Everyone,

If you are considering ordering a MMH, or FEH get in line and be prepared to wait.

I ordered my vehicle on 6/28/2007. My dealer spoke with Ford Motor Company yesterday, and in a best case scenario, it will be Feb. before I recieve delivery on my vehcile.

They are currently allocating 11 Hybrids per month to each region. The person explained to me, that my order back in June, put me in line with 35 of out 80 for this region. This means, I wont even have a VIN assigned for a min. of 4 months. Which lines me right up for Christmas shutdown.

This is ridiculus. This is my first experience at ordering a Ford, after successfully ordering 8 Chrysler vehicles over a period of 12 years with no issues.

Anyways, I just needed somewhere to vent, and I am waiting on feedback before I decide to cancel my order.

 

Did you order those 8 Chrysler vehicles on the FIRST year of the new model? After the first year its much easier... but the first year you have to deal with the scale up of the production of all the parts.

 

My guess is that none of those Chrysler orders included a Viper, Prowler or any other low production vehicle.

I would guess the limitations are supply chain. Certainly Ford can't afford to start procuring batteries (with a 100,000 mile warranty) from unproven sources. It's worth noting that everyone is bashing Ford for not producing enouth hybrids and it was only a year ago they were offering incentives anc couldn't get enough orders to keep the assembly line running full speed. The auto industry is a tough business.

 

With Chrysler I usually ordered the Ram Laramie Package which are the premier trucks. They had usually made a major revision each time, and the first one I ordered was a 95 when it was a complete revision. I never waited longer then 6 weeks. I did have to decline adjustable pedals once to prevent a 2-4 week delay.

The gentlemen at Ford said that there are no delays on parts or batteries. It is an issue of having an assembly line that can produce more.

This is not a speciality vehicle. It's advertised on TV all the time. Actually, I am going to research the federal hybird incentives rules on whether production has to be at a specific level to maintain the ability to provide the incentive. My guess it does, and my guess is they are in violation for it. I believe Toyota had a simliar issue with the Prius at some point.

 

So true!!

We waited months for a 2000 VW Beetle Turbo with an automatic. They didn't make many, and we didn't want a stick or a base engine. So we put down a deposit and waited. And waited and waited.

Now every dealer has plenty.

When I heard about the Gen 2 Prius, I wanted one. Late August 2003, I happened to be in San Fran and stopped by a dealer who said they already had dozens of orders. Hmmm. Called my dealer in Denver that day, and he reported 8 orders in hand. Got back in town September 3 & went right down with the deposit, making me #11 in line. Got a car in late November. It was actually earmarked for the guy in front of me in line but he decided to pass, so I got it. If he had wanted it, mine probably would not have arrived until late December or later.

If I'd waited any longer to order, I would have been caught in the 4-8 month wait times that followed.

Now, every dealer has plenty.

As for the FEH, anyone who really wants one may want to consider buying an existing unit. You may have to pay full sticker, darn it. That really sucks.

However, some dealers have them in stock. I've seen them in my area. They're not always listed correctly on the web. You may need to do some footwork. Lots of people report talking to salesmen on the phone who say there are none, only to find them on the lot when they visit. And vice versa, where the sales people say "yes, come on down" then try to sell you a gas model. Gotta do it yourself sometimes, which also sucks.

 

This is a tough call. We ordered one for my wife back in February and only had to wait six weeks. We lucked out as this was right after K.S. started producing the '08 model. My wife has a eighty mile commute and we get a good amount of snow in the winter she has to drive through, so she needed a suv with good mileage, so far the escape hybrid has been great. So if you can wait, it is well worth it.

I ran into a situation close to yours when I tried to order one of the new 07 Chevy Tahoe's in March of 2006. The vehicle was very popular and the factory was way behind in orders (about six months). I decided to cancel the order and go with a different vehicle. So unexpected demand can hit any of the automakers.

Good luck

 

There are no production requirements on the IRS credit.

Car makers make as many as the market demands. If demand outstrips supply, they crank up production. If production is at full capacity, or there are not enough parts, wait lists develop.

That's what's going on here: They can not make them fast enough due to limitations on parts supply. In general terms, it's safe to say that every Escape down the line could be a hybrid if they had the parts in stock to build them.

Because sales were traditionally only at a certain level, they only contracted with the battery supplier (Sanyo) to buy a certain number of batteries. Without batteries, they can't make them. That's pretty much it. They made a lot of hybrids at first because batteries had stockpiled during the switchover from MY2007 to MY2008. Now they're out.

 

Then Ford shouldn't allow you to order the vehcile, and they certainly shouldn't still be running commercials for it and advertising it.

Did they just expect may to wait, after paying for it, for 9 months? They could have at least advised to not pay for it, just place the order.

I was told that parts on hand are not the problem...and that orders in California and New York are way up and for some reason they get a priority.

 

Six months ago they were having trouble selling what they had commited to build they planned an add program and place adds, none of which can be done over night. Now gas went up,the add program hit and wala now they cant make enough. They might say where were you in 2007?

 

Thats just silly. Should companies in other industries be banned from advertising items they sell that are on backorder? I had to wait 8 weeks for my couch. Prius owners waited for months for their vehicles.

As for paying for it....are you saying you paid in full for a special order vehicle in advance? Never heard of anyone doing that before.
I'm pretty sure most people put down a deposit and pay for it when it arrives on the lot.