Granger Ford -2022 Bronco Allocation - No one said it was going to be easy

[ReimundKrohn]

My grandfather owned a gas station that my father worked in as a young boy. It was what you would picture as a typical small town full-service gas station in rural Iowa. He grew up around the gas station and that is where he learned his blue-collar work-ethic. It is also where he first started to sell used cars at the age of 16. Fast-forward to 1978 he purchased a Dodge store in Granger, Iowa and later in 1987 he purchased a Ford dealership in Dallas Center, Iowa. He then relocated the Ford store to Granger and become what is now Granger Motors & Granger Ford.

He had a saying when we would complain growing up. “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” The last week has been a great reminder of that. Our staff, starting with Albert and now continuing with a 5-member team, has worked very hard over the last 16 months. Yesterday’s allocation announcement was a gut-punch. I tend to be a glass is half-full guy, and this certainly has been a test of that.

We have the Bronco6G community and a lot of loyal customers to thank for all their support and my responsibility lies with them. We want them to be taken care of properly. There is no other way to sugar coat it, the allocation formula does the biggest disservice to our customers. Ford decided to dip their toes in the “reservation” system emulating a method made popular by Tesla’s recent success. In the end, they couldn’t dive all the way in and reverted more closely back to the franchise/allocation system that has been in place for over 100 years. I get it. You want to reward the dealerships that have sold hundreds and thousands of vehicles on an annual basis. The franchise system also benefits the consumer because of discounts and aggressive pricing. If this was Tesla, there would be no discounts. There would be no Granger Ford.

To recap 2021, we received allocation of 203 units. This was on roughly 600 reservations we received before the allocation cutoff. It was reasonable to assume that moving from 6 to 12 months of production would safely bump our allocation to around 400. It was also a reasonable assumption that including all reservations as a factor, instead of just the September cutoff (1300+ reservations), would double our allocation count again to around 800 units. Adjusted down slightly, we were anticipating 700-ish Broncos for 2022. That isn’t how it is going to work out. Moving the “bronco” factor down from 50% to 25% and moving the factor from reservations to 2021 allocations was the worst possible scenario for our customers. We are left with 1075 orders converted from reservations currently. I would anticipate being able to fill 10-20% of our reservation count for 2022. That amounts to 120-220 Units depending on how production plays out. We received 11 for 2022 Model Year production start up.

So where do we go from here? Like I said before, our obligation lies with you the customer. So, whether you end up purchasing your Bronco from me or not, I want you to have a great experience and I want you to get your Bronco. So, there are a few things we can do as a store to help increase that allocation number.

What is Granger Ford going to do?

1. Bronco Facility – There is a Bronco facility upgrade that dealerships can opt into. This can increase our 2022 Allocation by 18 total units. We are absolutely going to spend the money and sign up for this.

2. Bronco Sport Sales – 25% of the allocation formula is Bronco Sport sales. We are going to become better at selling Bronco Sports than Broncos. We are now offering 6% under invoice on a Bronco Sport order. We are going to get as creative as possible to shoot this sales number up ASAP. We are going to be relentless in this pursuit. In my mind, this is our biggest opportunity.

3. Share of Nation Sales – This is over a 36-month period, so it’s going to be the hardest number to move. But because of our loyal online following and progressive business model. We have quickly moved up 20+ spots in our region YTD and I anticipate being one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Ford dealer in the state of Iowa for 2022.

4. We are committed to only selling to our reservation holders - 100% of our Broncos delivered have been to our reservation holders. Ford lowered the dealer’s name match standard to 60% because other dealers seem to have trouble making that work. We have it down to a science and will continue to value long-term commitments rather than short term profit.

5. Discount lock-in – We absolutely are going to honor our pricing agreements with our customers. $1000 under invoice or $2000 under invoice October special. This will not change.

6. Honest Conversations – Over the next 30+ days we are going to have open and honest conversations regarding your reservation and where you stand among our total reservation count. We will do our best to advise you of your best options and talk you through what makes the most sense for you. We are going to have your best interest in mind, regardless of whether you end up purchasing from us.

