Heck yeah, mEVerick will be awesome when it comes! Probably at least two years out from now though. But, it’ll be “free” for us when we trade in our gently used Lightnings.
I would never give a dealer $4555.20 ADM. I changed dealers because my orignal dealer (Meford Ford) wanted 3k. The new dealer (Holman ford maple shade NJ) was ADM free. Least in NJ BEV's are tax free otherwise it would be 6.9%.
In NY, you get a $500 state rebate at the point of sale. Tax is 8.75%, or over $5k on a XLT SR.
Yeah, I feel that NY pain. It is better than if you are under $40k MSRP (up to $2,500), but few vehicles fit that bill.
I’m with you. I’m so over the 2-3 trim levels with set options that may or may not suit one’s needs, and that’s it...take it or leave it. Thankfully the a la cart approach is coming back with some brands. The automakers who don’t move to that (or aren’t capable of doing so) might be the ones playing catch up one day. Time will tell
I think you are going to find the opposite as time marches on. Several manufacturers limit options and packages to particular trim levels. Just look at Honda’s. Gone forever are the days where you had eight variants of a car. Yes, I do recognize that there is more flexibility with pickups, nut that flexibility does not seem to translate down to CUVs, SUVs, and cars.
Time will tell I suppose. I believe Ford already announced that Covid taught them that they want to move more to a model where dealers can stock much less inventory and people can just order exactly what they want from the factory. I’ve had 3 Hondas and the thing that made me crazy was this package model. I could never get what I really wanted and I finally walked away from them. I also think technology probably now makes customization far easier than it was pre 1990 when it was pretty typical to pick and choose your options. But then again I don’t work in a factory so that’s pure spec on my part. Regardless I’m glad I can customize the truck to a much greater degree.
you’re right. Lots of stuff is simply baked in now (or eventually will be) which is great. Beyond that I just want a clean slate that I can add to on an a la crate basis. And to a large degree you can still do that with trucks. They obviously still have trim levels with certain buckets of options, but there’s much greater variety beyond that which I personally appreciate. But hey that’s just my opinion.
Have you guys seen the recent news articles on Ford’s interests on OTA subscription services? They are catching on to the revenue generated by recurring subscription income which Tesla has somewhat pioneered. Their end goal are one-model vehicles, with all the bells and whistles, that you have to pay monthly/yearly in order to unlock the features you want (heated seats? That’s $50/yr, BlueCruise? That’s $200/yr, etc etc until we’re all broke). I hope competitive capitalism squashes this idea like the bug that it is. Let me pay one time for a feature that doesn’t require any upkeep or support and quit milking money out of my damn wallet.
If the subscription means those features are warrantied as long as they are paid for I might be interested in that model. I’m a guy who frequently passes on tech and options because I’m concerned about that stuff going tits up down the road.
These mega-companies are interested in subscription model because it results in huge recurring revenue with minimal overhead. I’ve got a 15 year old truck still driving around with pretty much every tech feature still intact (remote start, heated seats and wheel, etc). I don’t need to be charged yearly to have access to a function and reassure myself that the company will fix it in the pretty unlikely chance that something malfunctions. Warranty companies are in the business of making money, not insuring their products.
I’m familiar with the subscription model and that it’s all profit. Look at Microsoft 365 as the example, no chance of paying once and done like 10+ years ago. I drove Volkswagens long enough to be suspect of everything breaking at some point. If it weren’t for the MPG and performance characteristics of the TDI I would’ve moved away from VW much sooner. My last Touareg had a sunroof go bad just out of warranty, fortunately I got the dealership to goodwill it otherwise the repair was over $4K.
