Big-buck trucks defy sales trend

Big-buck trucks defy sales trend

> > Pickups sag, but top-end models get pricier, stay popular > > Amy Wilson > Automotive News > January 14, 2008 - 12:01 am ET > > DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. executives, who are rolling out the > Platinum series F-150 at the Detroit auto show, say they don't know > where the ceiling is for luxury pickups. > > The F-150 Platinum, which was scheduled to be unveiled Sunday and > will go on sale in fall, is the most luxurious F-150 ever, company > executives boast. It targets wealthy urban buyers, many of whom > don't haul heavy loads but want to make that style statement - even > if it costs $50,000. > The move upward illustrates an oddity of the pickup market. Even as > sales of full-sized pickups - especially the F series - are falling, > sales of high-end Ford models are rising. > > "Personally, I think that we could go higher," said Patrick > Schiavone, Ford's design director of North American trucks. > "Honestly, I think we could do almost a Rolls Royce-level pickup, > and I am going to find - is it 10,000 or 1,000? I don't know - but I > will find buyers for that." > > Schiavone, who counts the 2009 F-150 as the third generation of > Ford's flagship that he has worked on, already knows of one buyer. > After Ford displayed the F-250 Super Chief concept at the 2006 > Detroit auto show, Schiavone received a phone call from an Atlanta > lawyer. > > "He said, 'I want to buy the Super Chief. I'll give you $3 million,' > " the designer recalled. > > Schiavone declined. But such experiences convince him that Ford > hasn't yet found the limits of luxury pickup buyers. > > Lux truck > > The 2009 F-150 Platinum tops Ford's F-150 lineup. It has > -- A 5.4-liter V-8 engine > -- Heated and cooled seats > -- Power running boards > -- Brushed aluminum interior panels > -- Black-and-brown leather interior with tuxedo striping on seats > > About Platinum > > Ford isn't revealing F-150 Platinum prices. But it slots above the > popular King Ranch series, which had 2007 sales of 37,000 units, or > 5 percent of F-series sales. The King Ranch starts around $36,000 in > the F-150 and can near $50,000 with options. A King Ranch version of > the larger Super Duty can approach $65,000. > > King Ranch sales are up from 1,500 when the name was introduced in > 1999. Ford doesn't break out sales by series and wouldn't provide > its total luxury-truck numbers. > > The Platinum and King Ranch aren't far apart on the luxury scale, an > official notes. But the Platinum has exclusive features such as > power running boards and heated and cooled seats. And they target > different customers. The King Ranch - named for the huge Texas ranch > bigger than Rhode Island - is aimed at customers who enjoy the > outdoors and have an affinity for the Southwest. > > By contrast, "the Platinum is all about the city," said Schiavone, > who plans to drive his own around Detroit. The Platinum will be > available in a crew-cab body style, powered by a 5.4-liter V-8. > With the King Ranch versions of its F-150 and Super Duty, plus > Harley- Davidson and Lariat models, Ford's luxury pickup sales have > risen steadily, an official said. > > Soft segment > > That luxury-pickup strength is a departure from the rest of the > segment. Total sales of full-sized pickups fell 3.0 percent in 2007 > and 9.9 percent in 2006. The market-leading F-series showed the > steepest slide last year, falling 13.2 percent to 690,589 vehicles. > > General Motors and Dodge officials also say their high-end pickups > are selling better than lower-line models. > > "Since the second quarter of 2006, our 2LT and LTZ models have > doubled their portion of the overall Silverado sales," Chevrolet > spokesman Brian Goebel said in an e-mail. The gains come "as more > and more people are looking for additional creature comforts in > their pickups." > > Sales for the top-end Laramie version of the Dodge Ram have remained > flat as overall Ram sales have fallen, Dodge spokesman Dan Bodene > said in an e-mail. Because of the Laramie's success, Dodge is moving > more luxurious features into the Ram's lower price classes. > > Ford expects the F-150 Platinum to increase its luxury-truck tally. > Ford declined to project volume. > Industry analyst Erich Merkle with IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich., > estimates annual sales for the Platinum of 15,000 to 20,000 units. > It essentially takes the place of the Lincoln Mark LT as Ford's > "urban" upscale pickup. > > Dealers, product analysts and company sources say the Mark LT will > be discontinued after the 2008 model year. Ford isn't confirming > that. Lincoln sold 8,383 Mark LTs in 2007, down from the high of > 12,753 in 2006. > > Luxury brand curse > > That underscores an interesting twist in the luxury end of the > pickup market. The entries don't seem to do as well when they carry > luxury badges. > > The Mark LT is Lincoln's second pickup flop. Lincoln sold 3,356 > units of the Blackwood pickup during a 15-month run early this > decade. > Cadillac's luxury pickup also has slipped. The Escalade EXT posted > sales of 7,967 in 2007, up from 2006, but well below its high of > 13,494 in 2002. > > The lesson there, Merkle says, is that pickups should be sold by > mass-market brands that can at least claim a connection to the > workhorse heritage of the vehicles. > "I don't think a luxury marque has any business on a pickup," he > said. "Cadillac has no business on a pickup, Lincoln has no business > on a pickup, no more than I'd want to see a Lexus version of the > Tundra." >
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C. E. White
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