What can our reservation holders do?

1. Hang in there – No, we’re not going to send you a hammock. But I know there are a collection of our reservation holders that are loyal to us and how we do business. Their patience will be put to the test, but we are going to do our best to give monthly updates on our allocation and progress that we’re making on Bronco deliveries as well as our other goals to increase allocation.

2. Buy a Wrangler/Gladiator at 4% Under Invoice – if you are tired of the Bronco ride, we can offer you a Wrangler/Gladiator purchase at 4% under invoice and have it delivered to our store in 60-90 days. 2022 Wrangler and Gladiator ordering opened yesterday. Email [email protected] and we’ll be happy to send you a quote.

3. Find Another Bronco Dealer – I have confirmed that Ford will allow transferring of reservations/orders. We have heard of ADM horror stories, but there are other dealerships who are treating customers right. While they may not match our discounted pricing, you can make some calls/send some emails to other dealers and see where they stand. If you choose to transfer, you’ll need to call Ford’s customer service line at 1(800)392-3673 and request a transfer.

The next 12 months are going to be a grind and we’re committed to working harder than we have the past 16 months. We are starting to reap the rewards of our labor and by the end of the year, we will have the pleasure of delivering 150+ Broncos to our reservation holders. I don’t want your sympathy. We signed up for this. If anyone deserves your sympathy it is our reservations holders, who in my opinion, only deserve the best. We will keep grinding and we’re not going anywhere. Hey! If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Zach

You guys go to the greatest lengths for your customers, and for that I applaud you. That said, you should look at opening a Jeep Dealership instead. F*ck Ford. Their customer service philosophy and yours are millions of miles apart.

Sponsored

 

[Farmerjim47933]

The people talk about buying local like in Indiana,6 miles from home yeah thats where my reservation $100 timestamp went by Ford .Time to order Ford said, the dealer wouldn't return a text phone calls ,emails ,so I went online and found Albert at Granger.Moved my reservation timestamp order to them ,now I want guarantees that my price is good through "2031 ",calculating doesn't look promissing at a 10% allotment rate. Oh that local dealer has a new Brnco on his lot and he wouldn't talk to a friend of mine about ordering one either.

 

[Superthornbird]

Wife’s comment this morning was “Does this mean I can get the 6th gen 4runner, drive it a couple yrs until my new Bronco arrives?” I said, its looking like that may be what happens.

Yeah.... that's why I'm driving my wife's old Outback.... she said it will be so long to get my Bronco and it's pushing her getting a new car back. So, we ordered and took delivery of a Subaru Ascent in 6 weeks. We have had it two months already. No Bronco but it has 19 cupholders

 

[MannyG20]

@Zach@Granger - thanks for the transparency. I’m in Texas and would drive to Iowa and buy from you without a second thought.

 

[motocane]

I’d love to see the automotive press pick up on this - “Ford pulls bait and switch on Bronco reservation holders” - because that’s really what Ford did here. That BS about Ford cracking down on dealer shenanigans is likely just Ford’s marketing attempt to avoid negative press over sleazy dealers but Ford is just as disgusting and unethical.

Ford (not dealers) lured enthusiasts in with a “reservation“ based offering, had you convert it to an order, and then changed the rules. For MY22 they seem to have ratcheted up the sleaze. Now reservation holders get only a limited portion of Bronco production as stealerships syphon off a large portion of the production to sell at huge markups…either wait another year or two (or three) for your Bronco or buy out of dealer stock for massive ADM. And Ford doesn’t give a sh*t because they are still moving product with enough demand backlog for years.

 

[brettclutch]

This is not right by ford. This is an absolute disaster. They should have made it clear from the start that your reserving your spot in line out of the allocations going to the dealer of your choice. If the reservation line is too large to fill this year or next year at the dealership of choice then the reservation should have been rejected. I get that one might say well you can forecast that based on Broncos that can actually be built….however there is negligence going on here that is much further out of wack then this “gotcha”. The “gotcha” we currently have is way worse.

