I just spent some time thoroughly looking over a dealership lot yesterday, something I haven't done in a long time. It was a Ford dealership. I found it to be a surreal experience.
First surreal observation was that Ford does not sell any cars anymore. I didn't even realize that. No Fusion, no Taurus, no Focus, nothing but the Mustang. As I was looking at the Mustang, the salesman told me that the Charger, Challenger, and Camaro are all gone too. It seems domestic American auto manufacturers have abandoned making cars. Either foreign brands have run them out of the market, or no one drives a car anymore, or maybe a mix of both.
Second surreal observation was the prices of the vehicles on the lot. Barely a vehicle under 60K. The cheapest vehicles there were a few Escapes and, perhaps surprisingly, the Mustang Mach-E's. I thought I was buying a really expensive truck when I bought an F-150 Lightning Lariat, but it was barely more expensive than everything else there. Is this a new normal, or were they only stocking top tier models for some reason?
Then there are the trucks. Every single one of them a SuperCrew (4 door). Not one Super Cab (2 door 2 row) or regular cab on the lot. I asked about this, and they said the SuperCrew is the only one that sells, and that he had maybe just one person in the last year ask about the Super Cab. I knew the SuperCrew was the most popular, but no one even asking about anything else and nothing else on the lot?
Could be the nature of this dealership was due to the nature of the surrounding community, but I was a little bothered by all of this. It was almost creepy. I've always been a domestic auto and Ford guy, and it bothered me that there seemed to be whole classes of vehicles not represented. And, Tesla aside, Ford is I think the strongest domestic auto brand. Chevy always seems to be struggling, and Chrysler essentially no longer exists.
The whole experience kind of made me feel like America is a bit unwell.
First surreal observation was that Ford does not sell any cars anymore. I didn't even realize that. No Fusion, no Taurus, no Focus, nothing but the Mustang. As I was looking at the Mustang, the salesman told me that the Charger, Challenger, and Camaro are all gone too. It seems domestic American auto manufacturers have abandoned making cars. Either foreign brands have run them out of the market, or no one drives a car anymore, or maybe a mix of both.
Second surreal observation was the prices of the vehicles on the lot. Barely a vehicle under 60K. The cheapest vehicles there were a few Escapes and, perhaps surprisingly, the Mustang Mach-E's. I thought I was buying a really expensive truck when I bought an F-150 Lightning Lariat, but it was barely more expensive than everything else there. Is this a new normal, or were they only stocking top tier models for some reason?
Then there are the trucks. Every single one of them a SuperCrew (4 door). Not one Super Cab (2 door 2 row) or regular cab on the lot. I asked about this, and they said the SuperCrew is the only one that sells, and that he had maybe just one person in the last year ask about the Super Cab. I knew the SuperCrew was the most popular, but no one even asking about anything else and nothing else on the lot?
Could be the nature of this dealership was due to the nature of the surrounding community, but I was a little bothered by all of this. It was almost creepy. I've always been a domestic auto and Ford guy, and it bothered me that there seemed to be whole classes of vehicles not represented. And, Tesla aside, Ford is I think the strongest domestic auto brand. Chevy always seems to be struggling, and Chrysler essentially no longer exists.
The whole experience kind of made me feel like America is a bit unwell.
