"New" Model Orders And Tentative Production Schedules

[WJSOLOMON]

My Dealer's General Manager seemed to know what he's talking about today, when he indicated that the Zone Manager agreed to start taking (Dealers' Inventory) Orders in early December, for January / February Production, in order that the Cars could be displayed around the Country at the Annual January Car Shows. However, he was not able to place his Order for MM's with Moon Roofs in time for the Shows - the Zone Manager indicated that the Production Delay on them would continue until perhaps sometime in February - if Sales would take off again. He also indicated that with the "Sluggish" Market for GM's and MM's, he was confident that the current Cash Rebate / 0% Financing Plans would remain in effect through this "New Model" Production period.

The "New Models" will still only be available in Black, at least until the Spring, but the Additional Options of Heated Seats, Traction Control, and Slate Interior still appear to be available with them.

As Logan has pointed out, the '04 Models probably won't be available until next Fall.

If sales don't pick up, and the DJIA flounders around in the early 7's into the Holidays, I look for the Ontario Plant to "lay down" over the Thanksgiving / Christmas / New Years Holidays, and further delay Deliveries until late January / early February.

The last 3 weeks of December have always been a "Panic" time in the Dealerships. Could be the Best Time to grab a currnet '03 from Dealers' Inventory, and the current Base Rate of 0.475% at the Banks - which could Also soften up 1/4%, as we go into the tail end of the year.

Great Time to climb on board, and give yourself the "Ultimate Christmas Present".

"MERCURY MARAUDER - THE ULTIMATE DOMESTIC LUXURY / PERFORMANCE DRIVING MACHINE!" **


** (As long as you have the Dennis Reinhart "PERFORMANCE
ENHANCEMENT PACKAGE" installed.)


:p ;) :cool:

[03 Merc]

WJS,

Here is a potential reason for the projected delays...and more to come...

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/021001/detu016_1.html

Since the Marauder is lumped in Grand Marquis / Crown Vic production it could get interesting...

[modular46]

So I should, buy CV sheelmetal and convert my MM?

[WJSOLOMON]

Originally posted by 03 Merc: "WJS - Here is a potential reason for the projected delays...and more to come...http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/021001/detu016_1.html[/url]
Since the Marauder is lumped in Grand Marquis / Crown Vic production it could get interesting..."

3-M - "HOLY COMPOST, BATMAN!"

Your Sales Figures Report is Amazing! Mercury's Sales through the 9th Month are Down 27,566 Units from last year (14.8%), INSPITE of the NEW MM's addition to the Family!

Great Reporting 3-M, guess that's why my "Internal" Sources tell me that the Production of the OEM Moon Roofs have been delayed until at least March, or even later in '03.

"But the Good News is"..........the Rebates and 0% Financing should stay in place between now and then.

Besides, I've had previous Excellent Experience with After-Market Moon Roof Installations, Turn-Keyed through the Selling Dealer (Keeps him in between you and the Installer). Price through the New Years Holiday is likely to be between $995.00 - $1,495.00, and most probably pretty negotiable through the Dealer, during these tight times.

Mercury needs to go back on TV with the Great MM ads, in my personal opinion.

:( ;) :cool:

[03 Merc]

Only 7,650 Grand Marquis (and 5,810 CVs) sold last month....if I "assume" the 5 GM's to 1 MM ratio for dealers inventory applies that means maybe around 1300 MM's were sold. I'll bet we will see some serious "extended vacations" over Thanksgiving / Christmas / New Years at the plants if this keeps up... That and the rebates will keep coming... Anyway you can read it all at: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/021101/def022_1.html

[RCSignals]

Remember those sales figures from October last year were at a record high. This years Oct figures are up slightly from Oct 2000.
But overall sales figures are down this year for the CV/GM cars. This could partly be due to the fuss over P[olice cars and fires. If it is the, the orders for those should be picking up now.
I see Mercury has dropped the GM LSE. Sort of makes sense since the Marauder now exists.

