Before the Friends of the Blue Oval get out their Woo-Hoos, it behooves anyone looking at any of June’s new car sales figures to remember that today’s percentages are all stated in relation to June 2008, which was a tremendously crap month for car dealers. Industry-wide, sales fell 18 percent, as gas prices rose and America’s economic bubble popped like a festering . . . you get the idea. If not, clock this factoid: June ’09 marks the 24th year-over-year monthly decline in the last 25 months. Rose tinted glasses crushed under the jackboot of reality, let’s continue . . . “Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sales totaled 148,153, down 11 percent versus a year ago, which is believed to be the month’s lowest decline among major auto manufacturers.” Yes, it’s that bad out there that doing less bad than the other guys is considered a major victory. Click here for full results. Jump for instant analysis (just add page views). Again, Ford’s press release is full of the sales equivalent of moral relativism.
“Ford Mustang sales to retail customers [7,632 vs. 10,893] nearly matched year-ago levels.” Not sure what part of that stat’s retail and what part’s fleet (Ford pulling its usual stunt in this regard). Taken as a whole, that’s a 29.9 percent drop to you and me.
“Retail sales for the Ford F-Series and Ranger pickup trucks were higher than a year ago.” As Steely Dan sang in Gaucho, would you care to explain? ‘I’m seeing a 7.4 percent drop in F-150 sales (35,915 and a 38,789 and a 4.4 percent increase in Rangers. Still, if not for pickups, Ford would be dead.
“Although Lincoln sales were lower than a year ago, Lincoln gained market share in the luxury segment in the first half of 2009 versus a year ago. This primarily reflects the strength of the all-new Lincoln MKS sedan.”
Yes, they are lower: 7,137 vs. 9,718, for a 26.6 percent drop. And yes, sales of the new MKS are WAY up in percentage terms—254.5 percent. But the raw numbers are still pretty dire: 1,365 vs. 385 units. To put that in some perspective, BMW sold 8,621 3-Series and 3,904 5-Series sedans last month.
Anyway, there’s Blue Oval blood everywhere. The monthly and year-to-date numbers are staggeringly bad. Suffice it to say, my preliminary read of these stats is that Ford’s “success” is fleeting. The only models not jumping off a cliff are vehicles headed for fleet duty. Hence Ford’s insistence on touting retail sales—without revealing them. See how that works? And the production ramp-up only looks good in comparison to the total shutdown in Q2, which allowed inventory levels to taper off. See how that works?
Now that New Chrysler is burning tax dollars without a car in the world, and New GM is about to emerge debt-free with the Mother of All Sugar Daddies (Uncle Sam) footing the bills, Ford is looking more and more like the next American English patient, if you know what I mean.
Ford is obviously taking share from GM and Chrysler, as Detroit-leaning traditionalist consumers get even more conservative. I think Dearborn will take -10.7%, with the hope that the new Taurus, Mustang and Fiesta will lead to an actual sales rebound.
You have to start somewhere and in this economy it is not gonna be great leaps but baby steps. I think Ford will keep improving and i just hope it is fast enough for them to show a profit soon.
A lot of the big dropoffs are for discontinued or about to be completely refreshed models. Seeing sales plummet for Sables, Town Cars, Grand Marquis, Tauri, Mark LTs, and Taurus Xs isn’t surprising as inventory is practically nill on those models.
It’s good to see sales of the Flex jumping up, and sales of the MKS staying strong (comparing the MKS to the BMW 3 and 5 series is silly, no one is cross shopping those models. The MKS is targeted at the people shopping Lexus GS, Acura RL/TL, Infiniti M, and Cadillac STS, and while I haven’t seen sales figures for those models yet this month, the last few times I have compared months the MKS has been on top). The D3 platform will have another winner with the 2010 Taurus.
Some of the data are fishy.
Volvo S60: how come June 2009 is a 60% jump over the month a year ago and how come a full 1/3 of their 2009 volume YTD came this month? It’s not a car I expect to see at the rental counter yet I see no reason short of a large group sale to explain the sales result.
IF Ford survives long term (which is an IF) then any conquest sales they make now from GM Chrysler as well as imports bodes well for continued sales from those customers provided that they are satisfied and pleased with their product long term.
