Sydney motor show f****>>Up

[jonbays]

well i went to see the new BF at the Sydney motor show and asked for some info. was given a poster and I asked if they could send me a brochure on the XR6T.

Well today i get a BA MKII brochure in the mail.

Great work ford!!!

Holden made me que for the Monaro brochure but i got one.

holden had a show stand with a concept car and stole the show.

pity eh.

[rag top]

ha! you should have specified BF XR6T, not just XR6T!!!

[Black XR6]

Yeah, the people manning the ford display have NFI.

I was there checking out the BF GT that was sitting there. I was taking plenty of pics and showing interest. I was wearing a dress shirt with a GT logo on it from the old days, the same logo that is now used on the GT. One of the guys manning the stand saw me, walked up and said, bout time they got back to that emblem, and kept walking. He showed no interest in chatting to me about the BF. No interest in selling me one, or giving me a handout.

By contrast, Wulos and I were over at the Subaru stand and just standing there taking pics of the rally car replica they had there. We walked straight past their production display and were basically down the back of the display taking some pics of the rally car. A guy manning the subaru stand walked up and initiated conversation and offered us a brochure, which we took.

Lift thy game Ford.

[gtfpv]

yep i spoke to 4 people at the ford fpv stand in uniform . only 1 of them new that ford was a make of a motorvehicle that they were representing .

[zetec]

Originally Posted by jonbays

well i went to see the new BF at the Sydney motor show and asked for some info. was given a poster and I asked if they could send me a brochure on the XR6T.

Well today i get a BA MKII brochure in the mail.

Great work ford!!!

Holden made me que for the Monaro brochure but i got one.

holden had a show stand with a concept car and stole the show.

pity eh.

Either the details were taken incorrectly (they didn't select BF Falcon rather than just Falcon), or you should have received a cover letter stating that you'd also receive the new brochure once it became more readily available. My guess would be to visit http://www.ford.com.au/fordthinking/ to see if you can register for BF details or brochure there.

I myself worked the first 5 days of motorshow and I can assure you I had far more than NFI about the cars. I had a great time.

Originally Posted by Black XR6

Yeah, the people manning the ford display have NFI.

I was there checking out the BF GT that was sitting there. I was taking plenty of pics and showing interest. I was wearing a dress shirt with a GT logo on it from the old days, the same logo that is now used on the GT. One of the guys manning the stand saw me, walked up and said, bout time they got back to that emblem, and kept walking. He showed no interest in chatting to me about the BF. No interest in selling me one, or giving me a handout.

Lift thy game Ford.

That attitude ****es me off. Yep I manned the stand and had NFI either.... :

Remember it was a MOTOR SHOW, not a dealership so why would anyone have to try and sell a car???? And if someone working there did, then I'm sure they would have been attacked for doing that as well. :yeees:
If you wanted to know something, why not ask? Or is it just another excuse to lay sh it on anything to do with Ford??

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by RATT

That attitude ****es me off. Yep I manned the stand and had NFI either.... :

Remember it was a MOTOR SHOW, not a dealership so why would anyone have to try and sell a car???? And if someone working there did, then I'm sure they would have been attacked for doing that as well. :yeees:
If you wanted to know something, why not ask? Or is it just another excuse to lay sh it on anything to do with Ford??

no offence RATT but ford are my favourite car manufacturers but i asked 4 people if they new where the ford boss v8 engine is that is cut open showing its internals. i got a blank stare from 2 of them the other one said he wouldn't have a clue if they have one there and the 4th one told me to approach one of the dealers there and try to find out . well that plainly stinks.ilooked for myself and couldn't find it . the only reason i looked was because a friend told me he was looking at it the day before . and FPV GAVE ME RED FACES WHEN I ASKED THEM IF THE bf gt WAS HIGHER PERFORMING THAN BA GT . I ALSO ASKED ABOUT EURO III IS THE EXHAUST QUIETER IS THE INTAKE QUIETER .THE REPLY WAS NO . ASKING ABOUT PERFORMANCE THE GUY SAID HE DIDN'T KNOW WITH A RED FACE HE HAD 2 PEOPLE STANDING NEXT TO HIM SAYING NOTHING EITHER I COMMENTED THAT HE ISN'T ALLOWED TO DISCUSS THIS IS HE . and he nosdded with a smile . so you can be ****ed off as much as you like . a fact is a fact . i asked these questions at the HSV stand as well wearing my FPV singlet and they had no problem discuusing performance and exhaust fitments etc .

