Sunset Ford Dealer Blog

Just like summer is coming to an end, so must our tribute to the greatest road trip songs ever. According to me, here are the top five songs that should be on your mix CD or MP3 player playlist to make you enjoy getting to your destination and back.

5. Hold My Hand – Hootie and the Blowfish: I’ll admit it. I’m a little partial to this song. After all, Hootie and the Blowfish is my favorite band in the whole world. I could just listen to them while driving across the country, but this song is a must even if you’re not a big fan.

4. On the Road Again – Willie Nelson: Does any song capture the road trip feeling any better than this song? Regardless of his past tax problems, Willie Nelson can make you feel the pioneering spirit.

3. Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffet: I’m not a huge Jimmy Buffet fan, but any song about a “lost shaker of salt” is brilliant.

2. I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) – Meatloaf: I know this choice probably made a few people chuckle, but you can try to figure out what he won’t do for love while you’re driving.

1.American Pie – Don McLean: I don’t even think I need to say anything else about this song. It’s an anthem and it’s like 14 minutes long. By the time you’re done singing this song, your trip might be over.

Is there anything better than driving one of your favorite Ford cars and listening to some of the best songs ever made? I think not. Give these songs a listen and enjoy the rest of your summer!

If you’ve been waiting for the 2009 F150 Ford trucks to hit your local dealer, take a seat. We are still one month away from the projected release date.

Last month, the Ford Motor Company announced that it was delaying the release of the popular F150 for two months. That pushes the sale date back to the fourth quarter to help dealers downsize their existing F150 inventory before adding more units to the lot.

The new sale date also reflects Ford’s lower predictions for sales of medium and full-size vehicles. Earlier, the company predicted selling between 15 and 15.4 million units altogether. But with dwindling truck sales, that figure is likely to be closer to be between 14.7 and 15.2 million units. That might not seem like a big difference, but it is when you’re a major auto company.

According to Jim Farley, full-size truck sales are only going to account for about “1.5 million units of total U.S. sale volume this year,” as reported by PickupTrucks.com. That includes all full-size trucks, which is about one million less than the number sold in each of the last three previous years.

What does this mean for you? Between now and the time when the 2009 Ford F150s arrive, you can get a great deal on a 2008 model. Visit a Ford dealer today and see the bargains!

In a world where gas is more than $4 a gallon and steadily climbing in some places, how does a company strategically market a huge pickup truck? It’s not easy, but the Ford Motor Company has a plan.

The Ford F150 has been the automaker’s best-selling vehicle for more than 30 years. Now, it’s time to change its marketing because motorists no longer want a truck for everyday driving. So Ford is focusing on marketing the iconic truck toward contractors and construction workers.

Instead of producing more trucks with the four-door cab style, the new Ford trucks coming off the assembly line only have two doors. Those models have always been more popular for farmers, contractors and other fleet customers anyways. Mike Crowley, a marketing manager at Ford, said the automaker is going to focus on the “core truck buyer.” He said the people who “want a truck, and need a truck, will make a compromise to buy it.”

But that’s not all. Crowley also said Ford is going to focus on touting the improved fuel efficiency of the new 2009 F150s. the new models should get an extra 1.5 miles to the gallon because of the lighter weight and more aerodynamic design. Next year, Ford is also offering an optional diesel engine to improve the fuel economy even more.

Hopefully, the new marketing strategy takes off and intrigues more people to invest in these quality vehicles.

Recently, the Ford’s best-selling brand of truck lost its spot at the top of the sales charts. That prompted the Ford Motor Company to start working on something that’s more efficient without losing the appeal of a pickup truck. The most recent plans include two smaller pickup truck models including a smaller replacement for the popular Ford Ranger.

The new version of the pickup truck is probably going to be called the F100. The automaker is working on the project under the codename of P525 and the new models are likely going to resemble the Ford trucks from the 1950s with curvy fenders and other classic features.

Until now, the Ranger has been produced in Australia. Ford didn’t have plans to bring it back to the United States, but recent developments in demand and gas prices have forced the company to reconsider.

The F100 and the smaller version of the Ranger are likely going to hit dealer lots in 2010, just in time to meet the federal government’s new standards. Ford is going to produce them together instead of making them compete against each other. Neither truck is going to have a V8 engine, but they will have either a V4 or an EcoBoost V6 with turbocharging or direct injection for better fuel efficiency.

It’s no secret that Ford trucks aren’t selling very well right now. In fact, truck sales in general have dipped regardless of which company made them. We all know what the problem is, too. But the Ford Motor Company isn’t discouraged. In fact, the automaker has plans to sell more trucks in the near future despite rising gas prices.

One of Ford’s ideas to sell more trucks was to offer them at discount prices. Instead of the regular sticker price, customers had the chance to buy a 2008 Ford pickup truck for the employee price until the end of June. In case you didn’t know, this is a huge discount!

But now that the deadline has passed for this deal, Ford is still trying to think of incentives that will bring customers to the local dealers to buy a truck. “The Ford Employee Pricing Plan on 2008 model F-Series [was] a great deal with a clear, compelling message that shows customers how much we value their business,” said John Felice, Ford’s general marketing manager.

In addition to slowing sales, Ford is also trying to make room for its 2009 models. The automaker is also trying to reclaim the top spot as the Ford F-Series trucks have been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for more than three decades.

