Top search on Ford's Cash-for-Clunkers site is... the Mercury Milan?

Chris Shunk — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Government/Legal, Ford, Mercury

2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid - Click above for high-res gallery

On June 25, Ford launched its "Recycle Your Ride" website. The site is an easy guide to determine if your vehicle is eligible for Cash-for-Clunkers, and which Ford family vehicles are a good fit as a replacement. So far, Ford says it's had over 250,000 potential customers fill out the short form, and surprisingly, the modest-selling Mercury Milan is in a statistical dead heat with the Ford Fusion for the top replacement vehicle chosen.

To test out the site, we chose a 1997 Ford F-150 with a 4.6-liter V8 engine. Ford's site brought up 16 vehicles eligible for the $4,500 incentive, including the Focus, Escape, Mariner, Taurus, Fusion and Milan. The picking-up-sales-steam Fusion and the underrated Milan currently account for 30% of overall selections, and Ford tells us that the public is split right down the middle on which vehicle they prefer.

While it's quite surprising that the Milan is garnering as much attention as the more popular Fusion, the real proof is in the sales data. We're guessing that the Milan won't outperform the Fusion's 19,000 June sales any time soon.

[Source: Ford]

Top search on Ford's Cash-for-Clunkers site is... the Mercury Milan? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

New car customers stuck with old loans when dealers don't pay off the trade-in

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Carsumer Advocacy

Many consumers who buy a new car still owe money on the car they're trading in. The situation is usually handled by the dealer agreeing to pay off the old loan, the cost of which might be folded into the new car price. No problem a year ago, but it's a bigger issue now. With 5,000 dealers closing their doors last year, some of those old loans aren't getting paid off. Consumers who bought new cars are finding out they're still on the hook for the old car loans, and in some cases, if another consumer has already bought the trade-in from the dealer, the bank will repossess it.

Complaints about such practices are rising, but there isn't much a buyer can do: if the dealer has gone bankrupt, mere scraps are rewarded to most folks in the scrum of creditors. Most states have insurance bonds against these kinds of losses, but they might pay as little as $5,000, which is barely enough to cover one default.

Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia have restitution funds. California -- exceptionally victimized by the practice because of the number of cars sold in the state -- is creating one that will be fed by a $1 fee on every car sold, but it isn't operational yet. In the meantime, used car buyers should ask to see the car's title to ensure it's clear. And for all buyers, in good times and especially in bad, caveat emptor.

[Source: MSNBC]

New car customers stuck with old loans when dealers don't pay off the trade-in originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments