Rival Santa Cruz to be cancelled

[Cherokee]

I do my own research, always have.

It’s not a matter of trust, earned or imagined.

It’s business, treat it as such.

For the most part the salesman’s job is to screw you.
But at the same time make you think you got a good deal.

When I finally sit down in front of one I have a written check list.
He/she helps me check all the boxes. If one does not get checked to MY satisfaction,
I walk.

I am not part of the,
‘Gotta have it now’ generation.
I’m a Boomer, I am patient and know to watch for sharks.
Luckily for me only the, ‘Gen X’ers have working brains. If they are younger than that they are no challenge at all.

Sponsored

 

[Cherokee]

Mercury also was the sole producer of an automobile designed for mature women who liked younger men, that being of course, the Cougar...

I had a Cougar once. Funny thing, The ride was always memorable.
I had to service her on time or she would blow a gasket.
:’P

 

[MaverRick]

The reason you see older people driving Mavericks, is because we still want a truck like vehicle that can do small household tasks, is easy to get in and out of, gets good mileage, easy to park, fits in a garage, and is affordable. Need I say more?

No need to say more! All of the above for me!!

 

[babytruk]

I do my own research, always have.

It’s not a matter of trust, earned or imagined.

It’s business, treat it as such.

For the most part the salesman’s job is to screw you.
But at the same time make you think you got a good deal.

I have purchased 14 new vehicles in my long life and “always” did my own research and homework.
I also have found four specific salesman over that time that I trusted. In one case a smaller Ford/Mercury/VW dealership was my home for four different cars (2/1/1). The owner had no problem letting my guy sell me from all three brands (He was VW) and didn’t care about another salesman whining that it should be “his” sale. Repeat business was fine with the dealership owner.
I also choose the vehicle, not to the manufacturer.

 

[Cherokee]

In my long life I’ve only had one car salesman I trusted.
He sat in the biggest private sales office. All the other guys had windowless cubbies.

They didn’t like me because I’d pass them up, I was known to wait and come back another day to see J. C.

No finance guy, no bullshit middle men at Brandon Ford.
I bought five vehicles from that guy, My brother bought six.

You tell him what you wanted, we’d get in his car and go find it. They had three big lots, one was down Adamo drive. even once you get on a lot you drove. Big dealer.

He’d leave his car right there, we’d go play with the vehicle.

Once picked out I’d take it home while he did the paperwork.
Yeah no shit ! Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

He’d call me when ready, a couple of hours.
Ask if I still wanted it.
I’d say yep,
I drive back in,
He’d tell me the deal, the price, trade in,
What ever. It was always perfect I never felt the need to haggle.

But before he’d let me sign he’d stop me.
And take me back out in the yard to see the next level up and tell me how close the prices were.
A couple times I got a bunch more vehicle for very little extra money. They were honest.

My brother found his loaded F-150 XLT crew cab, perfect color and everything else he wanted at Sarasota Ford.
For $51,000
He called J C,
J C called him back the next morning. Brandon Ford bought that exact truck from Sarasota Ford,

$51,000 remember ?

J C sold it to him for $37,000
He said, “They think they have buying power,
They don’t, we do.”

That boys is a lesson on how much they screw some people out of thousands.
In this case Sarasota Ford was not trying to screw my brother anymore than every other customer they sold cars to.

$14,000 difference.

 

[Darryl]

Ford and Mercury shared Dealerships. Hyundai and Kia never did that.

Hyundai and Kia have separate stock listings on the Korean Stock Exchange. As such they have different boards of directors that they report to. Different Product and Management teams. They report their audited financials separately too.

Cross-Shareholding ≠ Full Merger

Hyundai Motor Group uses a complex cross-shareholding structure typical of Korean chaebols.

Hyundai Motor owns a large stake in Kia. Kia owns stakes in other group entities. There are circular holdings.

This is fundamentally different from A fully merged operating company.

Hyundai and Kia have different product lines and target different customers (All car companies share underpinning platforms, even with competitors).

Your assumption works for Ford & Mercury because it was true.

