halo car.

Armen said:

It's not even about building hype or marketing... That is happening all on it's own but true Mustang fans are kind of being left out in the cold to search for these clues.

The Dodge Demon buildup was cool and it was a lot of fun for automotive enthusiasts.

IMO, Ford should be doing something similar.

Click to expand...

To a point, eventually I just got tired of seeing articles about it that when the car finally came out I felt 0 hype.

What do you think the chances are that Ford is making *one* Bullitt Mustang? As in, a single car that will be auctioned off? Some movie star or professional athlete would pay 7 figures for it, everyone would sensationalize the insane one-of-a-kind price, and it would make for a hell of a ‘donation’.

I’ve never understood why Ford seems to be so willing to underproduce desirable cars, like it’s doing right now with the GT350? As long as there are people willing to pay ADM over sticker, it means demand exceeds supply. That bean counter Hackett is all (and only) about making money. You’d think he’d want to make as much money as possible for Ford, instead of leaving it on the table for dealers.

analogman said:

What do you think the chances are that Ford is making *one* Bullitt Mustang? As in, a single car that will be auctioned off? Some movie star or professional athlete would pay 7 figures for it, everyone would sensationalize the insane one-of-a-kind price, and it would make for a hell of a ‘donation’.

I’ve never understood why Ford seems to be so willing to underproduce desirable cars, like it’s doing right now with the GT350? As long as there are people willing to pay ADM over sticker, it means demand exceeds supply. That bean counter Hackett is all (and only) about making money. You’d think he’d want to make as much money as possible for Ford, instead of leaving it on the table for dealers.

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With how many GT350's are sitting on lots right now, even at places like CarMax, I don't think they are really under-produced.

But I get what you mean, it's not like a leftover 2018 Bullitt wont get sold in 2019.

Bullitt3383 said:

Actually the main reason the 08 did not do as well was due to when they released the car. 2008 was the start of the recession and no car maker was doing well. In fact the 2001 was also released in a down market.

Conversely The 2003/2004 mach 1 had very little marketing and did very well.

They may do things differently for the 50th but they will most likely not have a huge marketing budget for a niche car. Also I will be surprised if they only make green Bullitts..

Click to expand...

one big problem i don't see anyone talking about is the age bracket for a bullitt. as time goes on the younger crowd cares less and less about steve mcqueen or the movie. i'm 33 and i know very few people my age that are familiar with either. in 08, the prospective buying group was now 7 years older than they were when the first bullitt came out. now add another 10 years on for this one lol. my father was a big mcqueen/bullitt fan so naturally i was too. i'm not so sure i would have had the same passion for the movie and car if it weren't for him. being on a forum like this can skew your perception. most people i know would walk into a dealer and pick out a mach 1 or shelby over a bullitt. the further removed we are from 1968 the less impact a bullitt will have in the big picture.

analogman said:

What do you think the chances are that Ford is making *one* Bullitt Mustang? As in, a single car that will be auctioned off? Some movie star or professional athlete would pay 7 figures for it, everyone would sensationalize the insane one-of-a-kind price, and it would make for a hell of a ‘donation’.

I’ve never understood why Ford seems to be so willing to underproduce desirable cars, like it’s doing right now with the GT350? As long as there are people willing to pay ADM over sticker, it means demand exceeds supply. That bean counter Hackett is all (and only) about making money. You’d think he’d want to make as much money as possible for Ford, instead of leaving it on the table for dealers.

Click to expand...

the gt350 is under produced? on cars.com right now there are 831 listed as new on dealer lots. just sitting! if the dealers add ADM's onto the bullitt it will sit as well. i tried finding a shelby for a family member at msrp and gave up....he bought a zo6 instead. he wants a bullitt and if i have to spend more than a day on the phone trying to find a dealer that will sell for msrp, he will be in a challenger.

analogman said:

What do you think the chances are that Ford is making *one* Bullitt Mustang? As in, a single car that will be auctioned off? Some movie star or professional athlete would pay 7 figures for it, everyone would sensationalize the insane one-of-a-kind price, and it would make for a hell of a ‘donation’.

Click to expand...

I think that would be a lot of work for Ford to do for just one car but it’s certainly a possibility. That would be a massive disappointment though. I’m so invested in the idea that I’d likely build my own 2018 Bullitt at that point if Ford doesn’t :lol:

Building just one Bullitt would seem to be little different from a manufacturer creating a single show car, which they do all the time. Might even be a little easier for a Bullitt - some green paint, a few emblems, and *presto!*, instant Bullitt.

I’d love to see another production Bullitt. It would probably tempt me out of my current 2015 GT - but only if I didn’t have to get ripped off and pay over sticker. If there’s an ‘ADM’, or even a crazy sticker price, then I’ll either stay in my current car, or might even think about going down the dark side with a Corvette next time.

Sound_SS said:

one big problem i don't see anyone talking about is the age bracket for a bullitt. as time goes on the younger crowd cares less and less about steve mcqueen or the movie. i'm 33 and i know very few people my age that are familiar with either. in 08, the prospective buying group was now 7 years older than they were when the first bullitt came out. now add another 10 years on for this one lol. my father was a big mcqueen/bullitt fan so naturally i was too. i'm not so sure i would have had the same passion for the movie and car if it weren't for him. being on a forum like this can skew your perception. most people i know would walk into a dealer and pick out a mach 1 or shelby over a bullitt. the further removed we are from 1968 the less impact a bullitt will have in the big picture.

