CHICAGO AUTO SHOW: Plans and Intentions

[aitch-2-oh]

Perfect timing! (not..) My Salesman provided tickets to the Chicago Auto Show, which starts Saturday 2-12 and runs to Sunday 2-20. This week FoMoCo announced it had idled its Chicago Assembly Plant due to the chip shortage. Perfect Timing! (not). We're planning to make a day of the Show middle of next week, with the Ford Area of prime importance. The 'strategy' looks like this:

• Having worked Trade Shows in the past, it's important to ferret out who the 'most senior' representative is on site, establish a time when that individual is available, and even if it's for ONLY 10 minutes...if/when the meeting happens, distill the 'List' down to the 'Top 2', which I've got as #1 Communication (or lack thereof)and #2 Allocations, with it's derivative fact that FoMoCo has "June '21 Confirmations that are Sitting and January 2022 Confirmations that are Built".
  • Name Dropping is Important, even at an Auto Show, where the working minions are tagged with 'Booth Duty'. If it can be woven into the fabric, this 'most senior' will know that a letter [printed on paper, sent USPS, in an envelope, with a stamp!] was mailed last week to Elena Ford-Niarchos, Chief Customer Service Officer and Brad Brownell, Director Customer Experience, to provide an unsolicited view of my Maverick Experience and Ford's Report Card. Yes, I know it'll ge lost n the crush of Dearborn Michigan Mail, but it was worth the time/paper/stamp to try this way...
  • What follows is 1 paragraph from that letter that hints to the Communication component: I know that a 2nd Quarter 2022 delivery is likely. I’ve learned a lot about Ford’s build process and the struggles faced. Most of this ‘learning’ comes via the www.MaverickTruckClub.com forum [don’t know how I stumbled upon this Forum either]; helpful too has been a salesman of a Salinas KS Ford Dealership (italics intentional), Tim Bartz, with Long McArthur Ford, who hosts a Maverick Podcast on Tuesday evenings and answers a ton of Maverick questions daily on several Social Media platforms. I’ll repeat, ‘a salesman of a Dealership’, managing the Maverick message and content to a North American audience.
  • It's hoped that Ford-Niarchos and Brownell will see the irony and lunacy inherent in that last sentence; yes, I know that 'hope is not a strategy'...
• There are other items on the list, to cover with others staffing the Ford Booth: Chips, Delays, FITS, QR Codes, ADM's, MSRP, SIBL (or not), Fuel Tank Recall, Tailgate level (or not), Cut-over from 2022 to 2023? and 'The Jump Start Procedure'.
  • I'm certain there will others added prior to our 'Day at the Show'
  • I'm also certain that my wife will have only so much patience before the bell rings and I'm informed "that's enough, let's go", so I've got to be mindful of that clock.
• And last, but not least, regarding this forum (MTC), I know full well that what I see & read within this forum reflects only a small sliver of the North American Maverick process and an even smaller sliver into FoMoCo's Processes and Procedures, akin to peering through a keyhole into a very large room that leads to adjacent rooms, but only seeing what the keyhole allows of the 1st room. I try to keep this at the forefront as I sift through the threads, trying to glean what has merit and what doesn't.

On to the day! [cringing as the cursor floats over 'Post Thread', wondering what'll happen next...]

Sponsored

 

[frrocketdan]

That’s cool. My plan is to go look at and sit in some cars and maybe get some fudge

 

[Dirt820]

That’s cool. My plan is to go look at and sit in some cars and maybe get some fudge

Ditto

 

[TSAINTS1115]

Maybe bring along a complimentary bottle of Tylenol. Those booth minions will need it.

 

[frrocketdan]

That’s cool. My plan is to go look at and sit in some cars and maybe get some fudge

Just wanted to follow up that I didn’t see any fudge stands this year, which is too bad. I did get to sit in a Maverick though which was nice.

Also one of the Ford people there took my information and said they were going to send me some kind of $750 coupon that I could use toward the Mav I ordered. Not sure if anyone else had this experience. I’ll report again if I receive it.

 

[aitch-2-oh]

[Edit Update] A somewhat successful visit, 2 Mavericks on display, a silver barebones Hybrid XL and a schoolbus yellow Maverick with a stack of plywood loaded on top of the SIBL.

The key question asked of the 'Product Specialist' (stated title) regarding the opened and level tailgate was "how many cables did you need to go through to get the gate level?". Some discussion ensued, culminating in acquiring an email address, which has received a link to the MTC "Tailgate Not Level" thread.


I said I'd send a link that'd have pics of what I'm describing. Done.

No fudge found. Oh well...

 

[kpomeraning]

No fudge? WTH? Deal breaker...

 

[Dirt820]

No fudge, but the churros were on point.

I think the show was better last year when it was in July and there was a bunch of stuff outside.

Sponsored