<smiling BIGtime> No Tom, I did it to get a rise out of you and it would appear I did. <still grinning>
Dev: Yeah, I thought it was perfect, too and yes, I'm still grinning.
I'm in San Diego tonight, Vegas tomorrow. Catch ya later.
I agree...but sometimes capitalism like this is just flat out gonna give whoever supports it a black eye. Ford could stop it overnight if they really cared about it, be we know the real answer to that statement too. (they don't give 2 shits about you and me actually)
ADM's have zero to do with Ford's company board, or profits for Ford....ADM's only enrichen whatever dealership choosing to do them. And Ford could put a stop to it in a minute if they really cared....that's where we will just have to disagree, about if Ford as a company actually cares about you and me...I don't feel much cared for as a 30 year Ford man, not in the least. And that doesn't even talk about the lack of quality control, problems with body panels not lining up properly (even on the new GT500 from what I see from the video Jay Leno made, take a look at how poorly that fascia lines up with the hood lines at 23:04 in that video)...man if Ford actually cared, they be a lot more worried about final fit and finish quality, which obviously they aren't because its a big issue with the S550 cars, I don't think I've seen one yet with body panels that actually line up properly...add to that the fact Ford no longer really wants to build cars for Americans, relying instead on the popularity of their trucks and SUV's, they've already put themselves in a position where my next new car won't come from Ford, and I've bought 3 cars from them in the past 2 years. I'd like to see a total clearinghouse of the president and all the upper level management, someone to take charge like Iacocca did and demand certain standards that are sorely lacking at Ford, and I haven't even touched upon the fact that the company is so poorly managed that the stock is now considered to be junk....and that IS SOMETHING THE BOARD COULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT...yet they don't. My brand is pretty pathetic now if you ask me...if I didn't love the Mustang as much as I do, I'd probably own German made cars at this point in my life...its getting ready to come to that, as a guy who doesn't need or want a truck or an SUV, and thinks electric vehicles will never replace the range and ease of use as gas powered cars so the direction Ford has been in lately doesn't give me the opportunity or the want to continue to buy anything they make new.
Mike: I will respectfully disagree. It is my belief that if Ford dealers do well, then the company itself does well. Dealers make more money then expand the store and order even more vehicles for the lot. The store wins and, Ford wins.
At 100k I wouldn't see the value.
Ford isn’t forcing you to buy their improperly aligned panel products or poor quality vehicles. You do that on your own. The beauty of living in the United States and capitalism in general is that you have choices. I’ve been personally impressed with the quality of the trucks and SUVs that my family and I have purchased from Ford in the last 5 years. Anywhere where there is a product that demand outstrips supply, they will sell for more from a Tickle me Elmo to a Furby to the all new 2020 Ford GT500. Get over it.
I find it interesting that true statements about lack of quality so touches a nerve that somehow the person saying it, must be some sort of commie who is mindless. Yes, I bought cars with paint issues and not properly aligned body panels...but those cars were: 34k, 22k and 25k respectively ('18 GT, '18 FiST & a '17 FoST) so the lack of quality isn't as big an issue at those price points...don't get all bent out of shape that I point out at 23:04 in Leno's video where the brand new GT500 also obviously suffers from the same fate...its laughable how bad an issue it really is, that you also see it on a 100k Shelby. I'd be pissed off if I ordered one and it came to me like my 34k base GT did...so pissed I'd not take delivery of it till it was fixed which should never happen in the first place. Do I believe in capitalism? Well hell's bells yes! But this has nothing to do with capitalism really, at least the lack of quality doesn't but the ADM's do, and quite frankly that's just another issue that other car manufacturer's also blow it on in my opinion, anyone paying over MSRP for anything, despite the money they have to do so with, is just idiotic to me. But I'm also not a trendy person, I worked my ass off for my money, long, long hours for decades, and I'm not throwing it away for nothing...and I'm opinionated about it too, to the point I already know I'm done buying new Ford vehicles of any kind until I see a complete 180 turn around at Ford. But their catering to trends (Mach E) and even the issues inside the performance division shows, if it weren't for Ford's drivetrains, I'd have never bought the 3 new cars from them since May of '17 that I did. Ford's driveline's is the only thing that saves them from being a completely junk brand at this point when you compare them to the quality you see from both German and Japanese auto makers.
