[Dale_R]

August 2014 -

Ford sold 1099 Transits this month, making a total of 2085 sold since production began.

 

[tmillar]

Seems like pretty good numbers for the Transit. I think that Ford will be happy with these numbers. I assume that this puts the Transit at the top of the segment.

 

[Dale_R]

Ram Promaster sold 1658 and MB Sprinter sold 1880 in August 2014.

 

[bbird]

problem is, they are only supplying the mid roof, and very few diesels. I have been waiting for a low roof with a Diesel, was told next year with that combo

 

[PeterR]

The local sales rep. has not returned my calls asking for Wagon availability and lead time for with certain options.

 

[Chance]

Just got back this afternoon from a week in London and I have to say that as far as I could casually observe, Sprinters and Ducatos seem to outnumber full-size Transits by a wide margin.

Ducatos and their twins seem to be all over the place. Most seem to be high roof but low roof vans are common too. Occasionally I noticed extra high roof Ducatos and Sprinters too. I also saw a lot of full-size Transits, but they just didn't seem as numerous.

It will be interesting to see if the full-size Transit can come close to the Econoline's market share.

 

[Todd]

Relax and have a Homebrew. Ford's numbers will increase and might be a little low just to sucker punch the others.
I went to do a test drive on a high roof extra long diesel today and my sales guy was busy doing another deal and I couldn't wait. That dealer had four on the lot.
I was told by another deal that the wagons will be December if I ordered this week.
Im a little hung up on which motor to get right now, so I won't be putting money down yet. Todd

 

[Chance]

One other thing about London, when you stand at a street corner the smell of diesel fumes is hard to miss. I did not see a single vehicle with dark smoke coming out of tailpipe, but diesel smell can be significant at some high-traffic intersections due to the large numbers of diesel cars, vans, trucks, and buses. It's easy to see why pretty much everyone wants to reduce diesel emissions.

 

[Damien89]

One other thing about London, when you stand at a street corner the smell of diesel fumes is hard to miss. I did not see a single vehicle with dark smoke coming out of tailpipe, but diesel smell can be significant at some high-traffic intersections due to the large numbers of diesel cars, vans, trucks, and buses. It's easy to see why pretty much everyone wants to reduce diesel emissions.

High emmision vehicles have to pay extra tax to get into london thats why most diesel cars are modern ones.

 

[Chance]

I did not miss my vehicles at all except for the one day we took a 12-hour coach tour outside of London, so paying a congestion fee to enter the city like we were told about doesn't sound that bad if vehicle is left parked most of the time -- unless it's charged on a per day basis.

In the city the subway/tube system was fast, convenient and not too expensive, and the buses were great too. We particularly liked the double-decker buses. And walking around between stations or bus stops was so pleasant due to wide sidewalks and many parks.

I like cars and camper vans for road trips, but this visit opened my eyes to the benefits of an extensive mass transit system. I guess the real challenge is building one big enough to get to anywhere you need if starting from scratch.

 

[Chance]

P.S. -- In the city I did not see a single private large van or camper conversion. Outside the city there were many camper vans of both Class B and Class C types.

 

[carnut]

The three vans that finally made it to my neck of the woods are still sitting on the lots.

 

[ted]

The three vans that finally made it to my neck of the woods are still sitting on the lots.

sneak in and snap some spy shots

 

[bobojay]

GM sold right at 12,000 Express/Savannah chassis, (do they, any of them include cutaways in their totals), in August.
Seems GM is picking up a lot of sales with the "classic" van.....

 

[greybeard]

The three vans that finally made it to my neck of the woods are still sitting on the lots.

And where would your neck of the woods be? Which dealer(s)?

 

[carnut]

Northern part of Michigan
http://billmarshfordkalkaska.com/Kalkaska/For-Sale/New/Ford/Transit/?FilterNewMakes=1
I don't think the first one of those 2 is on the lot yet.

Ford Traverse City | New 2014 Escape, Taurus, F-150, Fusion or Focus

Pretty boring selections.

 

[rickhoran]

1.) Does Ford break down how many Transits are bought off the lot as opposed to built-to-order?


2.) Do these figures (about a thousand vehicles a month) include the van, wagon and cut-away models combined?


3.) Are Transits that are built and then sit con dealer lots included in the "sold" figures?


4.) At these relatively low sales figures, why does it take months from order to delivery?


5.) What is the monthly capacity of the Kansas City assembly plant


6.) Finally, it is my understanding that one big bottleneck is the transportation from KC to the dealer. Why then don't they allow customers to pick up their vehicles at the factory. Teamsters? Dealers who want to justify the $995 delivery charge? Something else?

 

[Dale_R]

1.) Does Ford break down how many Transits are bought off the lot as opposed to built-to-order?

No.

2.) Do these figures (about a thousand vehicles a month) include the van, wagon and cut-away models combined?

Yes


3.) Are Transits that are built and then sit con dealer lots included in the "sold" figures?

No, they are not usually counted until leased or sold.


4.) At these relatively low sales figures, why does it take months from order to delivery?

This is a brand new product line for US Ford and there are literally hundreds of option choices. Plus, around the beginning of Transit production Ford dumped the Microsoft-based MyTouch operating system and is changing to a Blackberry QNX-based operating system.

5.) What is the monthly capacity of the Kansas City assembly plant?

When production began, Ford announced assembly would begin at 397 vehicles assembled per shift. We don't know how many vehicles per shift are being assembled at this time.


6.) Finally, it is my understanding that one big bottleneck is the transportation from KC to the dealer. Why then don't they allow customers to pick up their vehicles at the factory. Teamsters? Dealers who want to justify the $995 delivery charge? Something else?

Yes, transportation to the dealers has been a PIA. You can order a Transit to be picked up at a KC-area dealer. You cannot avoid the delivery charge, however. Ford charges $995 to deliver to KC or to Anchorage or Honolulu.

If I have made mistakes here, please correct me! :|

 

[ted]

I find delivery charges to be B.S.
There's really nothing involved for them to do, plus such a small fee for them to absorb.

 

[rickhoran]

Thanks for all the information Dale! I appreciate it!