Ford Owner Loyalty Strong with Cash for Clunkers Trades

[Brian Pasch]

Preston Automotive Group in Maryland wrote to us to say that they have taken in over a dozen Cash for Clunkers trades in the past two weeks as strong interest for the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) credits draw consumers to their showroom. Of the first 12 cars traded under the CARS guidelines, 9 where Ford Vehicles which included Explorers, Bronco's and F-150 trucks. With such a small sample it is hard to extrapolate this data but 7 of the 9 Ford car owners that traded in a clunker stayed with the Ford brand.

We have previous stated that Ford is in a unique position with the Cash for Clunkers bill. They have the brand mostly likely to be traded in under the CARS program as well as the top American brand consumers are interested in buying.
If the first dozen car sales from Preston Motors is any indicator, Ford may be the US carmaker that benefits the most from the Cash for Clunkers bill. The Preston data is interesting since consumers have a choice at Preston to purchase Nissan, Mazda, Ford and Hyundai cars at their sprawling Autoplex.

Of the other models that were purchased with a clunker trade, Hyundai has had a strong showing in part because Preston Hyundai offered cars for sale as soon as Hyundai announced that they would help their dealers with cash flow concerns until the government could reimburse dealers.

The Preston Automotive Group also had their ribbon cutting ceremony today with the opening of their Car Allowance Rebate Center Information Center located on their Autoplex in Preston Maryland. On hand were David Wilson, CEO of Preston Automotive Group, senior staff members and the famous Preston Frog.