Mike Levine saying outright he does NOT care about Granger/Chapman/SAC

[john houseman]

I'm not taking Ford's side on this because I think they're wrong. On the other side of the coin, though, how many individuals reserved 2 or more Bronco's with the intention of selling one later for above MSRP. We can always complain about the dealers, but there are individuals that play dirty as well. All of it hurts the guys and gals that want a vehicle to drive and aren't there to play games. Big Dealers get preference, individuals with well known You tube accounts get preference. It's wrong, but what are the small dealerships and regular Joe's able to do about it? If you are a high powered attorney or have tons of money to throw around you could suit, but what would you win? The manufacturer always has the right to change products, pricing, and distribution of its product. We can buy, or not buy - wait, or not wait. That's reality people. Whining because we don't get our way doesn't solve anything, and never will.

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[hemiblas]

First, your title is wrong and untrue. If you are going to claim "person A outright said..." then you should actually have a quote from person A where they make the outright claim...you don't have that.

Second,
Can we stop with the self back-patting Tweet sharing posts on the forum...it is as bad as spam, especially when there is literally nothing new. Twitter, and Tweets, are not news, they are not novel, they are rarely even interesting, thought provoking, or relevent.

Third,
This has all been hashed, rehashed, rehashed and kicked again...Ford believes their policy is better for most (98%) of the order holders (and they might be right).

Fourth, the allocations system isn't inherently contrary to the reservation/ordering system. They work in congruence with one another. It is not perfect, it might not result in a perfect rollout (too late for that now) but that is not what was promised prior to ordering. Ford clearly noted that reservation time, allocation, and constraints would drive delivery. This has been stated since well before the order process occurred. Folks just don't want to hear it. They don't want to believe that their "great deal" might have had some known limitations or obstacles.

Lastly, custom takes longer than production...always. This is why I am not offended by Ford making production units for retail. Production units using not constraint parts will help keep many dealers afloat, especially during this obviously difficult time in the car industry.

For someone this situation doesn’t affect or apply to you sure have a lot to say about it.

 

[Sighlense]

Annnnnd his tweet has been scrubbed from B6G.

 

[Glue Guy]

In case anyone's been waiting for an answer:
@mrlevine Fill your Bronco reservation orders ahead of allocations. We’ve already waited 15 months. Stop punishing your customers. #reservationsoverallocations
His answer tells me they just don't care.

in case he deletes his tweet, here's what it says:

Mike Levine
Replying to @robtraut and @KogodBiz
That’s exactly the plan for more than 98% of customers that didn’t place orders with a small dealer that created a special deal to attract a large number of orders.

I’m a shareholder and have 2 Fords in the driveway. One is a Balands Bronco.

This activity by Ford sickens me, and maybe makes me wish those two trucks weren’t there. I didn’t buy the Bronco from Granger, but do still have an active reservation through them. Granger went all in on this Bronco program and got behind Ford. Only to get screwed. They’re not the only one. That’s bad business from Ford, and a poor response to these concerns. Maybe it’s time to sell some stock.

 

[lobbs611]

I fully intend on hounding him on Twitter until he blocks me

 

[BAUS67]

So here is where it gets tricky. Ford has been using the Ad Covenant Program on newer products like Mach-e and Lightning. This program is supposed to regulate what price each dealer can openly advertise for a certain product. This isn't a new program in the automotive industry, as some other manufacturers like Honda have a similar program. Now, this really only extends to advertising, and not the actual selling price. Once a customer comes into the store, you can in theory discount your product to make a deal. It is meant to level the playing field so that larger stores that sell a massive amount of vehicles can't drown out your family-owned stores who sell far less. There have been whispers that for future products, Ford will require the dealers to sell at no more than MSRP, but nothing has been set. Obviously changes this big will take time, but hopefully the days of dealers charging customers ADM at the time of delivery are numbered.

I wanted to address the transparency that Granger is famous for. I have so much respect for those guys, and the time it takes to respond to each question is probably enough to tie up an employee for 8+ hours every day. I do the best I can as a one-man-show as I handle all the Bronco orders at my store, but transparency and simply being polite goes a long way. I love working with each customer and if more stores took the time to treat each customer with the respect they deserve, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Sounds like you are describing what many of the vendors I use call MAP pricing. Many large companies are going to this motto. Can't advertise a lower price than MAP. If I have a wholesale account I can discount the part I just cannot advertise it as such. This doesn't not draw customers in through advertising but does draw them in when they talk to their buddies who know that I can discount. Crazy how this system works.

Thanks for responding about the situation with the allocations. I have my res a small dealer, up north a bit from where you are. He is the same, one guy does all the orders, he sells ALL Fords, sold 10 or 11 Sports so far. Would have sold more if he could get his hands on them. When I went in yesterday to confirm my order and get it back the rotation he told me he has an F-150 that has been built for 3 weeks and Ford can't seem to get it him, his customer is pissed.

