[Shotimes] cutting vent holes in the header panel

[Ron Porter]

Well, Don, you really aren't familiar with the Detroit area, there is no
other car market like it in the country.

I have had the comment from MANY people personally over the years, and it
has also been written in the press. The Detroit area has a rather low
percentage of foreign cars versus much of the country.

It isn't just the direct Ford-GM-DC employees (of which there are more here
than anywhere). It is also any of their direct family members, as well as
in-laws, that can get A & B-Plan cars. And all of the retirees (hourly &
salary) and their immediate families!! Then, there are all of the suppliers.
Tier Suppliers have the "X" plan deal to also get cars more cheaply. IIRC,
Delphi and Visteon have the same deal as regular Big 3 employees (Jim
Heaton...true??). Hell, since my dad is a GM retiree, I'm eligible to buy GM
cars on the A plan (if they had something I wanted), and if my company gets
some business with Ford again (we were a different corporate entity when we
did work for FMCC a few years ago), I will be eligible to buy Ford products.

This isn't stuff that I make up, this has been the case here for ages. Even
in the local Ad sections of the papers, there are deals pitched directly at
the "Plan" car buyers, since there are SO many people that qualify.

It is not like a city that has a plant or two, this is a much larger scale.
I was even surprised in Louisville, with a metro area of 1 million or so,
how many Ford vehicles are around. Again, when you take into account company
exec cars, company pool cars, and all the people who are eligible for deals
as employees, family members, or suppliers, it is quite surprising.

I have lived in other places, and the car market around here is NOT a
reflection of the rest of the country. Probably a part of the reason the L/M
set up the design studio on the west coast, and why Detroit has been accused
of not being tuned in to what is happening in the car market across the
country.

Ron Porter 

-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of Donald Mallinson
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 11:23 AM
To: 'Shotimes'
Subject: Re: [Shotimes] cutting vent holes in the header panel


Ron,

As usual, you assume, thus making an A..  ok you know the 
rest!  :)

I understand "car towns" just fine.  and in a city the size 
of Detroit with a population of over a million, and a metro 
of what?  around 2 million?  Ford employees make up a small 
percentage of the total population, and the other employee's 
aren't wedded to Ford.  Plus in the Detroit Metro you have 
other manufacturers and they will tend to even things out.

So yes, there is, as I mentioned and admitted, a bump in the 
numbers, but it doesn't skew the national averages all 
totally out of whack.

I would expect neighborhoods where execs gravitate, to be 
proportionately skewed, but other areas will be normal.

Also, I would agree that import purchases would be lower in 
detroit than in other cities.  But I have been to a LOT of 
automotive and truck assembly/manufacturing plants, and most 
of them Ford plants.  The parking lot is predominantly Ford, 
but the amount of imports and other brands is amazing to 
see.  Much higher than I would have thought.  So while the 
numbers get skewed, they aren't absolute and don't dominate 
the percentages.

There just aren't enough Ford people buying on "plan" to 
make an entire metro area, or state get that far from 
national averages.

Don Mallinson



Ron Porter wrote:
> Don, I guess not living in an "car town", you don't understand. There is a
> HUGE difference when Ford (or any auto mfr) employees are involved.
> 
> The average Ford employee gets the "A" & "B" Plans, which gives them the
> best deal that anyone can get.....and many of them buy cars every 1-2
years.
> 
> Ford management gets the company cars, and some.....like my two Ford
> buddies.....get two a year, then with special deals they each have gotten
a
> 3rd car for their teenage daughters. When my buddy was getting SHOs, they
> "made" him get two '98 & '99 SHOs (6 months each), as they had to keep the
> line going when nobody wanted them. All of the Company Exec" cars that go
> through the auctions were most likely from Detroit, followed by
Louisville.
> 
> GM and Chrysler are the same way. I live about 10 miles north of the D-C
> headquarters, and my subdivision is crawling with Chrysler folks. I saw
the
> first PT Cruiser and new Viper on the road right in my subdivision. When
the
> 300M first came out, I'll bet that I saw every possible color/trim/wheel
> option combo within the first 6 months.
> 
> People from outside the area have told me that they Detroit area has the
> lowest percentage of import cars of anywhere they have been.....and I
truly
> believe that it's true.
> 
> Ron Porter 
_______________________________________________
Shotimes mailing list
Shotimes@autox.team.net
http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shotimes