It doesn't work for Hyundai & Kia because it is not true.

Glad to clear this up for you.

It's not that serious sir. It was an offhand comment. I just gave you the logic for my comment. You don't share that logic. That's ok. We'll both live life as it was. Have a great day sir. Be blessed

 

[Darryl]

In my long life I’ve only had one car salesman I trusted.
He sat in the biggest private sales office. All the other guys had windowless cubbies.

They didn’t like me because I’d pass them up, I was known to wait and come back another day to see J. C.

No finance guy, no bullshit middle men at Brandon Ford.
I bought five vehicles from that guy, My brother bought six.

You tell him what you wanted, we’d get in his car and go find it. They had three big lots, one was down Adamo drive. even once you get on a lot you drove. Big dealer.

He’d leave his car right there, we’d go play with the vehicle.

Once picked out I’d take it home while he did the paperwork.
Yeah no shit ! Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

He’d call me when ready, a couple of hours.
Ask if I still wanted it.
I’d say yep,
I drive back in,
He’d tell me the deal, the price, trade in,
What ever. It was always perfect I never felt the need to haggle.

But before he’d let me sign he’d stop me.
And take me back out in the yard to see the next level up and tell me how close the prices were.
A couple times I got a bunch more vehicle for very little extra money. They were honest.

My brother found his loaded F-150 XLT crew cab, perfect color and everything else he wanted at Sarasota Ford.
For $51,000
He called J C,
J C called him back the next morning. Brandon Ford bought that exact truck from Sarasota Ford,

$51,000 remember ?

J C sold it to him for $37,000
He said, “They think they have buying power,
They don’t, we do.”

That boys is a lesson on how much they screw some people out of thousands.
In this case Sarasota Ford was not trying to screw my brother anymore than every other customer they sold cars to.

$14,000 difference.

We had a salesman that's straightforward and honest with customers who is no nonsense. He would try to find a way to get a customer in a vehicle who had less than great credit or limited down payment. He'd treat the customer whose purchase resulted in the base commission just as good as he treated the customer who paid asking price for used or full MSRP for new and bought extended warranty and other commission boosting extra. He followed up with his customers to the point that us TECHS hated to see him coming because he aggravates us to death. But from a CUSTOMER'S point of view, he's the BEST because he makes sure his customer is treated fairly and quickly. But guess who was ALWAYS the LOWEST in sales? Guess who potential customers would often bypass in favor of the slick talking salesmen? Guess who recently decided to retire early because he went 2 months with dismal sales numbers? Evidently MOST People LIKE to be lied to and fast talked. The guy who said he'd get over on his MAMA to make a sale usually makes the sale at a price where the guy who sells the extras like extended warranty and other fluff couldn't sell it because the cost of the vehicle left no room for extras usually is one of the top 3 in sales consistently. He's the guy who tries to get away with us not getting a used vehicle up to proper standards because it might eat into his commission. Yet the honest salesman couldn't catch a break.

 

[tom_tucker]

I rented a 23 Santa Cruz 2 weeks ago for a week. Drove it around western Colorado. Did well with the independent rear suspension and fat OEM tires. Had a lot of built-in tech too for a mid grade model. However, I just couldn't get in it because of the sharp angled A-pillar taking headroom. With my short legs and long torso I had the seat up pulled up, which put me right in the curve of the door pillar. There is also no room on the dash, the windshield is right there. Probably better for gas but I didn't like the cockpit even though it's technically "nicer" with a better screen. Maverick is much easier with more headroom and I can put my ski helmet on the dash.

 

[Darryl]

I rented a Santa Cruz 2 weeks ago for a week. Drove it around western Colorado. Did well with the independent rear suspension and fat OEM tires. Had a lot of built-in tech too for a mid grade model. However, I just couldn't get in it because of the sharp angled A-pillar taking headroom. With my short legs and long torso I had the seat up pulled up, which put me right in the curve of the door pillar. There is also no room on the dash, the windshield is right there. Probably better for gas but I didn't like the cockpit even though it's technically "nicer" with a better screen. Maverick is much easier with more headroom and I can put my ski helmet on the dash.