[mtnh]

How about the concept that they priced themselves out of the segment with the 2003 models? I know that personally, I would have gone for a GM LS loaded, but the price was too scary for what I would have gotten. I decided that the MM was more "worth the money" than a loaded GM LS. It's possible in my opinion, that the $30K list price on a loaded GM LS made some folks look elsewhere...

[LincMercLover]

I still don't see the whole issue with the CV/GM's catching on fire when hit from the rear. ALL the incidents I've heard of were highway accidents where a cop was at a stop and was hit from a citizen doing 70+. Der... SOMETHING is bound to catch on fire with that sever of an accident! Give the pigs a tank, then no worries... :D

[RCSignals]

mtnh

I kind of agree with you on that pricing, but the '03 prices really didn't go up too much. Personally I think the price of the Marauder isn't too high for what you get, and can't figure why someone would buy an LSE instead. That is probably one of the reasons the LSE has been dropped

[RCSignals]

Also, one of the reasons for declining sles of the CV/GM, as I've said before, is Ford does not advertise them! They have pidgeonholed them as only an "old man's" car as well. Ford sometimes is it's own worst enemy in that regard

[mtnh]

I also forgot to mention that in spite of the high 20K price range, I still think that the panther platform is alot for the money. Compared to Volvo, saab, etc, you get a whole lot of car for alot less money. Still, the price has edged up and may have scared off some of the older customer base.

Also, that remark about the tanks for the policefellows was not justified, IMO. We get alot of them there policefellows joining in the forums both here and at crownvic.net, and denoting them as pigs is quite wrong in these civilized forums, again, imo.

Mike, not a law enforcer.

[RCSignals]

I don't think LincMercLover meant it as derogatory.

Remember Pride Integrity Guts

[Brother Mike]

Some other factors that might explain the drop off in GM/CV sales: The customer base is older and often retired. With the drop in the stock market and low interest rates on CD's etc. their income is down sharply. The 2 dividen cuts that Ford has made in the last yera have not helped either. I work for a CPA firm in Dearborn and we have many retired Ford Execs who have seen a big drop in icome due to the above mentioned facts. Lastly, although the platform was re-worked extensivley mechanically for '03 the sheet metal and interior were not...styly is not vastly differnt fom previous model IMHO. But hey I have owned 6 GM's and love em.

Brother Mike

[03 Merc]

Todays news on sales figures for November:

http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?article_id =13847&id=&art_ids=0&bn=1


Assuming the 5:1 ratio again that around 1100 MM's in November. MYTD (from 1 July) is 34,407 units...use the ratio and that is 5,734 MMs.. No wonder we don't see many on the streets... If this keeps up we will have a uncommon car for sure...

BTW over on BON the Ford guys are talking about having extended plant shutdowns over the holidays...

[SergntMac]

Post 9-11, I would expect law enforcement agencies nationwide, have revamped their emergency response plans, which probably included upgrading types of vehicles employed. Even small 5 car departments around here have turned away patrol "cars" in favor of a special response 4X4. Since FMC has the corner on these markets (police/fire/muni-pub serv) I wouldn't be suprised to see CV/GM/MM numbers down, while Explorer/Mountaineer skyrocket.

Furthermore, my large department maintains approx. 7500 "in service" vehicles, 5000 marked and maybe 2500 unmarked/covert. I just heard last night from a guy "inside," that my department just decided to pass on any '03 cars. They are nursing what they have, and will refresh the fleet again in '04, late '04 at that. It's a money thing, and I am sure on a national basis, we are not alone.

Fine with me if LM sold the entire '03 MM run, and stopped. It would please me to no end, to have the last of the bad.

[LincMercLover]

Fine with me if LM sold the entire '03 MM run, and stopped. It would please me to no end, to have the last of the bad.

I'm with ya on that Sergnt! "I got one and you didn't:p " hehehe...

Sorry about the supposed derogatory statement up there... I just find it funny no one expects a vehicle to burst into flames when hit at 70+ from behind...