 

[Grooticus]

Honestly public shaming him relentlessly is the only thing that Might work

 

[ekim]

No, but we're $6,000 off MSRP. That's still pretty good.

Put me on the list. What's the ETA?

 

[Zach@Granger]

Put me on the list. What's the ETA?

4-5 months.

 

[Ramble_Offroad]

Honestly public shaming him relentlessly is the only thing that Might work

He is the communication director. This is his role. I’m 100% ok with every single one of us calling him out publicly.

 

[thesyncguru]

My grandfather owned a gas station that my father worked in as a young boy. It was what you would picture as a typical small town full-service gas station in rural Iowa. He grew up around the gas station and that is where he learned his blue-collar work-ethic. It is also where he first started to sell used cars at the age of 16. Fast-forward to 1978 he purchased a Dodge store in Granger, Iowa and later in 1987 he purchased a Ford dealership in Dallas Center, Iowa. He then relocated the Ford store to Granger and become what is now Granger Motors & Granger Ford.

He had a saying when we would complain growing up. “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” The last week has been a great reminder of that. Our staff, starting with Albert and now continuing with a 5-member team, has worked very hard over the last 16 months. Yesterday’s allocation announcement was a gut-punch. I tend to be a glass is half-full guy, and this certainly has been a test of that.

We have the Bronco6G community and a lot of loyal customers to thank for all their support and my responsibility lies with them. We want them to be taken care of properly. There is no other way to sugar coat it, the allocation formula does the biggest disservice to our customers. Ford decided to dip their toes in the “reservation” system emulating a method made popular by Tesla’s recent success. In the end, they couldn’t dive all the way in and reverted more closely back to the franchise/allocation system that has been in place for over 100 years. I get it. You want to reward the dealerships that have sold hundreds and thousands of vehicles on an annual basis. The franchise system also benefits the consumer because of discounts and aggressive pricing. If this was Tesla, there would be no discounts. There would be no Granger Ford.

To recap 2021, we received allocation of 203 units. This was on roughly 600 reservations we received before the allocation cutoff. It was reasonable to assume that moving from 6 to 12 months of production would safely bump our allocation to around 400. It was also a reasonable assumption that including all reservations as a factor, instead of just the September cutoff (1300+ reservations), would double our allocation count again to around 800 units. Adjusted down slightly, we were anticipating 700-ish Broncos for 2022. That isn’t how it is going to work out. Moving the “bronco” factor down from 50% to 25% and moving the factor from reservations to 2021 allocations was the worst possible scenario for our customers. We are left with 1075 orders converted from reservations currently. I would anticipate being able to fill 10-20% of our reservation count for 2022. That amounts to 120-220 Units depending on how production plays out. We received 11 for 2022 Model Year production start up.

So where do we go from here? Like I said before, our obligation lies with you the customer. So, whether you end up purchasing your Bronco from me or not, I want you to have a great experience and I want you to get your Bronco. So, there are a few things we can do as a store to help increase that allocation number.

What is Granger Ford going to do?

1. Bronco Facility – There is a Bronco facility upgrade that dealerships can opt into. This can increase our 2022 Allocation by 18 total units. We are absolutely going to spend the money and sign up for this.

2. Bronco Sport Sales – 25% of the allocation formula is Bronco Sport sales. We are going to become better at selling Bronco Sports than Broncos. We are now offering 6% under invoice on a Bronco Sport order. We are going to get as creative as possible to shoot this sales number up ASAP. We are going to be relentless in this pursuit. In my mind, this is our biggest opportunity.

3. Share of Nation Sales – This is over a 36-month period, so it’s going to be the hardest number to move. But because of our loyal online following and progressive business model. We have quickly moved up 20+ spots in our region YTD and I anticipate being one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Ford dealer in the state of Iowa for 2022.

4. We are committed to only selling to our reservation holders - 100% of our Broncos delivered have been to our reservation holders. Ford lowered the dealer’s name match standard to 60% because other dealers seem to have trouble making that work. We have it down to a science and will continue to value long-term commitments rather than short term profit.

