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Internal Ford Rumor

by burnsva on Mon Jul 14 13:41:15 PDT 2008

I heard an internal Ford rumor today that they are considering NOT closing the KC plant for 2 weeks at the end of the month in order to maximize shipping as many 09 FE and FEHs as possible in the third quarter (therefore boosting sales numbers.)

Re: [burnsva]

by alfredck on Sun Jul 13 08:49:20 PDT 2008

Re tax credit, does the 60,000 mark apply to just the Ford Escape, or both the Ford Escape and the Mercury Mariner? I'm wondering if we'd have higher chance of getting the tax credit with the Mariner Hybrid.

Re: Has anyone received their 2009 Escape Hybrid? [gmilonas76]

by fmorriso on Sun Jul 13 07:32:48 PDT 2008

The key is dealer allocation. No allocation = No VIN = No vehicle. Ask your dealer if they have an allocation that they can use for your order. Until that happens, your order is going to sit in a "CLEAN/UNSCHED" state in the CONCEPS (ordering) system like my April 21 order is currently doing. I went to my dealer Saturday and watched him log into the CONCEPS ordering system, pull up my order and show it to me. The top part of the screen shows the Order Type (1=Retail), Priority (mine happens to be 12, which is where the "ordering guy" at this dealer starts numbering type 1 orders) and when the status was last checked/updated (07/10 in my case). The bottom of the screen shows the "event history" of the order. Mine has a single line dated 4/21 showing when the order was accepted into the Unscheduled Order Bank (USOB). The ordering guy came over and said they are working to convince Ford to schedule my order to be built, but they are having trouble getting allocation. As soon as they do, since my order has the highest assigned priority number at this particular dealer, barring any "commodity issues", it will be scheduled first before the only other FEH order this dealer has taken. Bottom line: Nothing is going to happen to move an order out of the USOB until the dealer gets an allocation slot to use to fulfill that order.

Re: Finding a dealer for X-plan [papalima]

by baraboodad on Sat Jul 12 22:26:53 PDT 2008

Sounds like the Seattle dealers haven't changed a bit since I finished medical school and left there..... Have they learned how to actually fix vehicles brought for maintenance? (Dodge didn't have a clue on that, but was good at charging anyway!) Wisconsin dealers at their worst are better than the Seattle dealers I dealt with... good luck anyway (and we have a real good dealer/Ford service shop in Reedsburg, WI, though it's not the closest to where I live.) More to the point, I had my order for a green 09 FEH Limited 4WD placed on 6/30 or so. No VIN yet, but the order is in and accepted. Now in the waiting game...

Date Definitions and Priority

by richardmayo on Wed Jul 09 10:36:22 PDT 2008

For those of you who have ordered, here's some info you may find useful: For what it is worth, these are the stages of a vehicles production, from order placement to purchase: Receipt Date: The date that MS&S recorded the order. When the order is received from the dealers Serialize Date: The date that MS&S transfers the order to MP&L and the VIN is created. When the order is received by Material Planning and parts are ordered Segment Date: The date that MP&L determines which week the order will be built. When they figure what week that parts will be able to be delivered to the plant to build the vehicle Sequence Date: The date that MP&L determines which day the order will be built. When they figure what day that parts can be at the plant to build the vehicle Blend Date: The date that MP&L determines when the order will be built within the assigned day. When they figure the specific order that vehicles will be built. This depends on options and line constraints. Produced Date: The date that VO finished assembling the vehicle Your unit has been built! Gate Release Date: The date that VO transfers the vehicle to Transportation Carriers for shipping Your unit has left the building, and is in the hands of the shipper (rail or truck) Ship Date: The date the vehicle left the Assembly Plant Your unit has left the load site, and is on it's way to the dealer Arrival Date: The date the Dealership received the vehicle Your dealer has the unit in hand, doing the dealer prep thingy Sold Date: The date the Customer picked up the vehicle You came in, looked it over, said, "I'll take it!" and signed the papers Once the order is placed, Ford will begin the scheduling process for your vehicle. For all intents and purposes, it is just a waiting game from that point on. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - ------------------------ Check out the "Priority" number on your order. Ford Dealers can enter orders with priority codes ranging from 10-99. The lower the number, the higher the priority for scheduling vehicles for production. Most Dealers order "Retail" orders, those vehicles that are sold and ordered for specific customers, with a priority "10" so that those orders will be scheduled for production ahead of stock orders which might be ordered with priority codes 20-79. When a Dealer has allocation for that week's scheduling, Ford generates "Suggested Orders" which are always generated with a priority code of 80. They do this so that the "Suggested Orders" are prioritized behind most Dealers stock orders. Even so, Dealers can order vehicles with a "99" priority code which is supposed to mean that Ford is not authorized to schedule the unit under any circumstances. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- I'm not a Ford insider, but I am considering on '09 FEH, so I've been doing some research. All of this info comes from people in the know at here

Re: Has anyone received their 2009 Escape Hybrid? [hdtech]

by neuroboy002 on Tue Jul 08 23:23:13 PDT 2008

Have you inquired at BlueOval.com? If you have your VIN, one of the Ford Employees who works at the production plant is nice enough to look up your vehicle to see where it is in the 10-step process, but you must have your VIN. Other people who have ordered the FEH are currently tracking their orders there as well. You can see how your order date compares to theirs and how their process schedule is relative to yours. Those who ordered as early as late April are expecting them next week! Check out this forum: link title If you are getting to the point of desperation, you can try eBay. I have noticed one dealer put up 2009 FEHs/FEHLs for auction. No one has met his reserve price yet - actually no one has gone above $25K in a bid which is strange because this car should prove to be pretty popular. The dealership leaves contact info on the auction page, you may be able to go that route, but you will have to pay for 3rd party delivery service to your location: link title Don't be disappointed about missing out on the 2008. I am sure you'll be much happier with the 2009 considering many of the changes. My hybrid is scheduled for delivery in either the last week of July or 1st week of August. I may not be able to keep it though. I'm applying for medical school and may need the extra cash. If I do, I'll make sure to inform posters on here. It's a black FEHL, no navigation. Anyone read articles about the 2009 Prius running accessories like A/C on solar panels? Oops... was it taboo to mention Toyota on this board (?)

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