There’s a new lifesaving feature coming to Ford cars in the near future – crash avoidance technology. The Ford Motor Company has been working closely with the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop this feature in another concerted effort to keep people safer on the roads. So far, here are the two major components of the technology:

Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication
The main aspect of this crash avoidance technology allows vehicles to communicate with each other on the roads. Imagine driving down the highway at 80 mph and the driver in the car three cars ahead of you hits their brakes. That car can communicate with the cars behind it so those cars can alert their drivers to slow down in time to avoid an accident. In emergency instances, the car can even do automatic braking.

Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System
When you’re approaching an intersection, this feature will send messages to your car from the traffic light. The message will include the amount of time you have before the light changes and if any other cars are approaching the intersection. The vehicle then uses this information to decide if the driver needs a warning. It can also initiate the brake assist system as well for extra safety.

In addition to these vehicle features, Ford and other automakers are working on a wireless infrastructure so vehicles can communicate with traffic lights, lane markers and other road features that you encounter when you drive. The U.S. Department of Transportation is funding roadside infrastructure features. The department has also proposed installing 250,000 transceivers throughout the nation no later than 2010.

It looks like the future is now and Ford is triumphantly leading us into it.

The Senator of Minnesota, Norm Coleman, is trying to save the Ford Ranger. Since his state is home to the plant that makes these popular Ford trucks, he’s making every effort to convince the automaker to continue production.

Due to high gas prices, Ford recently announced that it was going to retool some truck plants and turn them into factories that make smaller cars. But Coleman wrote a letter to Ford CEO Alan Mulally asking him to reconsider the Twin Cities Ford Assembly Plant. In the letter, he cited the fact that sales of the Ford Ranger have increased since the beginning of the year. And with more than 1,000 highly skilled employees working at the Twin Cities plant, he explained this continues to be the best place to make the Ranger as people still want small, fuel-efficient trucks.

“I have long said that the St. Paul plant could play a key role in helping lead Ford into the future,” Coleman stated in the letter. “Since 1925,” he continued, “the St. Paul plant has been a source of good paying jobs, and I look forward to meeting with Ford officials to discuss its prospects for continued production.” You can read the full text of the letter here.

In addition to the letter, Coleman is planning a trip to Ford headquarters in Dearborn to meet with the automaker’s officials. How many senators actually go the extra mile like that to save jobs. If I lived in Minnesota, he’d definitely have my vote.

In an effort to stay current with the demands and needs of its customer base, the Ford Motor Company is retooling some of its truck plants. Instead of building Ford trucks, some of the current factories are switching over to build Ford cars.

The announcement comes just a couple weeks after the national average price for gas reached $4 a gallon. With those prices, fewer people are looking for big trucks right now.

A Ford spokesperson declined any comment on the rumors that some truck plants are retooling. But an emergency meeting with plant managers and local union leaders lead one to believe the rumors. After all, it’s not that unlikely.

Not all truck plants would be affected, though. Only some of the American plants will be revamped to produce some vehicles that are currently exclusive to European factories. That’s where compact and smaller cars are abundant on the roads.

Ford said the company would announce its official plans sometime in July. Whatever happens, you can rest assured knowing you can always get a great deal on a Ford pickup truck or SUV. In fact, with fewer people buying them right now, it might be the perfect time. Visit a local dealer today and see how much you can save on your favorite full-sized vehicle.

Several years ago, Ford did a promotion in which everyday consumers could take advantage of employee prices for trucks. This year, the automaker is bringing that promotion back.

The Ford Motor Company wants to entice more consumers to purchase its full-size SUVs and F-Series Ford trucks. Sales have dwindled because of gas prices lately, but huge discounts are a great way to bring renewed interest to these larger vehicles. And since many loyal truck buyers are waiting for the 2009 models to hit dealer lots, Ford needs a way to phase out the 2008 models.

If you want a great deal on a Ford truck, though, don’t waste any more time. The sale started last week and it won’t last forever! You can also combine other cash back incentives with the employee pricing promotion to get an even better deal. If you want to purchase an F-150, you can get as much as $2,500 back depending on where you live.

Ford hasn’t released the prices for its employee pricing promotion yet. But if it’s anything like the promotion a few years ago, you can be assured that it’s going to be a great deal. Visit a Ford dealer today and see what they can do for you!

As Ford has been coming out of a sales and quality slump for the past several years, the automaker has been gaining more customers and restoring its reputation. As a boost for the auto company, mogul Kirk Kerkorian is investing millions of dollars into the Ford Motor Company to boost its efforts.

Earlier this week, the investor disclosed that he acquired nearly five percent of the automaker’s stake to help Ford once again show a profit. To do this, his Tracinda Corporation investment company made an offer of $170 million for nearly 20 million shares of stock. The shares had a price of approximately $8.50 at the time of the deal.

You might be wondering why a 90-year-old billionaire would want to invest so much money into the Dearborn-based automaker. In the last few years, he’s involved himself in the auto industry by trying to buy Chrysler and invest in other automakers, too. But analysts think he wants people to remember him as one of the main investors who helped the Ford Motor Company, an icon of the United States and the auto industry as a whole, come through its troubled times.

Others say Kerkorian respects the impressive way Ford managed a comeback in such a short time, overcoming its dismal standing to regain a top industry spot. A spokesperson also stated that the investment reinforces the recognition that Alan Mulally earned by doing such a great job in turning the automaker’s situation around.

You might not be able to afford a multi-million-dollar investment in the company, but you can still purchase a vehicle from your local Ford dealer. It’s not only a great investment in Ford but also an ideal investment in your family and your future.