Originally posted by MxRacerCam:
Originally posted by sigma:
Exactly.

SVT, SRT, Mazdaspeed, etc they're all what marketers term "Loss Leaders" or at the very least extremely low-margined vehicles. They get your name out there, they create brand loyalty, and they get people into your stores (dealerships) to buy lesser-priced items that you don't lose money on.

So when creating them it comes down to what vehicle is going to create the most buzz more than anything.



i'd like to see some research on that... as from what i've read throughout the years, the companies make very little on low end vehicles. it's the higher end models and trucks that create the most GP. the cobra stickers for @ $11K more than a GT, and i'm thinking fords making an equally good profit on that as a GT.



You honestly have no idea about the Auto industry. CAFE regulations are what drive base Focus sales and there is little margin on them but Ford has to sell them.

Money is made on checking option boxes and high volume discounts as economies of scale click into action. This is why the F-series platform is so profitable for Ford.

See, MXRacer you forget about all the R&D costs that go into these low volume production vehicles along with the speical assembly lines. Buying 300,000 Mustang GT wheels of each variety each year is cheap. That some company that makes those wheels is gonna charge you a lot more for a run of 30,000 Cobra wheels a year.

So I'm a finance guy who audits the accountants who count beans all day


Money doesn't always bring happiness. People with ten million dollars are no happier than people with nine million dollars ~ Hobart Brown