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posted by martyb on Monday January 10 2022, @08:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the catch-me-if-you-can dept.

Ford dealers can ban F-150 Lightning customers from reselling trucks to discourage scalpers:

Ford is cracking down on anyone with mercenary intentions when it comes to buying an F-150 Lightning next year. In an effort to stop customers from quickly flipping their electric pickup truck for a hefty profit, Ford delivered a notice to dealerships issuing a new clause for soon-to-be owners. The note was posted on the F-150 Gen 14 forum on Friday. Should a dealer opt in, customers will be required to sign a "No-Sale" provision, banning them from reselling the truck within one year of ownership. The key here is, it's not required, Ford told Roadshow.

"Such a requirement is between a dealer and their customer," a spokesperson said. "It is up to the dealer to decide to use it and to consult with local laws in the state they operate should they choose to do so."

The clause reads, "Purchaser hereby agrees that it will not sell, offer to sell or otherwise transfer ownership interest in the Vehicle prior to the first anniversary of the date hereof. Purchaser further agrees that Seller may seek injunctive relief to prevent the transfer of title of the Vehicle or demand payment from Purchaser of all value received as consideration for the sale or transfer."


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @08:28PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @08:28PM (#1211594)

    Easier fix. Just make all sales leases.

    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @08:30PM (5 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @08:30PM (#1211596)

      Thou shalt not steal from the dealers.

      • (Score: 2, Interesting) by looorg on Monday January 10 2022, @08:47PM (4 children)

        by looorg (578) on Monday January 10 2022, @08:47PM (#1211605)

        I thought the dealer code was not to get high on your own supply. These guys have clearly been huffing electrolytes or whatever ...

        At least they acknowledge that this just isn't legally binding or enforceable in any way. If they want to prevent them from selling it I guess they have to get some kind of rental agreement for the first year and then you buy the car after that. Still that probably won't stop people flipping them (not in that way). Still they want people to just do this out of the goodness of their heart? I guess dealers that don't get the signatures from customers will just be transferred to the end of the supply line so they won't have any cars to sell?

        I guess they could install some kind of DRM in the car that ties it to the person they sold it to and that can't be reset or changed for a year. Nobody would probably want to sell that car then if they keep getting all the parking tickets or fines or whatever else the new "owner" attaches to the car that you in theory then still own. Unless you want to be like one of those homeless dudes that owns hundreds of cars just cause they are junkers and people don't give a shit about their car and want to pay fines and taxes.

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @10:39PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @10:39PM (#1211628)

          It is known as "First Refusal". They (the dealer) takes a leen out on the truck. Then when sale is made, the dealer has the right buy it back.

          Very legal, used on property all time. At the time of sales, the dealer can buy it back. Price is normally fixed at the point of "First Refusal:, but can also be current market value. It someone wants to pay $10k over dealer price, then dealer under first refusal would have the right to buy it at that price. That also means the dealer is under pricing the truck.

        • (Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday January 11 2022, @04:09AM (2 children)

          by driverless (4770) on Tuesday January 11 2022, @04:09AM (#1211699)

          Why would the dealers go along with this? They make more profit the more units they shift and don't care who it goes to or what they do with it. Why would they sell one unit to an actual buyer when they can dump twenty on scalpers for the same overhead?

          • (Score: 2) by DrkShadow on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:03PM

            by DrkShadow (1404) on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:03PM (#1211744)

            They make more profit the more units they shift

            Exactly. They've been hating on the used- market for a long time.

            But honestly here it's probably about protecting brand-image. Look at how you can't even buy a GPU any more, and how people feel about that.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @07:06PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @07:06PM (#1211861)

            Mostly because they don't get a cut. It's the same reason sports teams care about it. They look bad and they don't profit.

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by fustakrakich on Monday January 10 2022, @08:29PM

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Monday January 10 2022, @08:29PM (#1211595) Journal

    Owners can sell the parts at an even better profit

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Rich on Monday January 10 2022, @08:42PM (4 children)

    by Rich (945) on Monday January 10 2022, @08:42PM (#1211602) Journal

    Price them, so supply just barely exceeds demand. It's as easy as 1. Place Price Tag, 2. ???, 3. Profit. And there is no 2.

    If they really have to save face in front of their redneck cheapskate customers, make the first year's production a "special edition". Like with "AI-enhanced seat adjustment" at , like, $24900 extra, and drop that as mandatory feature once production has ramped up.

    Or is that just a test for "sales" contracts in "you own nothing" times?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @02:43PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @02:43PM (#1211767)

      LOL. "Redneck cheapskates" don't buy Ford, they like Chevy. F150's are for suburban "contractors" with inadequacy complexes.

