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[05/06/2003] Ford extends $5 per day Centennial lease after Mustang sales stampede

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Following a tremendous customer response, Ford announced today that it will extend its $5 day “Ford Centennial Lease” promotion on Mustang and Ranger until June 16 – the 100th anniversary of Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F). The program was originally slated to run April 2 – May 5.

“Henry Ford helped create the American middle class in 1914 when he introduced the $5 day wage. It was a defining moment in history – one we wanted to tap into for customers in our centennial year,” said Steve Lyons, president of Ford Division. “We’ve tapped an incredible reserve of goodwill for Ford and a deep well of Mustang and Ranger excitement.”

The day before Ford announced the program, dealers in the U.S. sold a total of 93 Mustangs. Since then, sales have skyrocketed to an average of 465 per day (through April 25). During the week of April 14 – which coincided with the 39th Anniversary of Mustang’s debut at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York – sales reached 3,411 cars. Sales of Ranger – America’s best-selling compact pick up for 16 years – have been strong as well, with average daily sales of 508 trucks. Ford’s full-month sales for April will be announced on May 1.

Under the Centennial Lease program, customers are able to lease a very well equipped Ford Mustang V-6 Coupe or Ranger Edge 4x2 pickup for $5 a day with a 10 percent down payment*. Mustang V-6 convertibles, GT Coupes, and other Ranger models also are available for slightly higher amounts.

Customers who purchase their vehicle may opt for cash incentives of $3,000 or zero percent financing for up to 60 months on Ranger or 36 months on Mustang (excluding Mach 1 and SVT Cobra). These programs, along with customer incentives on other Ford vehicles, expire on May 5.

Ford Prepares for its “Year of the Car”

Ford will follow the Centennial Lease promotion with the launches of an all-new Ford F-150 pick up this summer and Freestar minivan this fall. These two products will be followed by another aggressive phase in Ford’s product-led revitalization.

“We call 2004 the ‘year of the car’ because we’re going to have an incredible amount of new product. Ford Five Hundred, Freestyle, Focus, Ford GT and Mustang all will be new in calendar year 2004,” Lyons said. “But we’re not going to be quiet in the car business until we get to 2004 – particularly with the Mustang.

Three special editions are planned for the 2004 model year, the final year of the current body style:

# Mustang 40th Anniversary Edition: The 40th Anniversary package – available this fall on Mustang and Mustang GT coupes and convertibles – will be available in three paint colors, including an exclusive Crimson Red. It also includes special performance striping, wheels and interior enhancements. A total of 5,700 Anniversary editions will be built. Pricing hasn’t been announced but Ford intends to keep the package very affordable.

# SVT Mustang “MystiChrome” Cobra: The 390 horsepower Cobra, with its supercharged 4.6-liter V-8, is the most powerful regular-production Mustang ever made. For 2004, a total of 1,000 Cobra coupes and convertibles will be offered with the MystiChrome appearance package, which includes color-shifting exterior paint. The car’s color changes from topaz green to cobalt blue to royal purple, and finally to deep onyx black as the viewing angle changes. The color-shifting theme is carried over to the interior, which features matching MystiChrome leather trim on the seat inserts and steering wheel. Chrome wheels complete the package.

# Mustang Mach 1: The original 1969 Mach 1 was one of the most collectable Mustangs ever. It was named “the quickest four-person production car” by Car Life magazine road test. The 2004 model, like the 2003, will come complete with a 305-horsepower V-8 engine and the signature ram-air “shaker” hood scoop that put the 1969 model in motion, even at a stoplight. It also will include 17-inch, 5-spoke Heritage wheels with the galloping pony logo inspired by the 1969-1973 Mustang’s Mach 1 wheel design and 1960s-style “comfort weave” trimmed black leather seats. Two new colors will be offered: Competition Orange and Screaming Yellow. Production will begin in late 2004. Volume will be limited to fewer than 5,000 copies, making it even more rare than last year’s car.

Pricing on all of these models will be announced at a later date.

Mustang Milestones

Mustang has become an icon of American culture, thanks to 40 years of innovative design and affordable performance:

* The very first Mustang – the 1962 Mustang I Concept – was a two-seat, mid-engine sports car whose name was a tribute to the legendary North American P51 Mustang fighter plane from World War II. It made its debut in October of that year at the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, New York where it was driven around the circuit by race driver Dan Gurney.

* The world debut of Mustang occurred at the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York on April 17, 1964. The price at launch: $2,368.

* The first regular production Mustang was a Wimbledon White convertible with a 260-cubic inch V-8 that rolled off the assembly line on March 9, 1964. While on a promotional tour of Canada, a Ford dealer in St. John’s, Newfoundland “mistakenly” sold the car to Capt. Stanley Tucker, a pilot with Eastern Provincial Airlines. Ford reacquired the car from Capt. Tucker in 1966 in exchange for Mustang number 1,000,001, and the original car is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich.

* Mustang sales exceeded even Ford’s most optimistic projections. At the car’s launch, the company expected annual sales of about 100,000 units. But 22,000 Mustang orders were taken on the first day, and sales reached an astounding 417,000 in car’s first 12 months.

* A Chicago Ford dealer closed early and called the police when Mustang prospects stormed the dealership, and i

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[05/06/2003] Ford extends $5 per day Centennial lease after Mustang sales stampede By: -

[05/06/2003] Ford extends $5 per day Centennial lease after Mustang sales stampede

By: -