Posted on 10/19/2016 9:10:28 AM PDT by Lorianne
In a fresh sign of pressure on U.S. automakers, Ford Motor Co on Monday said it will shut down production of its best-selling F-150 pickup truck for a week at a Kansas City assembly plant, and temporarily idle three other plants over the next several weeks.
About 13,000 Ford hourly workers will be laid off during the temporary shutdowns. There are nearly 14,000 workers at the four plants, the company said. Some of them are salaried managers. Of the layoffs, about 4,000 will be in Mexico and about 9,000 in the United States. The cuts will hit Ford's three highest-volume models in the United States.
F-150 production at the Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan will continue without interruption, Ford said. Ford is also suspending production of two sport utility vehicles, the Ford Escape and the Lincoln MKC, at its Louisville Assembly Plant for two of the next three weeks. The compact Escape, the company's second best-selling U.S. model, is under increasing pressure from Japanese rivals. Escape U.S. sales were down 12 percent in September.
Ford said it also is shutting two plants in Mexico. One is a plant in Hermosillo that makes the Ford Fusion and the Lincoln MKZ sedans, and the other is in Cuautitlan that makes the Ford Fiesta small car. Fusion is the No. 3 seller in Ford's U.S. lineup, but suffered a 17.5 percent drop in sales last month.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
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Debt in today’s world is a foolish trap.
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You lose your negotiating power with dealer financing. They won’t come down on the price. And if you finance with a conventional lending institution, you’re not going to get 0%.
think Toyota
Negotiate your price on the vehicle with no discussion of financing or trade. When you get the price, then raise the possibility. I’m sure they’re incented on selling in-house financing, probably regardless of whether it’s promo rate or not.
Usually when a car dealer offers 0% financing they also offer an option to get a cash rebate instead. Foregoing the rebate is the same as paying interest upfront.
For example, on a $30K car they may offer 0% interest or a $3K cash rebate. If you take the 0% interest for 48 months, your payments will be $625/month. If you take the cash rebate and finance the car at 5% your payments will be $622/month.
So they are really charging you interest, they are just hiding it.
Too bad for your daughter. We have had ours for 5 years and have had no problem. We do have regular maintenance done, and the dealership knows hubby is a Ford engineer. Would like another but the Transit is so cute. My daughter in China has a large Transit and it was great to carry around the whole extended family and three car seats. Thank goodness, the oldest one doesn’t need one anymore.
We’ve been looking at trucks for our new family car but they’re too damn expensive, even for a non-leather 4x4 crew cab. $35k for a basic 4x4 is too much! Let’s not even talk about the big SUVs, which start at $45k. These ridiculous prices are why we’re driving our current cars till the wheels fall off...the problem is that we need at least one rig that can do 1,500 round trip miles twice a year.
Used trucks in the mid $20k range have 80,000 miles on them.
I stopped buying American made vehicles when the auto companies caved to UAW demands to have election day be a holiday. There is no way I will ever buy from companies that support their union thugs in bullying voters to throw our elections. The sooner they go bankrupt (and take the UAW with them) the better!
Perhaps, but it's an advantage that won't last long.
Ford has gone to aluminum because of the ridiculous fuel-mileage requirements the Federal government is implementing. Chrysler and GM will have to follow.
They won’t do it. They’ll flat out tell you, “Oh, we can’t give that price if you’re getting 0% financing.”
But as a daily driver it sucks. Especially parking it in today's parking lots. Parking spaces are designed for mopeds and smart cars, and my truck is a supercab and wider than the truck I traded on it.
I doubt I'll buy another truck, but who knows? This one is barely broken in and I've had it for nearly 3 years.
Who the hell can afford $30K to $50K for a new truck?
My 1997 Ford F-150 still works well enough.
Concur..1995 F-150. Bought new for $16,000. Still runs like new and will last longer than I will..
Note that the slightly smaller pickups - Tacoma, Colorado/Canyon - are seeing much increased sales. Full-size pickups are just too awkward for almost no extra hauling ability considering typical non-commercial loads.
How many people actually dump gravel in their new truck?
If I walk into the dealer with 30K cash there is no guarantee they are going to give me 3K off of the sticker price.
I got .9% for 60 months on a Honda Civic fully loaded LX cost 20K. My payments are 350/mo. Sounds like a lot but I still have my cash. Not a penny down. Almost free money. Plus I negotiated the price FIRST before financing talk begins. I NEVER talk financing until I reach a good price.
I can invest my 20K and come out with 25K in 60 months.
Smile and turn your back and walk away. They'll call you tomorrow. They always do. It's always better to do your final negotiations over the phone.
I still drive a ‘95 F-150 but if you are talking fifty grand and below you are speaking of the low end of the market in full size pickups. Of course the low end trucks now are gussied up beyond the imaginings of my youth.
You can’t buy a driveable used car for what I paid for my first house.
Nothing that a $150 plastic bedliner can’t fix.
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