my theory is that '07's were in fact left over '06's and just renumbered, hence the low production #s. makes sence as the production was so low.

 

Just to add my recent expierence. I decided 2 weeks ago I wanted one, and want it now. I started looking at all my local dealers at least 7 in the metro (OKC) area. A few had 1 or 2. 1 had what I wanted, called and was told it's there. Drive 30mins to get there, he starts looking on the lot for it, can't find it, turns out it was sold days ago. Stupid salespeople.

So I start e-mailing my prefered dealer (bought several cars over the years with) and they were haveing a hard time finding any, and when they did the other dealers were not trading out.

So finally after days of internet dealer searching I found several at a small dealership near Dallas, 200 miles away. The also refused to trade, so we made a day trip out of it, and bought my new 08 Ice Blue! When we got there they had atleast 15 on the lot, and salesman said they had 20 more on order. They were stocking up for a "Green" week the owner is going to have (He owns a Toyota lot also).

So they may not be scarse "overall" but I couldn't find one I wanted in my entire state, granted I did not actually call dealersm I only used the internet.

 

I just wanted to add my 08 FEH buying experience...

I too, found that it's really tough to locate fully loaded FEH's (mainly NAV systems). All of the Ford dealers here in Omaha had at least two FEH's on the lot (1 had close to 15) but none of them had NAV systems. But, after scouring the entire Midwest looking for the FEH I wanted, I noticed that outside of Kansas City, Omaha, Chicago, and Milwaukee, hardly anyone had FEH's PERIOD. Working with one my local dealers, we finally found the rig I wanted:

4WD
Kiwi Metallic
Nav System
Premium Package
Leather Package
Chrome Package

It was the only one listed in their computer system and it was in Milwaukee. Luckily, the dealer was willing to make a trade. So, we had it trucked in and I finally got the one I wanted.

So, I don't know if there is a shortage or not, but it certainly ended up being quite an adventure searching for them.

 

The Hybrid is considered the "hottest" car of the moment in CA. Since Toyota increased production of the Prius, I see about 20 of them on the street everyday. I considered buying one but my 6'3 frame barely squeezed in and wasnt too comfortable. Three days ago, my wife and I hit up a local Ford dealer which had only one base model in stock. We drove it, liked it, decided to go to lunch to think about it. After lunch, we came back ready to sign the paperwork; only to find another couple in the finance office already signing the paperwork for they Hybrid.

After 10 phone calls to every dealer within a 50 mile radius of home and finding out how "hot" it was, I was able to find only 1 black fully loaded hybrid in FWD. Since I have absolutely no use for a 4WD and that the mileage was a little worse, I went to pick up the only one day had. I did a car locate on Ford's site and was only able to find maybe 3 FWD fully loaded in all of CA, and mine was the only one in black

 

Is there a problem ordering one?

When I got mine 9 months ago, I had no problems ordering one. It came in 6 weeks, which is just about the standard time for customer orders.

 

That seems to be the standard actual delivery times I've heard. They told me 6-8 weeks for my order which was put in on May 30th - so I'm halfway through my waiting period.

I just called the dealer yesterday and had him track down what the production date was supposed to be on it and I haven't heard back from him yet

Although finding one on a lot around here is next to impossible. Just out of curiosity, last weekend I did a dealer search online just to see how many I could find in the area and only found 3 in the whole Minneapolis/St Paul area.

 

Before I bought mine (used w/ 3300 miles), which was in another city 200 miles away I went by the local Ford dealer to see one or see if I could fit in one (I'm 6'4") I talked to one of the salesmen about the Hybrids and he said they (the dealer) didnt think they were good for this area. He said you should just buy a regular Escape and save the money that the Hybrid doesnt get that much better mileage. So the only Hybrid they had was one AWD MMH. I doubt most V6 Escapes are averaging anywhere close to 29 MPG. Ford really needs to train their sales force on Hybrids. If my wife had one she would double her MPGs over her Trailblazer which is averaging 16 MPG in mostly city driving with trips of 10 miles on average. This is a Univercity town with many enviromentally concious people. This is also a simi rural area where SUVs rule. They could sell a bunch around here if they just tried.

 

I am not so sure they are that "hot". Galpin (big SCAL dealer) is currently showing 34 FEH's in stock on the Ford Vehicles search.

I would like to get an '08 with a black interior (available in '07) but they aren't made like this anymore...

 

I know that when I ordered mine back in early April, I was also quoted 6 weeks for delivery. A little over two months later it finally arrived. I was slightly upset at the dealership for not being able to provide any additional detail when it was "late" other than "our system shows it should be here any day," but really, I suspect there was little else they could have found out.

So at 8.5 weeks it took just outside the 6-8 week range, which does sound fairly reasonable considering other comments posted to GH. I just wanted to post a heads-up to those expecting their FEH order that sometimes it does take a little longer. The waiting truly is the hardest part ...

Also of note: my sales rep seemed convinced that the assembly plant in MO would be shutting down for two weeks this summer; I believe she said for inventory and upgrades. Obviously this would delay production and delivery of new vehicles. I know when I worked at a flourescent lamp plant a few years back, we shut down for two weeks during the summer to bring in new equipment, so this sounds plausible to me. Has anyone else heard anything about the assembly line shutting down temporarily?

 

Footnote: Worth mentioning that Galpin Ford's inventory is huge and not indicative of typical dealers. They have been #1 (or very close) in US retail sales volume for years. They are the Longo Toyota of the Ford world.

Most LA area dealers have from zero to five units.