It's those little things that Ford got right that make a huge difference. It's not always a nicer , better equipped vehicle that gets the sales. It's the daily stuff that makes the Maverick easy to live with. Getting in and out would count as one of those DAILY things . I also appreciate the large dash space. My mother and I were riding and eating chicken wings in a Styrofoam take out plate. No room between the seats. But it fit perfectly on the dashboard without blocking my vision. Also the dipping sauce sat in the little storage space on the dashboard

 

[zen_]

I never realized until after it was cancelled that the Santa Cruz uses a DCT for god knows what reason. Korean cars have got a lot better, but I don't understand their penchant for doing weird / completely unnecessary things with the transmission (the Carnival hybrid is another marvel of umm, why?).

 

[OR3X]

That sucks. I think the Santa Cruz did look pretty good.

 

[Blue_Max]

I saw a Santa Cruz hauling a trailer yesterday. It was an empty, open trailer with a winch on it. I'm guessing they use it for lawn service equipment. Anyway, that was the first time I've noticed a Santa Cruz with a trailer.

 

[Darryl]

That sucks. I think the Santa Cruz did look pretty good.

I think so too. But in my opinion it's in a different way than the Maverick. The Maverick looks like the f150s little brother. The Santa Cruz looks "cute". That's not a bad thing. But even though the Santa Cruz is just as or more capable than the Maverick in some areas, I just can't visualize the Santa Cruz actually DOING those things. It doesn't look like what it can do. But the Maverick looks like it's at home w
orking

 

[BLUEOVALRACER]

In my long life I’ve only had one car salesman I trusted.
He sat in the biggest private sales office. All the other guys had windowless cubbies.

They didn’t like me because I’d pass them up, I was known to wait and come back another day to see J. C.

No finance guy, no bullshit middle men at Brandon Ford.
I bought five vehicles from that guy, My brother bought six.

You tell him what you wanted, we’d get in his car and go find it. They had three big lots, one was down Adamo drive. even once you get on a lot you drove. Big dealer.

He’d leave his car right there, we’d go play with the vehicle.

Once picked out I’d take it home while he did the paperwork.
Yeah no shit ! Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

He’d call me when ready, a couple of hours.
Ask if I still wanted it.
I’d say yep,
I drive back in,
He’d tell me the deal, the price, trade in,
What ever. It was always perfect I never felt the need to haggle.

But before he’d let me sign he’d stop me.
And take me back out in the yard to see the next level up and tell me how close the prices were.
A couple times I got a bunch more vehicle for very little extra money. They were honest.

My brother found his loaded F-150 XLT crew cab, perfect color and everything else he wanted at Sarasota Ford.
For $51,000
He called J C,
J C called him back the next morning. Brandon Ford bought that exact truck from Sarasota Ford,

$51,000 remember ?

J C sold it to him for $37,000
He said, “They think they have buying power,
They don’t, we do.”

That boys is a lesson on how much they screw some people out of thousands.
In this case Sarasota Ford was not trying to screw my brother anymore than every other customer they sold cars to.

$14,000 difference.

Your story sounds like mine One salesman over the last 10 years and no finance guy just Him he runs all the numbers. When I got the Maverick last Year I called him on Monday we made the deal on the phone and I picked it up on Tuesday but i test drove it before I signed the papers. The greatest thing I like about this dealership is they never go with Me when I test drive a vehicle from their dealership!!

 

[Darryl]

mercury usually got the best engines first from the flatheads to the MELs including the FE series( probably even the "Yblocks"( which got unmerited bad rep)

True. ome cases they got the new design first. But in other cases. They simply got the same design in a larger displacement such as with the Y BLOCK and flathead. But they were often introduced the same year. And Yes the Y block did have a (partially) undeserved bad reputation. Yes. The oils of the day did tend to allow the rocker arms to starve for oil. But according to my dad. Once a well known inexpensive modification was installed, they were just fine.

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