Fair enough, but my reply was to a different matter.

The guys you asked would have been sales people and at that point in time very few would have known anything relating to exhaust noise/ induction noise as the motor show would have been the first time they have layed eyes on a BF FPV, let alone having driven one. Performance wise, FPV haven't made anything clear to anyone.

I did not see a BOSS engine cutout when I was there last Monday either.

Oh and relating to performance, they do go better.

[max^power]

Originally Posted by RATT

That attitude ****es me off. Yep I manned the stand and had NFI either.... :

Remember it was a MOTOR SHOW, not a dealership so why would anyone have to try and sell a car???? And if someone working there did, then I'm sure they would have been attacked for doing that as well. :yeees:
If you wanted to know something, why not ask? Or is it just another excuse to lay sh it on anything to do with Ford??

True, i hate it when sales people only talk because they want to take my wallet, empty it into theirs and then give it back empty, then tell me i got a bargain. I can't stand this sales tactic and i let them know it :

If you don't ask, you'll never get!

[Firefox7]

Originally Posted by jonbays

Holden made me que for the Monaro brochure but i got one.

holden had a show stand with a concept car and stole the show.

pity eh.

I go to the motor show, ...every year.....this year i did not....was I disappointed for not going,.... no...., I anticipated a Ford display that has transversed the same boring product for far to long...and i was right....all the boys that went, came home rather dissapointed.



Cheers.

[AUIII XR8 MAN]

Originally Posted by Firefox7

I go to the motor show, ...every year.....this year i did not....was I disappointed for not going,.... no...., I anticipated a Ford display that has transversed the same boring product for far to long...and i was right....all the boys that went, came home rather dissapointed.



Cheers.

I found the Motor show to be the same old stuff form everybody, you can miss a few years & go back & it still the same old stuff.

[Des]

Every motor show I've been to (and that's quite a few) you will always have some staff who have no(or little) idea what their talking about, (a certain Japanese Oz based manufacturer staffs their stand with models who need a seeing eye dog to find their own @rse!). I've found the Ford stand to generally be better than most. The only problem occurs when there has been a model released at the show and you ask pointed questions about specific performance and such outside of what the average Joe would ask.
Holden usually have no problem answering these questions as their cars are basically unchanged since the VT series one (which is based on the VN). So performance and such is basically unchanged.

[NAK302]

Originally Posted by AUIII XR8 MAN

I found the Motor show to be the same old stuff form everybody, you can miss a few years & go back & it still the same old stuff.

you mean like the tv shows neihbours and home & away?

[Transit Truck]

Compare the motor show to the boat show, completely different... You can get any question answered and place an order for one as well. Vehicle manufacturers should change the way they are thinking and have all relevant information available and maybe auction one up... Now thats Ford Thinking... NOT!

[Black XR6]

Remember it was a MOTOR SHOW, not a dealership so why would anyone have to try and sell a car???? And if someone working there did, then I'm sure they would have been attacked for doing that as well.

They dont have to try to sell a car on the spot. They DO however have to engage the public in talking about their product and thus creating interest in it which leads to sales. That is what the motor show is for PR. If the people manning the stands just stand there like the cars, why have them, may as well have booth babes who know nothing at all about the product.

The guys you asked would have been sales people and at that point in time very few would have known anything relating to exhaust noise/ induction noise as the motor show would have been the first time they have layed eyes on a BF FPV, let alone having driven one. Performance wise, FPV haven't made anything clear to anyone.

Well, thats another whole topic. Why release a car and not pre-inform the people who are responsible for selling the product its details. What you say is akin to if I walk onto a dealership the first day the BF FPV range is released and ask several pointed questions. They wont have any idea because they havent had time to read the brochures. I realise the staff at the ford stand are volunteers, but that dosnt help them sell product or even discuss the product with the public. Any car on display at the motor show should be well known to the staff manning the stand or else it looks rather poor that they dont know their own product.

