Why are new F150 sales way up when Ford has many engine and transmission issues??
What is the matter with people? They continue to buy F-150's that have engine problems from the get go, and the transmissions aren't much better. Do they not do enough (or any) research before they spend this crazy kind of money?
Not only are they leaking and burning oil, Ford was trying to make excuses and even hide it by making the dipsticks longer and adding more oil so it would be less noticeable.
Leaking plastic oil pans, plastic intake manifolds, terrible transmissions, good God.
I would not touch a new or newer Ford truck with a 20 foot pole, and the older ones are rotted to Hell from all of the road salt.
Scotty Kilmer says to stay away from new Ford trucks, why aren't people listening instead of buying more of them than ever??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I49N_Bz1Vf4
Sales Numbers - Full-Size Mainstream Pickup Trucks - Q1 2023 - USA
| MODEL | Q1 23 / Q1 22 | Q1 23 | Q1 22 | Q1 23 SHARE | Q1 22 SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORD F-SERIES | +21.09% | 170,377 | 140,701 | 34% | 30% |
| CHEVROLET SILVERADO | +4.86% | 126,992 | 121,107 | 25% | 26% |
| RAM RAM PICKUP | -17.12% | 105,350 | 127,116 | 21% | 27% |
| GMC SIERRA | +18.69% | 67,198 | 56,617 | 13% | 12% |
| TOYOTA TUNDRA | +22.12% | 27,651 | 22,643 | 6% | 5% |
| NISSAN TITAN | -37.05% | 4,038 | 6,415 | 1% | 1% |
| TOTAL | +5.69% | 501,606 | 474,599 |
Too funny Chuck!
I agree Ford has not been doing well by their customers lately. They are determined to sell unreliable EcoBoost engines, when their customers want simple, reliable V8's. Their dealers went hog-wild with the covid-era markups. They've been diverting production to expensive up-trim units over basic, affordable trim levels. And so on.
But to answer your question, there are a few reasons why they sell. For one, in a broad sense they make what people want. People want trucks and SUVs, not sedans, and that's what they sell (notwithstanding trim levels as I mentioned). They have a lot of brand loyalty; that goes back generations, so it's not going to go away overnight.
The biggest thing, though, is simply dealer network. There are a lot of small towns in middle America that have 1 car dealer: Ford. For a lot of people, it wouldn't make sense to drive 2 hours into the big city to buy some other brand, only have to drive 2 hours back every time it needs service or warranty work.
That said, this may all be coming to an end. Ford has taken their customers for granted and has squandered whatever good will they may have had. People are starting to NOT buy Fords, which is why their inventory is so high. Ford is in big trouble and there may be a big shakeup coming. They might not go away completely (Ford is borderline "too big to fail"), but I suspect they will be a different company in 5-10 years.
I think there's some brand loyalty. I mean the old F150's were super reliable, capable, and affordable. So some people are definitely drawn back for that reason.
Id also like to see how many of those sales are just fleet vehicle's for big companies or municipalities. I know of some PD's in my area that have F150's in their fleet. They mostly have Explorers or Tahoes, but a few F150's.
I also work for a big contracting company, we have all Fords here.
My dads old company used alot of GM products so similar logic there too.
Both companies offered employee discounts on their respective brands too.
Yep, fleet sales is a big part of business for Ford and GM, less for Ram, and virtually 0 for Toyota.
I'm going to go more in depth about the brand loyalty nta98 was talking about. As a economics major it fascinates me to understand why people make the decisions they do, and I think brand loyalty and loyalty to where things are made has a big influence on their decisions of whether or not they want to make a purchase. For example, take a Toyota Tundra, Toyota created probably the most brilliant marketing phrase that they stick on their Tundras (made in San Antonio, Texas) that are sold in Texas and that phrase is "Built Here Lives Here". There is a sense of proud state-ism, a word I have made up for nationalism but for states, in owning a Tundra. The same goes for owning an F-150, except instead of state-ism it's nationalism. Unlike owning a Toyota where all the parts are made in Japan and it's just assembled in Texas hence the word
"built here..." instead of "made here...", F-150s are MADE in America. The reason why Chevys and Rams don't gain this much attention, I think, is due to the fact that they make their parts everywhere Mexico US Canada, so you don't get the same nationalistic feeling as buying a car your fellow Americans made.
Humans are creatures of habit.
short and sweet