When will the first one leave Detroit?
 

In various threads there have been reports of people ordering 09 FEHs as far back as late April and several in May. Some have received VINs from their dealers. There was also confirmation by someone who works at Ford that the hybrid line did crank up as scheduled on June 23. How long does it take for one to actually leave the plant and get to a dealer or purchaser? Julian

Re: When will the first one leave Detroit?
 

It will come from Kansas City, not Detroit. It took 9 days from date of manufacture for my 2008 MMH to arrive at the dealer (in NC).

Re: When will the first one leave Detroit?
 

2009's have already left the plant in Kansas City for customers and the State of California. GaryG's 09 was built today.

Re: When will the first one leave Detroit?
 

Hmm... when you ask how long it takes to go from plant to dealer... your wording almost suggests that you're thinking they'll be available on the lot.

Every FEH being built is spoken for. If you've ordered one then it'll probably be about a 3 month wait.

Escape Hybrids don't have a special assembly line... they're built on the same assembly line as all the other Escapes.

Re: When will the first one leave Detroit?
 

Tim, the 2009's are on the dealer lots in California now:omg: This is from Cars.com:

2009 Ford Escape Hybrid
Brilliant Silver, SUV, 2.5L, Stock# 33238. </SPAN>
Dealer: San Francisco Ford Lincoln Mercury (San Francisco, CA ~2,261 mi. away)
877-880-3183
Email Dealer

shownDatesArray[shownDatesArray.length] = new Object;shownDatesArray[shownDatesArray.length-1].dateString = "2008-07-04";shownDatesArray[shownDatesArray.length-1].rowCount = "42";

$34,070

2009 Ford Escape Hybridhttp://www.cars.com/search/images/newlylisted.gif
Light Ice Blue, SUV, 2.5L, Stock# 33248. </SPAN>
Dealer: San Francisco Ford Lincoln Mercury (San Francisco, CA ~2,261 mi. away)
877-880-3183
Email Dealer

Re: When will the first one leave Detroit?
 

I wonder if they are really on the lot or just in process of getting there. There are no pictures of those actual vehicles. All pictures are manufacturer pictures which makes me suspect they may not really have them yet.

Re: When will the first one leave Detroit?
 

Real customer orders get priority over dealer orders. However... there are sleazy dealers who 'fake' customer orders to try to get them. To my knowledge there is no priority to any state.

Re: When will the first one leave Detroit?
 

I agree - they have the vin but no vehicle on the lot. While I waited for my ordered vehicle, I checked out a number of online ads in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, and every credible dealer had pictures of the vehicle on their lot with many interior and exterior pictures.

It may be true that the 2009 does not have a priority for particular states, but every Mercury and Ford dealer I spoke to about the 2008 (probably 8-10 dealers) indicated that there was an emphasis on getting vehicles to California, and occasionally they mentioned Texas and Florida. Ford, however, may not try to get customer-ordered vehicles to individual states.

Re: When will the first one leave Detroit?
 

On blue oval news there are hybrids rolling off the line intended for dealers all over the country. It does not appear that any state is getting preference toward their vehicles first. My gut tells me that individual orders placed through dealers are getting completed first and that at some point they will switch over to 'fleet' sales (ie, Cali life guards and NY cabbies, etc). This 'switch' will then produce the back up of individual sales which could result in some folks seeing extremely long wait times. Based on watching orders and reactions last year this appears to be what happened on the 08 models too. Just my opinion however so if anyone has facts to back this up or refute it please share.

Re: When will the first one leave Detroit?
 

I know they do fleet sales... but I'm surprised they even bother with it. Automakers really hate to do fleet sales. There's pretty much no profit in it.

While I know it's good for PR, you don't need to generate hype for a vehicle you can't even produce as fast as it's selling. They might as well just put priority on the sales channels where they can make the most money.