Click to expand...

Can you think of a Mustang in a more modern movie that people in 10+ years will want as a trim? Maybe an Eleanor?

Ford will not produce 'just one' car. It would serve no purpose and if they did it- it would be all over the media pre-auction to drive up the bids...

Why limited numbers--lots of reasons. Sorry can't go into the entire auto industry process in one post... Mainly it is program economics..the "program" is sold to sell X cars at X price (the internal processes to get authority to build a variant within Ford is HUGE and time consuming). They try and estimate what the market will support, they would rather be short then overstocked. In that regard they put out contracts..many suppliers are limited in production capacity. They promise Ford 500 of X parts (carbon fiber wheels say) over a year...they mean just that...500 over a year. That business may not be able to ramp up production (it is not only skilled crafts folks but shop size, equipment capacity etc).

Ford isn't out to squeeze every dime from a GT350 - Sorry but it is NOT a profit center... rental Mustangs and F150s have a much greater impact on the bottom line then even 5000 more GT350s would ever have.

These are Halo cars---they are dream cars that get folks on the lot to look at then buy their Fusion as well as market/media publicity. In 1969 the bad ass Boss 302 was produced in a run of a little over 1600 cars. No internet, not easy to find one--good luck. And Ford's reaction (IN 1969): then President "Bunkie" Knudson has been quoted as saying: show a guy a car he can't get and it will drive him nuts. They want people digging and working for that Halo car. Ford, Chevy etc have been playing this game since the 1960s...sorry for those who thought they have discovered something new...you haven't.

Dealerships--yeah they score big on these..and Ford, GM, Chevy know it. These are thank you gifts to dealers--gets people on the lots, make for easy sales...thus allocation is usually tied to prior sales...sell of bunch of xyz (common as dirt cars) and we will let you have one of these (halo cars). It is all very cold and calculated.

I was feeling great about the 18 Bullitt...the BJ Auction news has me shaken up a wee bit. BJ just for a Bullitt ?...a car that was a bit weak on sales (01 and 08--bad car sale years overall). Just too much secrecy and even getting BJ to pull back on the charity info---not the smart move if you want to sell 6,000-8,000 of these cars. Thankfully it is a Friday night car and not a Sat prime time car.

Maybe I'm being paranoid (oh, I've owed a 99 Limited Edition, 01 Bullitt, 03, 04 Mach 1s, 08 Bullitt, 12 Boss 302, and now a 15 LE; no GT350 as Ca dealer are nuts, took until last week for me to get a CA dealer at MSRP for a Grabber Blue 350 but now I'm holding off -- all new and all MSRP with work here in Cali) but I'm quite familiar with Ford's modern limited edition history....

But I'm thinking (but holding out all hope it is NO) that they are going to repeat the limitation idea behind the 2015 LE and tie it to the year....Bullitt came out in 1968....so maybe a run of 1968 cars....and that will just hose 'normal' buyers (3000 dealers and with mega stores getting multiples, many Ford dealer's will get none).

I really really hope I'm wrong. But the 01 undersold. The 08 was announced as a run for 1 yr at 7700 copies. When it came up short they went into 09 but keeping to the 7700 car limit. Lots of screaming back then on IMBOC with nasty grams going to Ford and some threatened litigation thus Ford (back them) when they announced the continuation into 2009 pointed out the original 08 literature stating 7700 copies and they were sticking with that limitation.

And yeah, Ford is aware of the aging demographic.... so yeah it might be back to: Show a guy a car .......

But to end on a positive thought--if the run was going to be that limited (1968)...word should have leaked out as to allocation by now to the few dealerships...so maybe that speaks well for a much larger production run...damn I hope so.

The GT350 is underproduced in the sense that dealers only get the car via an allocation.

Therefore they have no incentive to sell the few they get.

If any dealer who entered the program could just order one for any customer, then there would be no point in trying to hold out for that big score. You sell one, and simply order another one for the next customer.

When a dealer knows they are only getting a limited amount, they try to hold out for the big score, which very few are willing to pay, so the cars just sit around gathering dust. This happened with the Camaro Z/28 as well (which also had MSRP problems in addition to ADM at the beginning, then at the end they couldn't give them away).

If the Bullitt can be ordered without allocation, then ADM's should be minimal.

-T

15th can't get here soon enough.

Mustang1260/David, thank you, for the most thoughtful, comprehensive, enlightening, and entertaining response/post I’ve ever seen. Kind of depressing, but thoughtful and impressive.

I understand now how it can make ‘sense’ for Ford to only make a limited number of Bullitts (especially for cautious, penny-pinching Hackett). It would just totally, royally suck for buyers, including me, if they only made say 1,968 of them.

I’ve done the ‘limited production’ BS dance with dealers way too many times (104 cars over 45 years of driving). I know they all do it, even with used cars, holding out for the ‘big score’ and waiting for a sucker to pay it. So many dealers tried it with the 50th anniversary ‘limited edition!’, the 2012/2013 Boss 302, and even with just the regular GT in 2015, trying to get $5-$10,000 ADM.

If they only make a very limited number of Bullitts I’m sure they’ll have no problem selling every one to people with more money than they know what to do with. But I won’t be one of them. As much as I like Mustangs, it’s still just a car, a Mustang. To me it won’t be worth paying much more than a ‘regular’ new 2018 GT would cost.

Ah, well, I guess we’ll all know soon enough...