Hey all, I just found this forum after searching for some info on the car I just bought - a Focus LX Hatch in Titanium Grey. My mother up until a few weeks ago worked as a Stock Controller in various Ford Dealers for 22 years, until she had to give it up due to ill health. If it wasn't for her and her contacts, I too would be waiting the kind of times many are on this board to get the car. Even as it stands she has helped the Sales Manager orchestrate a swap of a car due in October for one that has just landed here in the last couple of days with another dealer. This is something they do often but with Focus being so scarce its not an easy task. Anyway I am hoping to take delivery (barring all disasters) in a week or so. I currently drive an AUIII Falcon and am looking forward to getting back to a hatchback after having driven many Lasers before I got the Falcon. As someone else said on this board, everyday in the old car seems like an eternity until I get the new one.
I have told Mum many of the stories that have been told here regarding the delivery of Focus and she says that basically once a dealership is given their allocation and settled on it (ie if they are told they have say 10 Focus they can ask for only 5 which means the remaining 5 go back into the allocation pool) they have absolutely no control whatsoever as to what happens to that car from that point on until it lands here. At least with the locally built cars dealers can not only see where its at but also even change colours, transmissions etc depending on what stage of production the cars are at of course.
Anyway I am glad I found this board and look forward to posting pics of my new beast when it arrives.
