Well here is the scoop as i know it. Ford is only making 2000 FEH/MMH this year. For every 30 regular (gas) escapes/mariners produced they make 1 hybrid. So I think thats why they are scarce at some dealers. Also each dealer is only alocated a certian number of those 2000 depending on many different factors.

 

That is the way I understand it.

There is only one Mercury dealer who is certified to sell/service hybrids in my area. So, that is the only Mercury dealer in which you will find hybrids on their lot. And, they tend to have several in stock at any given time.

The same seems to go for Ford dealers in my area. Most are not hybrid certified, and I have yet to see a single FEH sitting in their lots. The Ford dealer that is certified, is a small dealership, and would only have one FEH sitting on their lot (if any).

 

A good fleet/internet salesperson should be also willing and able to arrange a trade for you for no cost if they can get one within a 100 miles or so. My salesperson tried this several times and was eventually successful, but it wasn't easy as some dealers weren't willing to trade their hybrids for some reason.

 

Did you get this information straight from Ford or from a very "knowledgeable" sales person at your local dealer?

 

I don't know if I would want a hybrid, if the nearest certified service was 100 miles or so away.

 

I read 6,000, but I think that is more like "hope to sell", than the maximum dealers are allowed to sell. I wish I could find that article to reference. It was mostly about the Fed Tax Credit, and what manufacturers have hit or likely will hit the phase out number. At 6,000 per year, Ford and its hybrid customers have nothing to fear.

 

Agreed 100%. The dealer I bought mine from sold like 4 'brids. I went across the bay, 20 miles and found a fleet dealer that has plenty of experience. seek and ye shall find. look for a fleet dealer of hybrids, ie, city/federal fleet sal3s or taxis. Ford found mine for me.

 

D-mac, this info came from the sales manager at a mercury dealer that I was talking to b4 we bought. The "2000" limit number I read somewhere online from Ford. if I can find it again i will post it.

 

Correct to a point. Alot of it has to with the market. Smaller dealerships don't have the "buying power" of dealers in major markets so the Mfg dictates what they get.

I live in one of the top ten markets in the nation so our dealers can get pretty much anything. Natalie is Native American and we looked at buying a FEH in Utah because she wouldn't have to pay sales tax there due to her tribe status, however, all the dealers in Salt Lake City didn't have any FEH's in stock and weren't sure if/when they would have any. The one dealer I spoke with in SLC was cool and he basically said if/when he gets one is would be MSRP plus and if he ordered us one it would be MSRP plus plus. So we were better off buying here in FL and using the local dealer Market Power.

Perhaps a good idea for people in rural areas would be to contact a dealer in a major market, buy from them and have the vehicle "drop shipped" to a local dealer. Dunno if it would save $ in the long run, just throwing it out there.

 

Not sure about those production numbers of 2000 to 6000 units. That would be a huge drop. It sounds a little like a good story for a dealer to tell a customer to justify a sale. "Get 'em while they're hot! We won't be getting any more!"

Ford sold 18797 FEH in '05 and 19,228 in '06. They also sold an additional 3375 MMH in '06.

I'm dubious of any estimates of less than 20,000 sales of both models combined for 2008. Even the all-but-cancelled V6 Accord Hybrid managed to pull together sales of over 5000 units in 2006.