Stacy94PGT

Ford replaces employee discounts with rebates

Reuters

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. said on Tuesday that it has replaced its employee pricing discount program with traditional cash rebates and cheap loans in a widely expected move after the discounts lost their allure with consumers.

Ford, which saw U.S. sales decline 19.5 percent in September, has been offering consumers the same low prices that its employees pay for vehicles since July, following a similar move from larger rival General Motors.

The big discounts program, called the Ford Family Plan, helped the automaker post two months of higher sales, but lost appeal with U.S. consumers in September.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker said it is now offering traditional cash rebates on some 2006 model-year vehicles. They include $500 on the Focus, Fusion and Five Hundred sedans and the Freestyle wagon, $2,000 on the Explorer SUV and some F-Series pickup trucks, and $3,000 on the large Expedition SUV.

Sales of large gas-guzzling SUVs for Ford declined significantly last month as U.S. gasoline prices soared well over $3 a gallon in many parts of the country. Sales of Ford's large Expedition SUV fell 60 percent, while sales of the mid-sized Explorer were down 58 percent. Sales of F-Series pickup trucks declined 30 percent.

For 2005 model-year vehicles, the Detroit-based automaker is offering zero percent financing for up to 60 months.

"The Family Plan was our most successful model year-end sales event ever and we expect that zero percent financing will help us sell-out our few remaining 2005 models several weeks earlier than normal," Ford spokesman Jim Cain said in a statement.

The incentives from Ford run through January 3.

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Stacy94PGT
My first car was a 67 Mustang Coupe, 2nd one was a 67 Cougar XR-7, 3rd one was a 66 Mustang Coupe. Why did I get rid of these cars for ? I know why, because I'm stupid, stupid, stupid.

My next Ford.....