What we Have Here is a Failure to Communicate

[Delzona]

I think chip shortage is exactly why Ford changed its original plan to use Sync3 instead of Sync 4…and the no Sync tech but something even less desirable. Once shortage is gone the future Mav will have an updated audio sys.

I think you maybe correct. I think the first refresh or next model year of the Maverick will have some of upgrades we (the forum) have expressed as, "I wish Ford would've added XYZ to the Maverick". For myself I'm hoping that any future changes to Maverick will retro fit to our 1st year models, but if they aren't chances are the aftermarket will come with an answer if the want is big enough.

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[oljackfrost]

Have you looked at local dealer lots?
Let me go through my locals:
"My" dealership: 55 New listed, only 16 showing as in-stock. In reality, half of those are 'in transit", not actually on the lot.
Next closest: 27 New listed, 10 listed as "in stock"
Next closest from that one: 420 new listed, 286 shown as "in stock", 201 using photos from other dealerships in their 'partnership', and the remaining 85? A mix of Ford, Lincoln, and commercial vehicles.

As for scheduling, they want to keep the lines busy. That takes parts.
They can't predict when suppliers will ship parts or when they will be received with pinpoint accuracy, or even how many will actually arrive or if they are actually the right part.
They don't schedule for things they don't have yet. What if a train gets derailed? Or a ship stuck in the Suez Canal? Or the supplier got flooded from a hurricane and parts are delayed? There are a lot of factors that impact when parts come in.
So, they build to what they actually have parts for, but only schedule out a few weeks at a time, usually because.. they need more parts.

And that usually means only scheduling a month out at best, and only a few weeks at a time since they don't keep metric F-tons of parts sitting around to schedule months in advance. Add in other parts coming available for other orders that have been waiting, which do you build? The longest-waiting orders? Or the ones you already scheduled 3 months ago? That's the situation they avoid by only scheduling a few weeks at a time. It gives them a great opportunity to get older orders filled if the parts become available sooner. That's the monstrous beauty of JIT production: build what you can with what parts you have from oldest to newest orders now even if it means skipping some because you don't have those parts, but do scheduling in short cycles to allow for those orders held due to parts issues the first time to get in line if the parts are available for the next cycle so you get them out as soon as you can. Rinse, Lather, Repeat.

There are constraints on other parts for a long list of reasons as well that affect Ford, suppliers, and even their suppliers' suppliers. This is why you have to have patience. Heck, I have both a Bronco and a Maverick order (both First Editions), and I don't expect either one before mid-November at the earliest because of the issues in the supply chain right now.

I think the reason Ford doesn't really go out to clear up the misinformation is that it would lead to potentially having to explain a lot of their internal processes, scheduling, how their supplier networks and contracts work and that could do more harm than good. It could also inadvertently create libel issues if they blast a supplier or other challenges. It's best to keep all that quiet. My own employer has the same approach: publicly we do not address speculation or misinformation for all of these same reasons. We see an issue with a product, we address it. The operational stuff, (mis)informational, etc., are all left alone. Trying to address it usually just makes it even more frustrating in the end.

Well done! Should be required reading for every forum member.

 

[Wasatch-Man]

I had to wait over 5 months to get a $50 airbrush regulator that a vendor took my money for, and THEN announced was back-ordered. I've been waiting 6 months for the steering wheel control module that will control the new head unit I installed into my Transit Connect's dash last March, to replace the failed Sync 3 audio module that the dealer wanted $3,000 for (a distressingly common Ford failure). My wife and I have been waiting 6 months for a new dishwasher, with no firm delivery date yet given. Welcome to PANDEMIC WORLD! Get the shot and put on a mask you fools, so I don't have to wait 6 months to get my new Lariat!

Thanks for the advice Karen.

 

[Catlady6]

I like knowing what’s going on as much as the next person and I guess this is easy for me to say when I've been scheduled. But I feel the need to point out that Ford has thus far done exactly what they said they would do. The Maverick has been hyped and promised for Fall delivery and they haven't missed that yet. We say we want their marketing to "release information" but in reality, we want someone deep inside Ford to hold our hands and walk us through every step of exactly what's going on week to week in an effort to tell us weeks, if not months, in advance exactly when we can expect our truck.

Patience, grasshoppers. If build dates come and go with no info or they starting getting pushed back, then we can grab our pitchforks. Until then, let's sit back and give them an opportunity to make good on their promise.

**EDIT** Specifically regarding why Ford hasn't countered the misinformation and speculation that's out there...I would say it's because they didn't create it. We have created that poop storm ourselves by endlessly searching for any tiny little tidbit of info that might make us feel closer to getting our truck. Including myself in that one...guilty as charged over here, lol.

"We say we want their marketing to "release information" but in reality, we want someone deep inside Ford to hold our hands and walk us through every step of exactly what's going on week to week in an effort to tell us weeks, if not months, in advance exactly when we can expect our truck"

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

 

[Old Ranchero]

“There’s no such thing as bad publicity” is a proverb attributed to P.T. Barnum, the famous showman and politician. (Is there a difference?)


Oscar Wilde, the Irish poet and playwright, wrote, “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

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