Robert was pretty damn accurate with his GM
predictions/outlook. Now, let us predict where Ford stands 5 years from now. Can we even make an educated guess during so much turmoil? Can Ford survive in the long run? What I have noticed is that the general public didnt pay attention to the several billion $$ that Ford borrowed from Uncle Sam. However, the media and pundits still play off the fact that Ford didnt take a major bailout like GM Chrysler…seems like that will benefit them greatly in the media wars.
Chrysler is down 42%? Yikes!
I’m still trying to figure out why they are trying to re-start the production lines for the Sebring, Nitro, Compass, Avenger, and other vehicles with no reason to live.
This keeps up, and before long, auto pundits will also be talking of “green shoots” in the automotive sector…
NulloModo: “The D3 platform will have another winner with the 2010 Taurus.” …
I would say it is about time as that platform has been around for ages now … 1999 S80, 2005 D219/258 Freestyle and FiveHundred…
p.s. I do agree the ’10 Taurus is a beaut, however, at the volume it is slated for, it ain’t about to offer the bounce of the original Taurus.
“Yes, it’s that bad out there that doing less bad than the other guys is considered a major victory.”
Ford continues to gain market share against domestic and import rivals in a horrible market. How exactly is that bad news?
It’s all relative. If Ford’s sales slipped 10.7 percent vs. last June, and GM’s slipped 20 percent, *then* tell me whose blood is everywhere.
Point being, we can’t judge Ford until we’ve seen everybody else’s numbers.
Mr. Farago, you might consider putting all of the available monthly numbers in one post so that we can judge more objectively.
Toyota is reporting June US sales down 32%:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/toyota-june-us-sales-down-32-to-131654-units?siteid=yhoof2
Nissan down 23%:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nissan-june-us-sales-fall-23-to-58298-units-2009711354360
Chrysler down 42%:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chrysler-june-us-sales-down-42-to-68297-units
GM Down 34%:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/general-motors-us-june-sales-decline-336
VW Down 18%:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/volkswagen-june-us-sales-fall-18-to-19027
Ford’s sticking to its gameplan. Better products, production matching demand, and less reliance on blow out sales. I think it’s the right strategy.
Ford-10.9%
Nissan-23.1%
Toyota-31.9%
Chrysler-42%
Vorenus
Autoblog does the best all in one monthly sales chart. We don’t have the time or resources to compete.
There are a few issues that should be addressed here . . .
Retail vs. fleet – To judge Ford’s health, we need to know the percentages. Ford keeps talking about retail. Show me the money. Which has to do with . . .
Cash Burn – As we said some five years ago when GM was headed for the buffers, looking at anything other than cash burn is like a drunk looking for his keys underneath a streetlamp simply because the light’s better. It’s all about the burn baby.
Ford is probably taking market share from GM and Chrysler. But then so is everybody else. I’d wager Ford’s not gaining any more than the other other guys. Focusing on this metric is misleading. This company needs to find a way to stop losing money, to MAKE money, or it will die. (Or become another zombie.) Regardless of what anyone else is doing.
Cash cow – I’d also like to know what part of Ford’s fleet delivers the most profits. As I pointed out in the post, it’s possible that Ford is STILL living on its F-150 profits. Assuming that market is in deep hibernation (check today’s housing starts stats), what do they have to stop the burn?
Simply saying that a falling tide sinks all boats and look! the other guys are already sunk! is lazy analysis. Ford is taking on water, fast. They’re mortgaged up to and including their logo. Their brands are indistinct. Their marketing sucks. They’re touting the next big—I mean small—thing.
Sound familiar?
Ken:
Generally, I agree. It is the right strategy. But the Mulally administration’s failed branding, model and marketing efforts will be the death of them. And even if all that comes together, what if U.S. sales don’t recover until the back end of 2010 or 2011 or . . . later?
The new car market depends on two things: job security (i.e. consumer confidence) and easy credit. Today’s unemployment figures are hideous. People aren’t thinking about buying a new car. They’re thinking about keeping the one they’ve got. Basic. Human. Nature. The feds can only underwrite easy credit for so long.
I reckon the U.S. economic recovery is going to be a long, slow, ugly process. How long can Ford survive at these volumes? ‘Cause I don’t think it can cut enough fat to make a profit in this market.
We shall see.