Say what you like, I still say the Ford display and the way it is run and handled leaves a lot to be desired. Its just my opinion based on my experience there.

Maybe Ford should ask only the most knowledgable people to man the stands? Right now they ask dealers to send a few members of staff to the show for atleast half a day and without any idea how good the people are for that job.

I was happy to talk to anyone as was Matt (zetec). But at the same time some questions that were asked were strange.

[Black XR6]

Yes, that is a great idea Ratt. What were some of the strange questions asked?

[Polyal]

ah! all this non sense over the motorshow is driving me crazy.

You guys are part of a minority that know alot about how the cars work, mods, etc etc. Do you seriously expect ford to get some engineers who are busy working on program stuff to man the stand at a motorshow. I think some people seem to forget its a SHOW, not an interview.

If you want info then ask for it, or look it up, but dont expect someone who might be from sales, marketing, finance etc etc to know the internals of the BOSS motor, or what the induction noise is liek compared to the BA...lol..even some engineers wont be able to tell you that because its not their field.

There will be some sales/marketing etc guys/girls who know there stuff and can answer some in depth questions. But thats not what they are there for exactly.

99.9% of the people will ask very generic questions like is it quicker than a holden? how much does it cost (even though there is a sign); can you pop the boot? just general stuff like that.

When I did it I had a ball, I would get home and not be able to talk because sometimes I will get people who will talk for ages, literally 30mins. Its great, but can be tiring, espically when you get a smart **** who thinks he knows it all and you have to go along with it as to not offend them.

"Why don't Ford build a Falcon with a 4cyl?"

"Why isn't the XR6 or 8 available with gas?"

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Do you seriously expect ford to get some engineers who are busy working on program stuff to man the stand at a motorshow. I think some people seem to forget its a SHOW, not an interview.

Yes I do. As a mater of fact I can remember talking to Gordon Barfield, that’s right, the bloke who’s on page 47 of the current Blueprint magazine. He was manning the stands at the Melbourne Motor Show a couple of years back. Not only does he freely give his time to the FPV & XR Club for our meetings, he is also willing to get out there and get his hands dirty. I can’t speak for the last Motor Show, as I couldn’t be stuffed going, however, some of the bigwigs actually do this sort of thing down here.

As far as I’m concerned, if there are people on a stand they should know at the very least the basics about the product. Not some person saying “ they come in blue and green” other than that I don’t know because I work in the canteen at Ford.
My 2c

Cheers, Danny

[Black XR6]

Thats my point full noise. The people manning the stands should be able to answer most questions. Not just a couple, but all of them. The motor show isnt there to sell cars directly but it sure is there to assist sales.

It is one place where all the manufacturers are under one roof. If I was tossing up between buying a falcon, camry, commodoore, lexus, or liberty etc. I could walk around to my hearts content talking to the various companies directly. The knowledge the people at each stand could give may be the deciding factor in the purchase.

[XA Coupsta]

Spot on. Imagine how easy it is (or should be) to research your next purchase across a wide range of manufacturers by going to the show. It would come down to who does the best job of representing that vehicle to that buyer is quite possibly going to make a sale due to that.

Some buyers might only want to know what colours it comes in, some buyers (like us) will want to know a lot more.

And I find it a little contradictory that there has been comments made that it is a motor show and not a sales show - they arent there to sell cars - yet then apparently it is sales/marketing staff manning the booths?? Have I followed it correctly?

I would have thought the perfect solution would be to have both sales persons AND technical experts on hand. Cant miss then.

[gtfpv]

i',m backing up my post in this thread because when the the TICKFORD TE-TS50 WAS RELEASED they were at the motor show and they had people there telling enthusiasts the differance between a 200kw engine over the xr8 185kw engine plus suspension differances etc also the differance between 200kw te and 220 kw ts. lets not forget fpv premium new cars were there . people dont but performance cars because the new model has a differant stripe package.

[Polyal]

Ok fine, you guys live in your fantasy world. py:

Naturally there will be some engineers, maybe 5%, but not all know every attribute in complete depth. What happens at your clubs has nothing to do with this topic. Its true that some engineers do get involved, but only because they really want to, not for PR. :nutsycuck

But if you need someone on a stand to assist you in buying a car then I really dont care if you buy a commodore or avalon.

