Ford Wants To Compete With Tesla, But Its Dealers Are Getting In The Way

[HotdogThud]

It does. but it seems the novelty wore off for my friends (even in CA) that discovered that road trips aren't really Tesla's thing. Great for sterile commuting, lousy for freedom for whatever.

and if you're not in CA, road trips are like Apollo 13

You'd be surprised with a little research. A buddy of mine and I planned a trip from southern Arizona to Yellowstone (there's a single highway that goes the whole way, who knew?), And aside from a slight jaunt off the road in the middle, there are chargers and infrastructure the entire way up. Sure, the pee breaks go from being five minutes off the highway to 15-30, but stop and smell the roses a bit, right?

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[BroncMe]

You'd be surprised with a little research. A buddy of mine and I planned a trip from southern Arizona to Yellowstone (there's a single highway that goes the whole way, who knew?), And aside from a slight jaunt off the road in the middle, there are chargers and infrastructure the entire way up. Sure, the pee breaks go from being five minutes off the highway to 15-30, but stop and smell the roses a bit, right?

that is true and good, but I'll admit that roadtrip planning for me...

 

[HotdogThud]

that is true and good, but I'll admit that roadtrip planning for me...

Full disclosure, the same buddy and I are about to pack up his Tundra and camper and disappear off into the woods for a week or two. These are the kind of trips that annoy our wives...

"You mean you don't have a plan?"

"Nope."

"What if something happens, where are you staying?"

"We'll cope, and probably on the side of the road..."

"......"

 

[Carolina Jim]

WAIT! You mean the gospel of EV does not include range, some people will be very unhappy if that story ever gets out.

Sure, the pee breaks go from being five minutes off the highway to 15-30

We live - for better or worse - in an instant gratification society. No way that changes, voluntarily.

I'm familiar with a hotel chain who hired a body-language expert to clock how long it took folks in a check-in line before they got pissed. Interestingly they installed customer-facing cameras behind check-in focused exclusively on people's eyes - supposedly a dead give-away.

You'd be shocked at how short a time people are willing to wait - for anything.

 

[Raptor911]

Tesla is killing it:

- who came up with an app to intertact with their car >> Tesla
- who came up with the reservation system >> Tesla
- who came up with over the air updates >> Tesla

Who is trying to copy Tesla >> Everyone else.

Everyone agrees that Tesla is 7-10 years ahead of every other manufacturer when it comes to electric vehicles. And way way ahead of everyone else when it comes to charging infrastructure.

 

[Sherminiator]

Tesla is killing it:

- who came up with an app to intertact with their car >> Tesla
- who came up with the reservation system >> Tesla
- who came up with over the air updates >> Tesla

Who is trying to copy Tesla >> Everyone else.

But yet the only way they turn a profit is through carbon credit sales to GM and Stellanis

Their build quality is some what atrocious

As for the reservation system-
My Brother in Law ordered a Model 3 Performance a few months back. Apparently its first come, first serve-For whatever reason one came in and my Brother in law wasn't ready and it sold to someone else and he had to wait another 30-60 days to get it. He finally did and well it worked out for me because I got his Fusion Hybrid for cheap to hold me over till my Bronco shows up.

The real issue at hand is there are alot of people who just don't want to deal with the whole dealership ordeal that happens-the markups, financing, and the games being played etc. Not all dealerships do this (mine have been pretty positive-but I was using plan pricing at the time in nearly all of my interactions), but it seems like it happens more often then not.

The dealerships have alot of control because they played the game that they where gonna be controlled by the big bad corporation in the 1950s and now have significant pollical capital to keep the status quo going.

I don't think Tesla is going to be successful in the next 10 years...they will be either merged or bought out by someone. Once other manufactures start producing more and more BEVs, which is already happening, they are going to see their market share shrink and profits disappear.

There are several countries and at least 2 states so far that are enacting a ban on ICE sales starting in 2030-2035.

 

[Raptor911]

There are stories out there about how the big 3 are going to be bankrupt by 2030 because they are so far behind Tesla.

Tesla has 3 new factories beyond the Fremont ca plant (China, Germany and Austin)

Is there any manufacturer that is building 3 new plants at the same time?

A major steel company is building a 2 billion dollar plant near Austin to supply Tesla with steel for the upcoming cybertruck.

The only way the big 3 can get into the ev game is to buy Tesla which is hard to do as Tesla is worth more than them.

But yet the only way they turn a profit is through carbon credit sales to GM and Stellanis

Their build quality is some what atrocious

As for the reservation system-
My Brother in Law ordered a Model 3 Performance a few months back. Apparently its first come, first serve-For whatever reason one came in and my Brother in law wasn't ready and it sold to someone else and he had to wait another 30-60 days to get it. He finally did and well it worked out for me because I got his Fusion Hybrid for cheap to hold me over till my Bronco shows up.

The real issue at hand is there are alot of people who just don't want to deal with the whole dealership ordeal that happens-the markups, financing, and the games being played etc. Not all dealerships do this (mine have been pretty positive-but I was using plan pricing at the time in nearly all of my interactions), but it seems like it happens more often then not.

The dealerships have alot of control because they played the game that they where gonna be controlled by the big bad corporation in the 1950s and now have significant pollical capital to keep the status quo going.