The difference is that I have some hope that Ford will actually produce something worthwhile. It’s been quite awhile since I thought that about GM (ever?). Maybe the general populace doesn’t share my feelings, but Ford is gaining market share and not just at the expense of GM and Fiatsler. They are also gaining market share on Toyota and Nissan and in the past several months Honda (waiting for this month’s numbers still).
I see your point about cash burn, because at ths rate, in a couple of years, Ford will have half of the US market, but the US market will only amount to 3 million sales per year, so they do need to turn the sales numbers around and start adding sales as well as profit. But, again, at least it looks like they have the potential to do it.
I’m going to go ahead and jump on the Ford bandwagon here.
Maybe it’s just me, but what I’m seeing of Ford’s marketing on television doesn’t offend my brain. The ads are colorful, the images of the vehicles are coherent and beautiful, gimmicks are absent. There’s solidity, clarity… you get the feeling that the vehicles are solid and will work well. Reviews of the latest offerings bear that out; we’ll see how flaky they actually are.
Ah, that Lincoln ad with the Bowie remix. My Dad is a curmudgeon. He said he liked it. How about that?
The Fiesta movement is probably, really, fizzling. But it’s an indication that Ford is taking some kind of sideways step when it comes to getting info about their vehicles out there. It’s an image thing. It’s what’s in the back of peoples minds that counts sometimes… look at all the freaky GM websites out there now; an over abundance of information. What your mind thinks is, “GM is panicking.”
GM and Chrysler TV ads make me sick to my stomach. “We’re rebuilding, stronger than ever, blah blah blah.” Enough said. Rebuilding with my kids money.
Toyota ads running here, with a member of the Borg talking about how the cars have good resale value, are 180 degrees from appealing. The scene, the cars, the pitch, all whitewashed and nauseating. I’m not a fan of practical cars or practical car ads, or cars without a soul.
Despite the “shitty economy,” fashion is in (ipods/phones/watches/other annoying trends), and the young people are going to get their money.
If Ford can remain the golden boy of the “D3,” smelling less of spoiled meat than their counterparts, while marketing cars with style, tech appeal, and substance to boot… they might have some chance against the staggering debt and liabilities they must face… so they can sell shiny new cars to these kids.
If Ford is gaining marketshare at the expense of GM and Chrysler, I really don’t see how it matters that other car makers are also gaining at these two companies’ expense. At least Ford is gaining market share, which is an achievement in this market.
Also, regarding cash burn – GM was burning cash to keep the lights on. Ford is burning cash to keep its new model programs on track. Huge difference.
But, yes, if the economy doesn’t improve, Ford is most likely toast, too.
If you look at all of the major players, Ford is actually taking marketshare from everyone this month and not just GM and Chrysler. I do think this is a good thing. Their marketing sucks, but they are building competitive products that are starting to get people’s attention. And they have been slowly cutting the debt they have. Ford is not the same as GM and I do beleive they will make it without a government bailout.
P.S. Maybe the people who said that they wouldn’t buy a vehicle from one of the bailout 2 are actually following through on their bluster? We need an exit poll from current car buyers.
Can someone please direct me to a reliable source for U.S. market share numbers? ‘Cause the last time I looked, Ford was monkeying around with retail market share numbers.
Seriously. Who’s got the goods?
NulloModo : Seeing sales plummet for Sables, Town Cars, Grand Marquis, Tauri, Mark LTs, and Taurus Xs isn’t surprising as inventory is practically nill on those models. The D3 platform will have another winner with the 2010 Taurus.
You gotta stop saying stuff like that.
1. The Town Car outsold the MKS again this month. This is far from a rare occurrence.
2. The D3 is the textbook definition of a failure: there are no “winners” in its portfolio and the future is less than bright for this platform.
Robert Farago: “Can someone please direct me to a reliable source for U.S. market share numbers?”
http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html#autosalesC
Can someone please direct me to a reliable source for U.S. market share numbers?
Wards Automotive should be pretty good: http://wardsauto.com/keydata/USSalesSummary0905/
RL Polk data is also useful, because it’s based upon registrations.
Looks like Toyota took a page out of Ford’s ‘F-Series’ book by combining the Corolla and Matrix into one sales figure.
What’s next? A Prius/Tundra line item?
Maybe Sebring/Caliber/Ram/Durango/Dakota?