You should be buying the car that you want, on its merits, not what someone else tell you what you want Or is that why the sheep buy commies?

[Black XR6]

Polyal, you hit the nail completely smack dab on the head. Sheep (as you call them) buy commies because Holden crap from a gigantic height all over fords PR and marketing.

In a completely perfect world, everyone would buy cars based on very in depth researched knowledge of each cars attributes etc. But in reality this does not happen in the vast majority of car purchases. Most of the time it is the company who convinces them in whatever way to buy their product. Wether that be through a snazzy add, or a slick salesman, or through a damn nice display at a motor show. Those sheep as you call them make up quite a slab of the market share. Ford needs to put in a crap load more effort to win those sheep.

You make it sound like the majority of people who buy cars are experts on what makes them tick when in reality it is the opposite, most have no idea, but they still have to choose a brand. How do they choose then? By what they see and hear and read. Adds, word of mouth, salesmen.

And to illustrate my point perectly. How many people on this very forum would rule out buying a Holden purely on the basis that it is a Holden. Or How many on the Holden forums would do the same for ford?

Me thinks it is you living in the fantast world.

[Polyal]

But you just contradicted yourself.

I presume you agree with what gtfpv has to say. So by his thinking the people on the show stand show be able to answer "I ALSO ASKED ABOUT EURO III IS THE EXHAUST QUIETER IS THE INTAKE QUIETER".

What kind of BS question is that. Im sure the intake engineer happened to be on the stand at that exact moment! Normal people "the sheep" do NOT ask those types of questions.

Now, did you interrogate any other manufacturer stands? I bet you didn't.

I have no doubt that none of the other stands are any better 'qualified" than fords, your lucky the ford employees even bother to do it, ford could easily use models. and it would probably cost them alot less since all the ford guys are in vic.

I completely agree that holden are very very good with there marketing/PR, but having a go at someone because they couldn't answer your curly question is pretty rude

[Black XR6]

How did I contradict myself. I said the people manning the ford stand should know their stuff. Thats what I believe. Also, they should be pro active and actually engage people in converation about the product. Else why are they there?

The Subaru guy didnt seem to have any trouble with the euroIII questions Wulos asked him. Nor about next years body type and wether a certain front end was going to be used. He handled all these questions with ease, asked us if we wanted a pamphlet and wished us good day. Even though I think we were both wearing ford gear.

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by Polyal

But you just contradicted yourself.

I presume you agree with what gtfpv has to say. So by his thinking the people on the show stand show be able to answer "I ALSO ASKED ABOUT EURO III IS THE EXHAUST QUIETER IS THE INTAKE QUIETER".

What kind of BS question is that. Im sure the intake engineer happened to be on the stand at that exact moment! Normal people "the sheep" do NOT ask those types of questions.

Now, did you interrogate any other manufacturer stands? I bet you didn't.

I have no doubt that none of the other stands are any better 'qualified" than fords, your lucky the ford employees even bother to do it, ford could easily use models. and it would probably cost them alot less since all the ford guys are in vic.

I completely agree that holden are very very good with there marketing/PR, but having a go at someone because they couldn't answer your curly question is pretty rude

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!! thats funny i like it when someone subtly takes the p*ss outta me hahahahahahahaa... your a true legend hahahaha give me some more . i mean it it is funny i'm not offended. muahahahaha :

[Falchoon]

Originally Posted by RATT

"Why isn't the XR6 or 8 available with gas?"

Seems like a fair enough question to me especially when n/a XR6 makes up over 20% of all (BA) Falcon sales. Maybe Ford would actually sell some XR8s if they were more affordable to run.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!! thats funny i like it when someone subtly takes the p*ss outta me hahahahahahahaa... your a true legend hahahaha give me some more . i mean it it is funny i'm not offended. muahahahaha :

: Im not taking the **** out of you. It was just an example.

The contradiction was that you think that the ford stand people should know everything, but you even said yourself that the normal customer doesn't even know how the inards of a car works. So why send know-it-alls when just the basics are needed?

I wasn't at the show, so really I can not comment on how "approachable" the people were. But at the melbourne show I worked at, with the same people, we had no issues.