I have stayed with him through all of this thinking that maybe, being that I am his first res, even though he is a small dealer, I would get my Bronc in a timely matter but this has not panned out the way I thought. Not going anywhere though, I will just wait it out Ford will get my Bronc to me ............. Someday.


One thing I did want to ask you. Do you think Ford even cares if the reservations are converted to the person who reserved them ?? I.E. some of the mega dealers getting reservations only to have them "abandoned" so they can sell. I know Ford said they would frown on this and take allocations away. Something tells me this won't happen. Many Dealers bash the Granger thing but they are proud of the fact that 100 % of their reservations have been converted to the person who made the reservation. Not all dealers can say this. Just looking for your thought on this scenario.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

What about those of us who placed our order with a small local dealer that didn't create a special deal to attract a large number of orders???

 

[Altitude]

I personally don't care about dealer allocations, one dealer being treated 'better' than another, state laws pertaining to auto sales, etc. I care about getting my Bronco. Ford can fix this by simply building the damn broncos based on reservation time / date stamp / parts constraints as originally stated they would, and sending them out, regardless of what dealer that reservation is tied to. Simple.

 

[PLindsey725]

You all need to chill.

 

[Rebel Bronc]

Mike Levine is full of shit. Its not just those small dealers who offered discounts that are boned. I recently spoke with someone at a larger dealership in upstate NY, much closer to me than Granger. This larger dealership will also have a hard time meeting the number of orders with what Ford seems to be allocating. And they offer MSRP, as well as honor X-plan if you have a pin.
Its about sticking to your word and building the ordered vehicles.

#reservationsoverallocations.

 

[Garemlin]

All I can do is laugh at this whole situation anymore.

When the return of the Bronco was confirmed I was super excited. The reveal got me pumped up. I still didn't want to commit to a reservation until I saw one in person. Then everything started going downhill. Between parts delays, massive reservation numbers and then quality issues I started losing interest. Went for a test drive and I got excited again. Now with the allocation fiasco, still ongoing quality issues, and Ford's obvious inability to listen to what the customers want with the lack of easily made changes for 2022, I am pretty much over it.

I may revisit the thought of a Bronco in 2024 when they do the mid refresh. I may not. But in the meantime I'm placing my order for a 2022 Wrangler Willys Xtreme Recon.

 

[Dvanderm]

I'm not even sold that Ford values big dealers all that much for Broncos either. I was going to change my reservation from a local dealer to Granger, and first called Galpin Ford, a large volume dealer in CA. The salesman I have worked with before called me right back. I asked if they were offering anything below MSRP, and they aren't (no surprise). But he also said they have hardly any Broncos allocated to them, which did surprise me.

Anyway, I called Ford to change to Granger, and they are now needing to get Supervisors approval to transfer to dealers who are selling at below MSRP, and it takes 2 days to get a response. I will see what they say.

 

[Bronco216g]

Wow, so he basically said in one statement that Ford values dealers (especially large ones that charge ADM) over customers.

Happy with my Rubicon 4XE Mike, bought it from a small dealer at 7% under invoice and will continue to support small rural dealers who make deals.

I canceled my bronco reservation and went Chapman Automotive (Ford, CDJR) and ordered a Rubicon 392 from them and I pick it up next week 6% under invoice (no BS, no BS fees or gimmicks)

 

[Tonka1]

I didn't interpret Levines statement as they must go back to an allocation model instead of strictly following reservation time stamp because of some state laws. Only that their allocation method complies with state laws which I will not address as I'm not a legal expert. Parties in any potential legal dispute will always say that as a deterrent to litigation so I don't place much value in the statement. IMHO, I think this talk of legal action is misguided. The best way of addressing this is through public pressure. I did note that Jim Farley this week appeared to back track on the allocation model and stated that he always favored the reservation system to the extent practical. Not sure if that's just his opinion or if that's a sign the Ford is going to ensure that reservations are given priority over dealer stock. I saw hope that the poor publicity may have softened their position.

 

[aj_benedetto]

One thing I did want to ask you. Do you think Ford even cares if the reservations are converted to the person who reserved them ?? I.E. some of the mega dealers getting reservations only to have them "abandoned" so they can sell. I know Ford said they would frown on this and take allocations away. Something tells me this won't happen. Many Dealers bash the Granger thing but they are proud of the fact that 100 % of their reservations have been converted to the person who made the reservation. Not all dealers can say this. Just looking for your thought on this scenario.

I don't like to put words in the mouth of Ford, but I do believe they want each ordered Bronco to go to the person who ordered it. I know that a lot can change over a year, and there will be abandoned orders here and there, but I can't wrap my head around a select few dealers who are openly bragging about how many Broncos they have on the lot. I think this will catch up to them eventually, but only time will tell. We might have two Bronco orders that the customer is no longer in the market either because we sold them a different vehicle, or they jumped to a competitor like Jeep.

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