> I don't get it, if anyone can get the employee discount then it's not an
> employee discount, what's the point? Just advertising muck?
Essentially, yes. GM got into a pinch with their wide line of large vehicles
when the gas prices went up; I hear SUV sales are down sharply this year. So
a few weeks ago GM offered their SUVs and trucks at employee prices, then
expanded the offer to all their vehicles except the Corvette. That really
drew sales away from Ford, so Ford matched the promo.
The outlook is better for Ford than for GM. Ford has a strong-selling line
of vehicles with good fuel economy, including the very popular Focus. They
also have the best-selling pickup, the F-150. Ford has the wide variety of
acquisitions mentioned above. The situation is "devil take the hindmost" and
that fits GM.
Mike
John Horner - 02 Jul 2005 18:09 GMT
> The outlook is better for Ford than for GM. Ford has a strong-selling line
> of vehicles with good fuel economy, including the very popular Focus. They
> also have the best-selling pickup, the F-150. Ford has the wide variety of
> acquisitions mentioned above. The situation is "devil take the hindmost" and
> that fits GM.
Ford is in at least as much trouble as GM, maybe more.
The Lincoln brand is a disaster zone, while Cadillac is getting stronger
ever day. GM has a much more advanced China strategy than does Ford.
Ford's Jaguar and Land Rover expenditures have been nothing but a cash
drain. Ford took the #1 selling car in the USA, the Taurus, and
completely destroyed it's market position. Then there is Mercury. Why
does the Mercury brand even exist? Ford has toyed with it for decades
now and has yet to come up with a compelling reason for there to even be
a Mercury line of vehicles. GM has similar problems, but is working
much more agressively on them.
Although as a nameplate the F150 outsells the Chevy Silverado, when you
combine the Chevy and GMC versions which are essentially trim line
options of the same vehicle, GM outsells Ford in the truck category as well.
Ford's only winning acquisition has been the purchase of Volvo, partly
because it gave Ford good donor material for the Five Hundred and Freestyle.
John