Ford Edge Keeps Dealers On The Edge Of Their Seats

[Edge Guide]

Ford Edge Keeps Dealers On The Edge Of Their Seats - Even before the Ford Edge started rolling off the assembly line, the company had received 20,000 dealer orders for the new crossover. More than 1 million people have checked out the Edge’s Web site (www.fordvehicles.com), and 320,000 visitors have configured an Edge for themselves.

 

Ford dealers anxiously await the Edge’s arrival in their showrooms. The Edge is the first among many new products aimed at turning around Ford’s North American business.

 

“The Edge will bring some new excitement to our showrooms, along with increased sales,” says LaVal Perry, president, Bloomfield Ford in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “Ford has hit a home run with the Edge, and we need more new products with the same appeal and excitement.”

 

Shannon Inukai, general manager, Dick’s Mackenzie Ford in Hillsboro, Ore., agrees.

 

“We were fortunate enough to have the Edge at our local auto show last year, and it got great reviews,” Inukai says. “The styling is modern, and I personally love the Vista Roof™. My salespeople can’t wait for the first one to arrive. This is a vehicle that can win back some of our lost market share.”

 

Inukai’s salespeople compare the Edge to the BMW X3 and Acura MDX crossovers, both of which are luxury models with higher price tags. Pricing for Edge models range from $25,995 for the base SE to $29,745 for the SEL Plus. The MDX has an MSRP of $39,995, while the BMW X3 starts at $36,800.

 

The high expectations riding on the crossover utility vehicle’s muscular shoulders come at a time when many of Ford’s new products are still in the pipeline. Ford has said 70 percent of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products will be new or significantly upgraded between now and the end of 2008.

 

“If the Edge can hit the ground running like the Fusion with the right advertising, the right lease payments and if the vehicle meets people’s expectations like the Fusion did, which actually exceeded their expectations once they drove it, I think we’ll have another winner,” says Rich Klaben of Klaben Ford in Kent, Ohio.

 

Kevin Collins, owner of Collins Ford in Louisville, Ky., also hopes the Edge will be the next Fusion.

 

“The Edge is the next vehicle that’s got to measure up to the success of the Fusion,” Collins says. “Fusion is the high watermark for us right now. Beyond the obvious importance of launching new product, my hope is the Edge will really help us develop a foundation to build on.”

 

Ford hopes that part of the foundation will be the all-important conquest sales. Ford expects that up to 45 percent of Edge buyers will be new customers to the brand.

 

The Ford brand stands to win the most from the Edge, the Fusion, the redesigned F-Series and future new products.

 

“What we need is a lot of these vehicles that are in a class of their own, and when you put them together, they give the total volume that we need,” Klaben says.

 

He and other dealers are hoping that new products raise awareness in customers of Ford as a viable brand for their consideration.

 

“And to me, the brand is more important than any deal out there,” Klaben says.