Article Drastically Overstated Town Car Sales Downturn

ST. THOMAS, Ontario – The Financial Post article on Lincoln Town Car sales drastically dropping in May seriously overstated the downsizing of 2008 Town Car sales volume, says Doug Walczak, limousine/livery manager for Ford Motor Co. (This article was posted in Driving Force in the June 18 edition.) The article compared the May 2008 sales volume to the same time a year ago, and then January to May 2008 versus January to May 2007. What the article failed to point out is that in 2007 Ford had to speed up 12 months of anticipated Town Car production into five months because it was transitioning its Town Car production from Michigan to a plant in St. Thomas, Ontario. This made the timetable comparison used in the Financial Post article inaccurate, Walczak says. Overall, if present trends continue, Ford expects Town Car sales for limousine and livery customers to be down about 5% to 10% for 2008, as the company had forecast in late 2007, Walczak says.

"It's safe to say we have a long-term commitment to the industry in terms of limousine and livery," Walczak said. "We will continue to build and provide vehicles as we have in the past. When you look at what the industry requires, right now the Town Car is the vehicle of choice. It's built like a tank; it is the workhorse in the industry. When you look forward, and the technologies we’re bringing out, we’re looking for all kinds of opportunities."

Source: LCT Magazine