What the hell is Ford doing?

[Valhalla]

The nut of it, wages haven’t kept pace with inflation. Pretty simple folks.

Guess it depends on where you're at, what you do. Our plant topped at $21 an hour for a line worker in 2020, We now top at pennies under $34 an hour, they are doing pretty good here.

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[CitrusBronco]

My guess is Ford wants to sell higher end models for more profit, thus pushing the bottom price up so the difference between them is not as big and he buyer will decide what the hell I'm at $55k for a BigBend I might as well go a few more $ for a OB or BL model.
Prices are to high for all vehicles now and my wages have not kept up at all.

 

[jrollo7]

There are plenty of used Broncos for you to consider. Most aren't driven off road and are only relegated to pick-up/drop-off line at school and to fetch groceries to feed their obese kids.

 

[3People1Body]

My guess is Ford wants to sell higher end models for more profit, thus pushing the bottom price up so the difference between them is not as big and he buyer will decide what the hell I'm at $55k for a BigBend I might as well go a few more $ for a OB or BL model.
Prices are to high for all vehicles now and my wages have not kept up at all.

Big Bend's are $41,000, not $55,000. Your requirements (Sasquatch) are probably above your salary. I would like a Raptor R, but my salary hasn't kept up.

 

[CV428]

Big Bend's are $41,000, not $55,000. Your requirements (Sasquatch) are probably above your salary. I would like a Raptor R, but my salary hasn't kept up.

It's funny, the happiest I have ever been in a vehicle was when I was 18 and bought a used high-mileage Mustang GT for $7500. I spent the weekend detailing, polishing, waxing (the car, not me) so it looked like new. I put a little money into it, put a Kenne Bell on top, and it was the most fun I ever had.

I have had vehicles worth 10-15x times that, and didn't get a fraction of the satisfaction nor enjoyment. Why? Going from an unreliable, powerless rust-bucket to a reliable, relatively fast and comfortable car by comparison was huge. That set my expectations, and everything since has been diminishing returns. Comparison is the thief of joy, even against ourselves...

 

[Danielsand]

I agree with almost everything CV428 said, except this:

Consumer demand for increasingly electronic and feature-heavy vehicles has driven manufacturers to prioritize (poor and rushed) software integration, advanced (glitchy) infotainment systems, and (janky, unreliable, annoying) semi-automated driver aids, often at the expense of mechanical simplicity and long-term durability.

Since I was "on the other side" of the market for quite some time (I was a dealer), I don't think consumers ever "demanded" computerized vehicles, big touch screens, and the myriads of other, useless features of today's cars ("lane keeping" anyone?). There are two ways of making profit on cars,....."front end", and the "back end". Competition is cutthroat in this business, and OTD prices NEED to be competitive to generate volume. Cars have to have lowest possible OTD price on the market. So how to stay in business? The answer is in the "back".

Automakers are spending fortunes to engineer cars that the average mechanic (without factory training) cannot work on them. They also carefully calculate the "service life" of ALL components and offer "warranty" based on that. Just look at posts where people say that something broke "as soon as it was out of warranty". On the top of that, there are parts, tools, and systems that only dealers have access to, so the average owner will not be able to perform any repairs.

US manufacturers are way behind on this, in comparison to Euro manufacturers. Mercedes, BMW, Porche, and the Italians are way ahead of the curve on this. They figured it out first. Try to do ANYTHING on a Ferrari (example) without "specialized, dealer only tools" and you'll find out. Mercedes is not far behind.

"Long term reliability" is NOT in anyone's best interest. IF the today's vehicle would be produced to last 500K miles or more (like a MBZ diesel of yesteryear), market would shrink to the point of driving MANY manufacturers out of business. Add to that the working generation of today that grew up on computers and video games, and you've got the picture. People of today don't want to keep the same vehicle for ten or more years. It's not that they "demand" gadgets, but gadgets are what sells to the youngsters.

 

[Valhalla]

I love my Bronco and beat that horse often.. I enjoy all but a handful of cars I've had. If they don't make you happy get rid of them. @Danielsand would probably say to do this with all things.

 

[Danielsand]

I love my Bronco and beat that horse often.. I enjoy all but a handful of cars I've had. If they don't make you happy get rid of them. @Danielsand would probably say to do this with all things.

Yup,....especially women.

 

[Brian_B]

tl;dr: If consumers could curb their lifestyle inflation, industry wouldn't be chasing and contributing to that issue. "Base options" of today far exceed the "luxury" options of just 15 years ago, but it's never good enough for the US consumer. Average daily-driver cars could be $15k new, even in today's market, if they were simplified and product lifecycles extended to 10-15 year rotations instead of 1.5-2yr.

I like your analysis there.

I don't think the blame lay entirely with the consumer though. I admit, there's some truth to the fact that the industry (as a whole) will chase what the consumer wants, but there's also the flip side to that coin - consumers can only buy what is offered, and the Board Room is gonna certainly tilt what is offered to be in their favor every time. Consumers may be sliding down that direction, but I don't doubt for a minute that the industry is pushing them there too - making it accelerate all the faster.

 

[Kevin Scarbel]

Completely baffled by Ford’s lack of flexibility in the customization of a 25’ Bronco. I was one of the first to order a 21’ on reveal night. Got my Bronco, absolutely loved it, but due to the unforeseen circumstances of life, I had to let it go a few years later. Recently, I’ve been looking to get back into one, and damn man…. My exact original build (a base in ruby red with the Sasquatch package, and the added hardtop this time around) nearly touches 55 grand, and I don’t even have the V6 as an option.
I played around with the Big Bend build, and that nearly touched 60 grand; I had to add the goofy-looking $2500 free-wheeling package just to get the gloss black hardtop and if you want the Sasquatch package they force you to tack on the Black Diamond Package.
I always wanted a Badlands, so come to find out Im forced to take on the Sasquatch package if I want the 10 speed auto and the sway bar disconnect isn’t standard? Gtfoh. Ford literally said with no shame, “Let me charge you more for less.” 🫩

There's no question that the lack of choices is hurting MY2025 sales.

 

[Ducati1098]

Inflation was 4.7% in 21, 8% in 22, 4.1% in 23, and 2.3% in 24, and 2.7% so far this year.

2.9% in 2024, but otherwise on point. Can't expect prices not to skyrocket with those numbers.

 

[CV428]

I like your analysis there.

I don't think the blame lay entirely with the consumer though. I admit, there's some truth to the fact that the industry (as a whole) will chase what the consumer wants, but there's also the flip side to that coin - consumers can only buy what is offered, and the Board Room is gonna certainly tilt what is offered to be in their favor every time. Consumers may be sliding down that direction, but I don't doubt for a minute that the industry is pushing them there too - making it accelerate all the faster.

I totally agree with you.

 

[Dylan pasty]

There are plenty of used Broncos for you to consider. Most aren't driven off road and are only relegated to pick-up/drop-off line at school and to fetch groceries to feed their obese kids.

Got to be careful those kids might’ve ruined the shocks, added sag is a serious problem with how heavy these kids are these days.

 

[Boostedblues]

Buy used for half the price.... problem solved.

 

[RagnarKon]

I like your analysis there.

I don't think the blame lay entirely with the consumer though. I admit, there's some truth to the fact that the industry (as a whole) will chase what the consumer wants, but there's also the flip side to that coin - consumers can only buy what is offered, and the Board Room is gonna certainly tilt what is offered to be in their favor every time. Consumers may be sliding down that direction, but I don't doubt for a minute that the industry is pushing them there too - making it accelerate all the faster.

I totally agree with you.

I also agree, it is definitely a two-way street.

A lot of it is also "different strokes for different folks" and it's impossible to make everyone happy. The amount of people who have showed up on this forum looking for features like BlueCruise or power seat memory. Heck the amount of people who have bought the Lux package specifically because it has adaptive cruise control or a heated steering wheel is much higher than I would have ever anticipated.

People want the things, but the things are expensive and people complain. So you take away the things and people complain that it doesn't have the things. And of course you can't just make everything à la carte cause then production costs go up.

No idea what it's like being on a team for a vehicle manufacturer that has to make these choices, but I imagine there are lots of spirited internal arguments over it. Probably a no-win situation.

Five years ago, one could buy certain number of pounds of meat, or lettuce, or peppers (or whatever else). Today, $100 Dollar bill will bring home a lot less. Five years ago, I would bring a single bell pepper home for 69 cents. Today the same bell pepper is 2 bucks. That's just one example.

Feel that one.

The good news is price of protein has gotten to the point where I'm starting to do veggie-only dinners. So ya know, unexpected health benefits.

The bad news is when I do buy meat, I typically buy chicken because it's the most affordable. And I've run out of different ways I can prepare chicken that I'm not sick and tired of.

(ps. Chicken dinner ideas welcomed)

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