5. Discount lock-in – We absolutely are going to honor our pricing agreements with our customers. $1000 under invoice or $2000 under invoice October special. This will not change.

6. Honest Conversations – Over the next 30+ days we are going to have open and honest conversations regarding your reservation and where you stand among our total reservation count. We will do our best to advise you of your best options and talk you through what makes the most sense for you. We are going to have your best interest in mind, regardless of whether you end up purchasing from us.

What can our reservation holders do?

1. Hang in there – No, we’re not going to send you a hammock. But I know there are a collection of our reservation holders that are loyal to us and how we do business. Their patience will be put to the test, but we are going to do our best to give monthly updates on our allocation and progress that we’re making on Bronco deliveries as well as our other goals to increase allocation.

2. Buy a Wrangler/Gladiator at 4% Under Invoice – if you are tired of the Bronco ride, we can offer you a Wrangler/Gladiator purchase at 4% under invoice and have it delivered to our store in 60-90 days. 2022 Wrangler and Gladiator ordering opened yesterday. Email [email protected] and we’ll be happy to send you a quote.

3. Find Another Bronco Dealer – I have confirmed that Ford will allow transferring of reservations/orders. We have heard of ADM horror stories, but there are other dealerships who are treating customers right. While they may not match our discounted pricing, you can make some calls/send some emails to other dealers and see where they stand. If you choose to transfer, you’ll need to call Ford’s customer service line at 1(800)392-3673 and request a transfer.

The next 12 months are going to be a grind and we’re committed to working harder than we have the past 16 months. We are starting to reap the rewards of our labor and by the end of the year, we will have the pleasure of delivering 150+ Broncos to our reservation holders. I don’t want your sympathy. We signed up for this. If anyone deserves your sympathy it is our reservations holders, who in my opinion, only deserve the best. We will keep grinding and we’re not going anywhere. Hey! If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Zach

I have missed this whole week and playing catch up, but that sucks. I'll be able to check my allocation on Monday. I can't offer a discount, but I can promise msrp, a very knowledgeable up to speed sales experience and a MY22 delivery. If you need someone for your folks out west that won't get the run around let me know. I don't want a ton of them because I want to keep the ones we have already satisfied, but if you have one or two that just want theirs sooner I'm in. Outerbanks and lower trim 4 doors I'm at almost 100% scheduled already along with every single soft top period for reference. I envy your strategy and wish that the powers that be would have dealt you a bit better hand.

 

[Mrpenn46]

Bingo! Woodhouse did it first, we didn't. The best ideas are stolen right? haha

Woodhouse received lots of pushback from other dealers as well when they started it all too. In the Des Moines area we got shopped against them all the time. This is just a new way of doing exactly what they've done.

Woodhouse seems to have caved to the insanity. Thank you for being a high ground in the dealership swamp.

Outer Banks $76,895 sticker

 

[jonwithanelcamino]

He is the communication director. This is his role. I’m 100% ok with every single one of us calling him out publicly.

Especially when he calls out the dealer and the customer and says it is their fault.

Dealer's fault for not selling enough Ford vehicles and the customer's fault for choosing service and price instead of the SHAFT.

Reference my previous post of his Twitter conversation with me.

 

[Booback]

I’d love to see the automotive press pick up on this - “Ford pulls bait and switch on Bronco reservation holders” - because that’s really what Ford did here. That BS about Ford cracking down on dealer shenanigans is likely just Ford’s marketing attempt to avoid negative press over sleazy dealers but Ford is just as disgusting and unethical.

Ford (not dealers) lured enthusiasts in with a “reservation“ based offering, had you convert it to an order, and then changed the rules. For MY22 they seem to have ratcheted up the sleaze. Now reservation holders get only a limited portion of Bronco production as stealerships syphon off a large portion of the production to sell at huge markups…either wait another year or two (or three) for your Bronco or buy out of dealer stock for massive ADM. And Ford doesn’t give a sh*t because they are still moving product with enough demand backlog for years.

@Ford Motor Company

Sponsored