Ford Dealer

A Ford dealer in Massachusetts has a group of teens on the payroll to explain in-car tech to customers.

With the introduction of the aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F-150 (and the likely use of aluminum in future Ford products), Ford is looking to help its dealerships reduce costs related to repairing this more labor-intensive material. Automotive News is reporting that Ford dealers with body shops will require an e

Back in 2000, Ford rolled out what it called its Blue Oval Certified dealer program to reward its best retail outlets for outstanding customer satisfaction. But after 11 years of mixed results, Automotive News reports that Ford has scrapped the plan.

According to Automotive News, some Lincoln dealers aren't willing to put up the cash for expensive showroom updates until their company shows them physical proof of future products. Ford has asked some dealers to spend as much as $1 million on facility upgrades, even while admitting that there won't be any new products for up to two years. With Ford tight-lipped about what exactly their

In addition to making its vehicles more efficient, Ford wants to help its dealers cut down their energy use and has teamed up with the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI, more information here) to make it happen. At the National Automobile Dealers Association meeting in Orlando, FL this weekend, Ford announced a voluntary dealership sustainability pro

Ford's dealer development program works to help people become dealer principles who might not otherwise have the chance. The 64 members of the program, most of them black or Hispanic, are set up with stores by Ford and then buy out Ford's interest in the dealership with revenues. To give them a boost and, presumably, free up Ford money, Automotive News is reporting that Ford is offering dealers in the program an offer they'll have a hard time refusing: complete ownership of their stores

Reuters is reporting that Ford will be shrinking its dealer base over the next three years in order to better align its distribution network with a market share that is smaller than it has been in the past. Dealers were told of the planned reduction at the dealer meeting in Las Vegas last month. The East Coast and California have the highest saturation of Ford dealerships and are likely to see the largest reduction in numbers. At the moment there are about 4,300 Ford dealerships operating in the