Seeing that Ford are claiming to offer "up to £2000" extra trade in to new car buyers makes me wonder if the trade really is that quiet currently?
Clearly there's oversupply (production) in Europe. We're spoilt for choice of vehicles these days, but is Ford, in particular, having a hard time, I wonder.
Perhaps other volume manufacturers are similaly affected, but don't advertise their "bungs" to dealers.
Hope we can look forward to expert explanations from professionals like Blue H.
|
According to SMMT figures, for Jan+Feb 2005 Ford sold 40,772 cars, compared to 48,874 the same period 2004. Their market share is down from 16.91% to 15.77%.
Figures for Vauxhall are sales down from 39,200 to 37,876, but market share up from 13.57% to 14.65%.
So if things continue like this for a while, Vauxhall will overtake Ford. But both are seeing a drop in sales compared to 2004. Across all manufacturers, sales are down about 15% on 2004.
Figures for March will be very interesting, as they supposedly represent about 20% of the yearly sales.
|
Could something as minor as the disgraceful looks of the new Focus account for lower sales in January/February?
I only ask because 3 people I know have had Fords since the Granada was new. 2 had a Mark1 Focus before Christmas and another had a Mondeo. In January and February, one with Focus bought a C4, the other with the Focus bought an Astra and the one with the Mondeo bought a Bora of all things.
I rarely speak to one of them but the other two tell me they bought different cars because "the new Focus was so boring".
--
Adam
|
I, too, Adski wld like to think Ford is suffering a backlash from buyers for introducing that dreadful rear hatch design on new model ...
Wonder when will first sales figures for the new Focus be available?
However improved the drive and interior of the latest Focus may be, for me the earlier model still looks a cracker.
|
I'll conceed the ride is better but the interior has taken a downward turn I'd say - really boring. Plus the fact, people are trying to talk themselves into it by saying:
"Well - it's ugly but the ride's nice - I could put up with the looks"
Why "put up" with the looks when there are far nicer looking cars around for the same price?
As you say, the new Focus sales figures will make interesting reading.
--
Adam
|
|
|
|
Well said....fluidity of design has gone.
|
concede*
I really am losing it.
--
Adam
|
|
|
|
On the other hand clock the new three door Astra. You know the one that appeared as a concept a couple of years ago and JC said he would eat his head (or something) if it made it into production. Pass the the head sauce for the gangky one !
|
Oh yes. Haha. However, you can't deny the fact the Asta looks interesting - and different! The front of the Focus looks so nice - promising either but I almost cry when I see the back.
I'd have an Astra VXR. Anyone want to help me buy one? ;-)
--
Adam
|
Either? Even*
What's wrong with me today???
I'm going for a lie down.
--
Adam
|
|
gangky ? - supremo,urbane well turned out motoring journalist was what I meant to say ;-)
|
See!? - It's contagious. Quite clearly these spelling errors aren't my fault ;-)
--
Adam
|
See!? - It's contagious. Quite clearly these spelling errors aren't my fault ;-)
As with the dyslexic devil-worshipper who sold his soul to Santa?
|
|
Oh yes. Haha. However, you can't deny the fact the Asta looks interesting - and different!
>>
Interesting is not the word I would choose and I certainly agree that it is different. I think the Astra is awful. A total mess both front and back. UGH!
I will call in some time to have a look at the new Focus.
|
When it comes to choosing a car, I'm not really bothered about what it looks like. My choice is based on cost, function (in all its forms) and reliability, but not necessarily in that order. I'm not one for standing and admiring the looks of my car. And I don't care what anyone else thinks of its looks either.
--
L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
|
As a BMW owner I should be with L'escargot !
|
|
|
Many of the major manufacturers are facing big problems, caused by the fact that there are just too many of them in competition for the existing market. Autocar reported that VW are going to have the replacement for the Lupo, the Fox, built in Brazil because with German labour costs and the unions insistance on keeping a 35 hour week and providing a cradle to grave welfare system for it's employees it is now uneconomical to built small cars in Germany.
If the developed world doesn't wake up to the threat of competition from the far east it's car industries could go the way of the British industry a couple of decades ago. A long history and a household name are no protection against bankruptcy, as many have found.
|
There was a time when patriotism governed to a great extent what one bought. Sadly, there is now very little in the way of national pride.
--
L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
|
All this was predicted by a guy called Prof. Garel Rhys about 25 yrs ago - anybody heard of him recently ? Probably retired on the wise investments he made....
|
All this was predicted by a guy called Prof. Garel Rhys about 25 yrs ago - anybody heard of him recently ?
www.cf.ac.uk/carbs/econ/rhysg/
and all over google
|
There was a time when patriotism governed to a great extent what one bought. Sadly, there is now very little in the way of national pride. --
Buying influenced by patriotism is a double edged sword. You keep a home industry, but at a cost. The East germans had no choice but to buy Trabants, so there was no incentive for the manufacturers to ever improve the rubbish they produced. The British motorcycle industry had no competition for decades, and they repaid their customers by running the same engine designs for about thirty years. The result was that the bike you bought new in 1969 leaked exactly the same amount of oil on your drive as you fathers did in 1939.
|
|
I've e-mailed the Prof. with a link to this page. See what he thinks of the premier Motoring Website !
|
There was a time when patriotism governed to a great extent what one bought. Sadly, there is now very little in the way of national pride.
Or national product(s) for that matter.
|
Problem is, the German unions think they're doing everyone a favour by insisting on maintaining the utopian conditions. They don't look at the effect it will have further into the future.
Sure, right now it's good for German workers. But in 20 years time when VW build all their cars in Brazil or Eastern Europe, they'll be left scratching their heads.
And then they'll scream about how bad management killed the German car industry. In fact it'll be the unions that kill it, manipulating the economics of the situation to such an extent that VW decide it's no longer a good idea to build cars in Germany. Same as what happened in the UK.
These unions never seem to stop insisting that the world owes their members a living. Eventually it's their downfall - happened before and will happen again.
|
And then they'll scream about how bad management killed the German car industry. In fact it'll be the unions that kill it, manipulating the economics of the situation to such an extent that VW decide it's no longer a good idea to build cars in Germany. Same as what happened in the UK.
It's intesting how the anti-union rhetoric being trotted out here is so similar to what was said about the UK's motor manufacturers.
But the fundamental problems of the German car industry look remarkably similar to its (now deceased) British counterpart: that they can't compete on quality or efficiency with the Japanese manufacturers. That's a result of engineering and production systems, not of stroppy workers.
|
|
|
Got to disagree with you there Henry. Granted it looks a little like an Almera but if you gave me the choice now of a new Focus and a new decent spec Astra, I'm sorry to say, I think I'd choose the Astra.
I'd sooner have a 54 plate Mark 1 Focus over both though ;-)
--
Adam
|
|
|
As it happens I rather like the looks of the Astra.
Horses for courses, and all that.
|
I think I like it because it's so different. Ford have taken a bacwards step in my opinion (design wise). Vauxhall seem to have taken advantage of this.
--
Adam
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Did you look closely at the small print? "Up to £2000 extra P/X on a Ford" This only related to cars that were "Gate Released" prior to August 2004!!!
Where have they been sitting since then? Doesn't sound like much of a deal to me, unless you cop a really, really, really decent discount on the old model Focus AND the extra £2000 P/X
|
|
|