I don't think Tesla is going to be successful in the next 10 years...they will be either merged or bought out by someone. Once other manufactures start producing more and more BEVs, which is already happening, they are going to see their market share shrink and profits disappear.

There are several countries and at least 2 states so far that are enacting a ban on ICE sales starting in 2030-2035.

 

[Carolina Jim]

The only way the big 3 can get into the ev game is to buy Tesla which is hard to do as Tesla is worth more than them.

Cash ain't the problem...reality is Musk is smarter than all of them put together.

 

[Mike777]

My Ford dealer is keeping MSRP for a popular vehicle, which is the same as Tesla. Who cares.

Teslas are absolutely soulless and not really well built. And their service network blows on both time and cost.

Govt subsidies are Tesla's reason for being. along with all my virtue-signaling friends, which will run out soon

I don’t think you get the point. I literally a month ago just put in a request online to test drive a Tesla since my wife and I were considering selling our other car for it.

I went to the showroom and they handed me the keys after a quick how to walk around. No sales pitch after wards other then did you want to place an order.

Tesla makes things so much simpler and easier. The dealership model is dumb, antiquated, and everyone hates it.

 

[North7]

I don’t think you get the point. I literally a month ago just put in a request online to test drive a Tesla since my wife and I were considering selling our other car for it.

I went to the showroom and they handed me the keys after a quick how to walk around. No sales pitch after wards other then did you want to place an order.

Tesla makes things so much simpler and easier. The dealership model is dumb, antiquated, and everyone hates it.

Excellent example, thank you.

Everyone needs to remember, this story is not about EV vs ICE, it is about how cars and trucks are sold to the general public. Simple process vs Dealer mark-ups (ADM), bogus dealer fees, finance, insurance and extended warranties, alarm systems, floor mats, cargo covers, roof racks, and VIN etching, nitrogen in the tires, etc. etc.

Why do you think many people would rather have a root canal than go to a car dealer? Why are companies like CarMax, Carvana, Drivetime and Vroom so successful, they provide a simple buying process.

For everyone of us that know the car buying game there are ten unsuspecting consumers waiting to get ripped off, the dealers know this and it is why we have so many threads by Bronco buyer's such as, my dealer will not sell to me at MSRP, my dealer has marked up my Bronco by $5K, $10K or $20K, etc.

 

[Boxer4]

Your missing then entire point, regardless of your opinion of Tesla, they understand value marketing to the consumer, like Saturn did.

So 62% of new car buyers are women (2021 ). Telsa data from a couple years back- Model 3 , 16% female. Women tend to buy vehicles based on utility. Model 3 failed to provide the utility of a hatchback. Not sure how that design is a value to the larger market.
Saturn like Scion were price fixed. That only works if you keep supply below demand. As Saturn's inventory increased, one way they found to dump cars was to "hide" a price drop in their low lease rates. At one point you could pay more by purchasing a Saturn, as the lease had a discounted gross capitalized cost of about $3000 less ( Ion Model ).
The US car market demands significant inventory as 40,000 new cars are sold each day. Time will tell if Tesla can find a way to meet immediate demand with a large based product appeal.

 

[Sherminiator]

There are stories out there about how the big 3 are going to be bankrupt by 2030 because they are so far behind Tesla.

Tesla has 3 new factories beyond the Fremont ca plant (China, Germany and Austin)

Is there any manufacturer that is building 3 new plants at the same time?

A major steel company is building a 2 billion dollar plant near Austin to supply Tesla with steel for the upcoming cybertruck.

The only way the big 3 can get into the ev game is to buy Tesla which is hard to do as Tesla is worth more than them.

Tesla has no manufacturing footprint and needs to spend that money to make more products. Their stock is way overvalued for what it is. The value of company is what some Wall Street insiders think it is-Ford's stock isn't worth that much because the Ford Family has control over it. Ford has a stake in Rivian, which is rumored to have a 80 Billion IPO...so is Ford stock going to go up because of that?

Tesla sold 500K units combined worldwide last year....Ford sells 800K+ F-series a year. The Corolla sells 1.2 MILLION units a year Globally. The have a really long way to go become the "next big thing"

They take forever to update products. The Model S has been out since 2012 and just got its first major refresh this past June....every other manufacturer on the planet updates their products every 3-5 years.

 

[Paul Gagnon]

If Ford really wanted to become a leader in the EV market, they would focus on the electric Transit and make the electric F-150 available as a base model. The sea change is going to come from converting urban commercial fleets.

 

[Raptor911]

Analysis: Tesla Has Much Less Debt Than Ford & GM, & Much Higher Gross Margin

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/07/2...s-debt-than-ford-gm-much-higher-gross-margin/

Tesla has no manufacturing footprint and needs to spend that money to make more products. Their stock is way overvalued for what it is. The value of company is what some Wall Street insiders think it is-Ford's stock isn't worth that much because the Ford Family has control over it. Ford has a stake in Rivian, which is rumored to have a 80 Billion IPO...so is Ford stock going to go up because of that?

Tesla sold 500K units combined worldwide last year....Ford sells 800K+ F-series a year. The Corolla sells 1.2 MILLION units a year Globally. The have a really long way to go become the "next big thing"

They take forever to update products. The Model S has been out since 2021 and just got its first major refresh this past June....every other manufacturer on the planet updates their products every 3-5 years.

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