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Non-Tech : FORD (NYSE:F) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Harry Sharp who wrote (442)	3/15/2000 10:01:00 AM
From: Rupert	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1065

Ford? Like the cars, hate the way they are sold. Given all the new economy/e-commerce initiatives Ford is announcing, why is the experience of going to a Ford dealer and finding, then negotiating for a new vehicle still so miserable? If the car you want isn't on the lot, the process for choosing options and finding the vehicle is extremely inefficient. For example, why can't I do this on my computer and then tell them when I find the car? There's no customer relationship management, the sales people are extremely annoying, and the technology is pathetic...for example, getting transfers between different dealers in my area (when another dealer has the car you want) is done by fax and can't be done at the weekends. Have these guys even heard of computers? I wasn't expecting it would be this hard to spend $30k on a truck. The dealers are stuck in the 1950s and can't get out. Until the car companies take the plunge and sell direct, bypassing these utterly hopeless car dealers, I would never buy one of these stocks. The dealer network will be dead in five years. We know it, they (should) know it, and Ford knows it. No one will miss them. B2B is nice, but they need to own the B2C as well. Until then, companies like carsdirect.com are the only way to go IMHO.