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SOUNDBITES: JULY 2009 SALES

Ford Motor Company posted the first sales increase in July, of any major manufacturer in 2009. Ford Sales Analyst, George Pipas says the month was shaping up to be another good month with market share on the upswing, but did say the Cash for Clunkers program put them over the top.

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Cut #1: "" "Christmas came early in the form of this Cash for Clunkers program. If we look at how the month was shaping up before the C for C program took affect about a week ago we were having a good month, surely another month of market share increases, but it did not look like we would get over the top. We were going to fall just short, maybe along the lines of how we did in June. As it turns out the traffic and sales in the last week of the month pushed us over the top." :28 sec.
  But can it be sustained, is it a trend in the industry, especially for Ford?
Cut #2: "" "I think we need to take it one-month at a time, because as far as whether this can continue or not we don't know yet what the outcome is on deliberations in Washington as it relates to the Cash for Clunkers program, all we know is deals done under the first piece of the program version 1.0 will be honored through tomorrow as to what's going to happen in August, I'm going to take a save on that." :26 sec.
  While F-Series was Ford's best selling vehicle in July, as it's been for several years, the products that pushing retail sales up 9 percent in July versus a year ago were the smaller, newer, more fuel efficient vehicles.
Cut #3: "" "The Fusion sales were up over 60 percent, Mercury Milan sales were up 60 percent, most of those vehicles are powered by 4-cylinder engines and their Hybrid versions. The Escape a four cylinder powered small utility vehicle and the Mercury companion vehicle, the Mariner, both had really had large increases, Escape sales were almost double what they were last year. The Ford Focus was up sharply as was the Ford Ranger compact pickup. " :31 sec.
  Pipas did say the number one traded vehicle in this Cash for Clunkers program was the Ford Explorer, which was no surprise.
Cut #4: "" "That V-8 powered vehicle was one of the top sellers year in and year out, in the period from 1995 to 2003…and as it turns out a little bit of a surprise the preliminary data shows that the number one vehicle traded for was Ford's Focus."  :16 sec.
  Pipas went on to say this savings in fuel and cost will pay dividends for consumers for years down the road.
Cut #5: "" "In addition to the $4,500 voucher that most of them received for trading an SUV for a smaller car, we estimate that the annual fuel savings, annual fuel savings for consumer will be $1,500 to $2,000." :15 sec.
  The carry over in sales, with product now available through Ford dealerships, will resonate in months to come according to Pipas, because of recent internal and external studies done by the company indicating that consumers are considering a Ford in their future.
Cut #6: "" "We know Ford Brand consideration from the beginning of the year to the second quarter was up 17 percent, that is a big lift in consideration for an automotive brand in such a short amount of time."  :12 sec.
  Pipas did say July is not the end of the journey and that there is still a long way to go to close perception gaps and two of the vehicles to help do that will be the 2010 Taurus and the 2010 Transit Connect.
Cut #7: "" "I think the message is, there's lots more new product on the way from the Ford Motor company to its dealers." :05 sec.
  This summer, Ford also will debut its EcoBoost engine technology in the Taurus SHO, Lincoln MKS, Ford Flex and all-new Lincoln MKT crossover vehicle. In these vehicles, EcoBoost provides the fuel economy of a six-cylinder engine and the performance of a V-8.