See that? Now Ford’s not looking so bad.
By the way, Subaru was UP 3%.
Is it just my impression, or has Ford really cut back on incentives? For a while they had fat $3,500 rebates on Fusion and Milan; that’s gone. And they seem to be pushing low interest rate loans more than cash rebates, which also reduces incentive spending. Maybe inventory has shrunk too much. Or they’re counting on Uncle Sam’s C4C giveaway to pull customers into the showroom.
Speaking of market share, here are some raw June sales numbers which speak for themselves:
2009
Ford, Mercury and Lincoln 148,153
New GM (Buick, Cad., Chev. and GMC) 143,454
Toyota 131,654
Honda 100,420
2008
New GM (Buick, Cad., Chev. and GMC) 214,679
Toyota 193,234
Ford, Mercury and Lincoln 167,090
Honda 142,539
“Ford is probably taking market share from GM and Chrysler. But then so is everybody else. I’d wager Ford’s not gaining any more than the other other guys.”
The numbers don’t jive with that analysis. Toyota’s sales are off about the same as GM’s are.
“Their brands are indistinct. Their marketing sucks.”
I assume that by marketing you mean primarily advertising. Call me a contrarian, but I don’t think advertising moves the needle very much in today’s automotive market. Positive recommendations from friends and family, a person’s past experiences with a brand and dealership along with the latest ratings from Consumer Reports all probably have a lot more to do with how a car company is doing than does the latest advertising campaign. Can anyone point to a current automotive advertising campaign which is moving the metal?
As far as distinct branding, who cares? Again, this is an inside baseball kind of thing which the actual buyers of the world don’t care much about.
Sajeev – The MKS is outselling the Town Car YTD, even amidst very deep discounts on TCs driving up fleet sales and panther platform loyalists snapping up their last chance at a new model. The Flex is continually improving in sales each month. I can’t seem to find a GM sales breakdown by model, but I imagine it is closing in on the Traverse/Acadia. For having launched in a poor market, I’d say both models are doing well. Also, you can’t call any car that outsells all of its intended competition a failure.
50merc – The $3500 on ’09 Fusions is still there, Ford just moved some of it to what they call ‘Drive the Difference’ money, just another way of saying the same thing.
June sales/YTD
Traverse 7289/40,679
Flex 4784/20,061
Acadia 4634/27,360
Enclave 3771/20,876
John Horner:
I don’t know about “moving the metal” – can you ever tell if it is marketing that sells a product- ,but Mazda’s “Zoom Zoom” ads and tag line were certainly catchy.
NulloModo : Sajeev – The MKS is outselling the Town Car YTD, even amidst very deep discounts on TCs driving up fleet sales and panther platform loyalists snapping up their last chance at a new model.
And Ford hasn’t given nice lease deals (and cash back?) on the MKS in the past few months? I remember the sign and drive events and I have seen L-M fleet managers pushing MKS’ onto TC owners for that reason.
YTD numbers are nice, we can go back and forth on when one platform did better than the other. But the hard reality is that the Panthers have outsold the D3s almost every month since their 2005 introduction.
Sure it only outsells by a few units every month, but that’s pathetic: the zero-dollar ancient car shouldn’t even come close to the capital intensive new idea.
And, just like we talked about last month, the Panther is gonna be around for at least 2 more years, so this “loyalists snapping up their last chance at a new model” makes no sense at all. Unless you have proof its going away in 2010, that is.
Trying to turn these sales results into a negative for Ford is laughable. Or sad. I can’t decide.
Back in the good old days, I seem to remember plenty of discussions on this site that used sales figures for the Japanese and Korean brands versus Detroit to refute the claim that Detroit quality was just as good.
“If their quality was as good, they wouldn’t be losing sales. The people have spoken (and they disagree with you).”
Turnabout is fair play.
To everything you say in this piece, I respond with a quote from NoSubstitute:
…raw June sales numbers which speak for themselves:
2009
Ford, Mercury and Lincoln 148,153
New GM (Buick, Cad., Chev. and GMC) 143,454
Toyota 131,654
Honda 100,420
2008
Ford, Mercury and Lincoln 167,090
New GM (Buick, Cad., Chev. and GMC) 214,679
Toyota 193,234
Honda 142,539
Ford went from weak sauce to kicking ass vis a vis the competition. They must be doing something right. The people have spoken. And they disagree with you.
Edit: Oh yeah . . . all this in the context of recent posts nailing Ford for uncompetitive pricing, i.e., they’re not buying these gains from the competition.
NoSubstitute – Thanks for the numbers. It does seem like the Flex is finally closing it, but it is a shame (to me) that the Traverse still outsells it by such a wide margin when the Flex (aside from the apparently too dramatic exterior styling) is the superior vehicle.
Sajeev – Yes, Lincoln ran the Sign and Drive event, but you can lease pretty much any vehicle at any time with nothing down if your credit is good enough, the payment just goes up, which is what Lincoln did with that event. The current $2100 cash is the most that has ever been on the MKS, and that is just because it is shared across the Lincoln lineup, the vehicle sold well with no rebates or just $1000 for quite a long while. $2100 for an outgoing model year isn’t bad at all. In comparison many dealers are advertising Town Cars with $12000 or more off on the hood. Also, this is the last chance to get a Town Car or Grand Marquis through the retail channel. Ford has stated quite clearly that ’09 is the last model year where the vehicles will be on dealer lots. Yes, fleets will still be able to buy them after this, but average consumers without FIN codes or knowing a fleet purchaser will be out of luck.
I don’t have perfect inside information, but what I gleaned from sales results and calls from last year and this year, I can give you some relative retail numbers for products (I could be WAY off, but let’s try).
1) Mustang – My guess is that they moved 6,000-6,500 retail last year, so that would make it 6,000-6,500 this year.
2) F-series – I estimated that retail was 22,000 last year. Maybe 23,000 this year? Really strong retail percentage on the trucks for Ford, though.
3) Escape was likely 12,000-12,500 last year, and so probably in that realm again.
4) The Flex has had some fleeting the last two months – not sure how much, but probably 1,500 or so units. But that’s been the first significant fleeting since September 2008.
5) The Edge had some fleeting in May, but otherwise has been maybe 93% retail after starting last year ~20% fleet.
6) The Expedition’s strength is heavily driven by fleet right now – although retail is up significantly now that their inventories are > 2,000 units.
Overall, Ford is right, their retail strength this year has been pretty good. They probably ended the quarter at ~29% fleet, which would be down from 36% last year. So, while their total sales are down 33%, their retail for the first six months are probably only down 26% (can anyone confirm – I couldn’t make the sales call). That would put Ford at a 11% maketshare from retail sales, up about 1.5 points from last year. Total is probably 15.5%, which would place them at ~1 point higher.
I still don’t see what’s so bad here. RF, you’re right to be skeptical, but at least add data to your skepticism – my data that I track shows nothing to contradict Ford (even if I can’t nail exactly where they stand). I don’t think the fact that their retail results are strong is a mystery. The fact that they are doing it under controlled incentive spend is even more impressive, imo. But I still don’t see sales comparisons adjusted for incentive spend being discussed – Ford would be even further ahead.
Looks like Toyota took a page out of Ford’s ‘F-Series’ book by combining the Corolla and Matrix into one sales figure.
I believe technically it’s the Toyota Corolla Matrix.
John
” … Mazda’s “Zoom Zoom” ads and tag line were certainly catchy.”
Mazda is a perennial also-ran in the US market. From today’s Mazda press release:
“IRVINE, Calif. – Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported June 2009 sales of 13,729, down 42.2 percent versus June of 2008, and down 44.6 percent on a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis. Overall, total yearly sales are reported at 100,381, down 34.5 percent compared to 2008, or 34.0 percent on a DSR basis.”
http://www.mazdausamedia.com/content/mazda-reports-june-2009-sales
Mazda has one of the most consistent brand images of the mass market players in the US, but that doesn’t get ‘er done. Zoom Zoom indeed. About ten days ago I went to test drive a Mazda 5 as a possible replacement for our pickup truck. The salesjerk wouldn’t let me go for a test drive unless I said I was ready to buy that day. That kind of a negative experience at the dealership means a lot more than any Creative Ad Campaign.