[chapel1]

My belief is that most of what is advertised would'nt be sold unless they made you believe you had to have it or you could save a lot of money.They make more profit on those cheap cars, and the better cars will sell themselves.The first thing a salesman wants to know is how much you got to spend?I go crazy looking for MM info it's like Mercury doesnt even try?But I see impala ads all the time.I'm sorry why should I care I got my MM and I'm happy.

[Bigdogjim]

If you look under your MM you will see a shield of sorts between the fuel tank and the rear. The problem with CVPI was the issue of fire do to design of the fuel tank. Ford as a plan to fix them and if not mistaken is retro fitting or at least offering it Police Dept. Not the less it is sad and a"black"eye for Ford.
Big Dog Jim

[SergntMac]

LMLover...Don't sweat your remark, I read you to mean "give them better, safer equipment." You've said it before, and you haven't heard from me, have you?

Regarding the fuel tank discussion...MHO;

This issue may be a design flaw, maybe not. It's clear that the degree of impact is one cause factor, and I wonder what we should "reasonably" expect to happen when 2/3rds of any car is crushed into the last 1/3. This past year TWO Wisconsin LEOs were killed in a high speed collision, and the fuel tank DID NOT explode, or even leak. There are pics of the collision somewhere on the web, but I don't recall where right now (maybe news threads). Moreover, how many of these officers killed were burned to death? I must consider that some of them died from the degree of impact, and the resulting fire confuses the **** out of the true cause of death.

What we should remember too, is the "missle" factor, secondary objects from the trunk area, placed in sudden and high speed forward motion from the collision, and puncturing the fuel tank. There is a ton of LE stuff carried in squad car trunks, rescue equipment, road flares, SWAT weapons, seized evidence waiting disposal, and so on. As the nature of the LEOs assignment changes, so does the amount and type of "missles" that may be present in his trunk. Around here, patrol cars are home and office for state troopers and county sheriffs, and they may go a week without visiting HQ, therefore, their "stuff" factor is high, and the risk index appropriately follows when you consider that it's these guys with the most stuff, that patrol the highway where a high speed collision can occur. Locally, my PD's risk is laziness, haven't met a cop on my job yet, who locks the tire jack back in it's saddle once it's been used. Fortunately, we don't patrol the high way, the ISP does that, but if we were to return there, it would be an fire waiting for an address.

The "blame game" goes on and sadly, the ultimate culprit will be the guy who can pay out damages. That could be the LE agency blamed for weak policy statements and poor enforcement, an OSHA beef. Or, it could be FMC, for poor design and shoddy workmanship ala Ralph Nader. Either way, I don't expect to hear the whole truth.

[LincMercLover]

Well at least SOME people get me... I just try to bring some sort of laughter to gloomfull situations. Can't be down and pesimistic about everything in life.

Furthermore, I believe government standard crash test ratings are in need of a check. A 40 MPH crash test is not going to determin anything that may happen in the highway world today. I don't know of a highway around here that is below 60, and most are up around 70, which means people are doing 75-80 casually without worry of being pulled over. The government is awarding the CV family of cars a five star crash test rating, but then accusing Ford of a poor design for a vehicle they choose to buy for their fleet... It just makes no sense to me. A LOT of factors need to be reassesed here.

[RCSignals]

Actually the "missile factor" is only part of it. It has also been reported the some Police equipment installed in the trunk is sometimes fastened in a way that screws and other fasteners point directly at or even pierce the gas tank! One PO reported on CVO a while back that an entire fleet of new PIs had to have their tanks replaced because the installer had pierced the tank of every one. Those were just ones that were discovered!
Another person who bought a used PI reported that he smelled gas all the time. he traced it to a fuel line that had been pierced by a screw from previous equipment. Apparently as along as the screw was still there when in service gas couldn't be smelled.

her is an interesting web site with more info http://www.cvpi.com

[SergntMac]

Good point, RC, this may not be all FMC's responsibility, but because FMC has more money and resources than anyone else in this "food chain," they'll see the blame twisted in their direction anyway.

[LincMercLover]

And "big daddy" takes the blame...