John – Sounds like you ran into either a bad dealership or a bad salesperson, but don’t let it color your thoughts about Mazda as a whole. While a lot of dealerships have restrictions on test drives of certain models (for us it is GT500s, Dodge dealers probably don’t let any joe off the street test drive a Viper, and Chevy probably tries to keep the miles down on ZR1s) there is no reason for any dealer to tell you no to driving a regular model in the lineup. Call the dealer and speak with a manager so that the lazy salesperson who blew you off gets his comeuppance, but don’t think that is in any way indicative of the normal experience at a Mazda store.
It certainly wasn’t my experience at any of the Mazda stores I went to. I didn’t like the high pressure negotiating technique of the first two, but when I found the Mazda6 that I was looking for through the internet, that dealer, Marin Mazda/Subaru, was quite accomodating in price negotiations as well as taking it for a spin. I have experienced something similar to what you describe at the Ford Dealer in Santa Rosa, CA, and the Toyota Dealer in Medford, OR. Real jerks can be found peddling anybody’s cars.
Ford is smart to ramp up production..
I imagine that they are getting pretty good deals right now from suppliers.
Cash flow will tell the story…
NulloModo;
I’m curious why you state with apparent certainty that the Flex is superior to the Traverse. I haven’t driven either, but crawling through them at car shows left me as undecided as before I began. I appreciated the extra seat availability, seemingly larger and more useful cargo area, and (slightly) better 3rd row access of the Traverse. I thought the front seats and general ergonomics of the Flex were better. For equivalent fuel economy and pretty much equivalent price the Traverse’s size and SUVish stance tilt me in its direction; Flex has the decided benefit of being NOT from government motors.
NulloModo : Of course you are correct. My point is that the little things like the quality of people working the front line in dealerships has a bigger effect on buyer behavior than advertising does.
We used to have a smaller local VW/Mazda dealer which was staffed with helpful people. Sadly, they closed down a few months ago. Now the next nearest Mazda dealers are all the raz-ma-taz auto row types.
In a related note, I’m still betting that the massive dealer cull at Chrysler is going to cost them more sales than the company realized. In June Ford reported that business is much stronger in the US’ heartland than it is on the coasts. Ford had by far the best month of any of the majors, and is the only one of the D3 that isn’t driving dealership closures very hard. I think there is a connection between those facts.
Also, I think that GM and Chrysler spending lots of PR and advertising money on their reinventions is a damn waste of time and money. Tell the customer about the product, not about the company’s endless internal issues.
I had a feeling as soon as I saw that Ford had one of the better months out of any of the major players Mr. Farago would have spin cycle on in reverse. Thanks for not dissappointing me!
Point is, I don’t know any one who thinks Ford is out of the hole yet. They have however stopped digging their hole and their increased market share (who gives a shit if it’s from GM/Chrymoco, they just need as much revenues as possible now to get by) as well as pleasant reviews and advancement in quality rankings indicate otherwise, even if you think they’re stupid a lot of people listen to such shit. Yes they’re up to their asses in debt which is why they’re debt/equity swapping when possible.
If Chrymoco and GM sales don’t improve it WON’T MATTER if the government is dumping TRILLIONS into them. Yugos proved shit won’t sell regardless of price or potential government backing, same thing for Leyland. Quit acting like government backing = automatic market dominance. Ford has been dealing with unkillable competition for years thanks to Asian domestic protectionism, adding two more immortal rivals that have a much worse perception and sales results won’t matter.
NulloModo : Also, this is the last chance to get a Town Car or Grand Marquis through the retail channel. Ford has stated quite clearly that ‘09 is the last model year where the vehicles will be on dealer lots. Yes, fleets will still be able to buy them after this, but average consumers without FIN codes or knowing a fleet purchaser will be out of luck.
That explains it: my fleet guy said that the Town Car would be available for anyone in 2010. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Because if Panther sales don’t take a nose-dive in 2010 and remain competitive with the D3, Ford is in big trouble. (in the full size car market, that is.)
King Bojack:
This month Ford beat Toyota by a huge margin. The Fusion outsold the Altima, putting it in the top tier of midsize cars for the first time. The ancient Escape outsold both the RAV4 and the CR-V. The F-150 outsold the Silverado by nearly 50%. Those are pretty impressive stats, and they don’t depend on any misleading year-to-year or month-to-month comparisons.
It will be interesting to see what happens when all those ChryCo and GM dealers shut their doors, leaving Ford as the only player in many town/rural locations. We’ll find out soon enough which strategy was the truly smart one.