    • (Score: 2) by richtopia on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:33PM (2 children)

      by richtopia (3160) on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:33PM (#1211824) Homepage Journal

      I ultimately agree with you, however dealers in the last year have been getting in trouble for this very practice. Dealer markups beyond MSRP go on the social network and kill brand loyalty. The OEM has to step in and mandate sales at the recommended price, however depending on the state they don't always have that power. Ultimately, the OEM has no motivation for these inflated prices; the dealer absorbs the profits and the brand image is hurt.

      I believe it is further compounded by the electric vehicles, because there is a move to online reservations (moving towards a Tesla like experience). The dealer is still involved, but the reservation occurs on Ford.com. I believe: I haven't gone through the process myself.

      https://www.autoblog.com/2022/01/10/ford-f150-lightning-dealer-markup-response-allocations/ [autoblog.com]

      • (Score: 2) by Rich on Wednesday January 12 2022, @12:59AM (1 child)

        by Rich (945) on Wednesday January 12 2022, @12:59AM (#1211981) Journal

        Ultimately, the OEM has no motivation for these inflated prices

        Why that? The OEMs goal is shareholder value. If they have an opportunity to sell out a year's production at inflated prices without any advertising, they are obliged to do so, and better have a darn good excuse to their shareholders if they don't. As I mentioned, marketing might require special measures for setting prices. But to my understanding, if they set a first super high price (and clearly communicate that it's, like, um..., totally limited, and, like, er... only for connoisseurs) they would get away without bad blood and when they later introduce the loss-leading-priced entry model and the bulk profit mainstream model, they can go higher with the latter, because the perceived price point has been set.

        Or if they really want to give out prizes in the webshop lottery, they could just lease it out, maybe with a purchase option. The more I think about it, this reeks of an attempt to soften first sale doctrine in a saturated economy.

        • (Score: 2) by richtopia on Wednesday January 12 2022, @05:17PM

          by richtopia (3160) on Wednesday January 12 2022, @05:17PM (#1212164) Homepage Journal

          My understanding of the dealer-OEM relationship (which is full of hijinks, so I could be mistaken) is the dealership will buy inventory approximately at MSRP from the OEM. That inventory sits on the lot and the dealer then sells the car at their negotiated price. Historically the money making venues for the dealership is dealer add-ons and financing.

          Since the dealer is a private business separate from the OEM the OEM does not see additional profit from a dealership markup. However, the licensing agreement puts the OEM's logo on the sign, so the dealership is an extension of the brand experience.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Mojibake Tengu on Monday January 10 2022, @09:06PM (3 children)

    by Mojibake Tengu (8598) on Monday January 10 2022, @09:06PM (#1211609) Journal

    What's the penalty to seller for non-compliance with the contract?

    New buyer didn't signed the silly contract, so bricking his car remotely may be a crime as well.

    --
    Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by fustakrakich on Monday January 10 2022, @09:19PM

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Monday January 10 2022, @09:19PM (#1211615) Journal

      so bricking his car remotely...

      is old stuff [npr.org]

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Monday January 10 2022, @11:15PM (1 child)

      by stretch611 (6199) on Monday January 10 2022, @11:15PM (#1211642)

      What's the penalty to seller for non-compliance with the contract?

      Just cancel the warranty.

      It might be somewhat legal to do as well... Imagine just giving a 90 day parts only warranty for each sale. Then give a perk to the first owner a 5 years/60,000 miles warranty that is not transferable. Believe me doing that will likely make up for all the money the dealer is not making and seriously dent the ability to "scalp" the pickup. Car repairs can be quite expensive, especially on high end models; not having a warranty on a new car will stop many people from even considering it.

      For the record, I have something similar on my car... It had a 5 year/50,000 mile warranty that was transferable to latter owners... But, as a perk to buy dealer stock my car has a lifetime powertrain warranty from the manufacturer that is not transferable to later owners. Knowing how expensive engine/transmission problems can be I found this to be quite a valuable perk. (I have owned it now for 12 years and the powertrain warranty is still in effect.)

      --
      Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
      • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday January 11 2022, @03:57AM

        by MostCynical (2589) on Tuesday January 11 2022, @03:57AM (#1211697) Journal

        non-transferable vehicle warranties are not legal in some countries.. there is an expectation that the vehicle be fit-for-purpose for a reasonable amount of time (barring accidents and incompetence), regardless of the number of owners..

        it is one of the reasons hire car companies sell a few months before warranty runs out..

        --
        "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Revek on Monday January 10 2022, @09:11PM (12 children)

    by Revek (5022) on Monday January 10 2022, @09:11PM (#1211610)

    If they do it. Only they have the right to profit.

    --
    This page was generated by a Swarm of Roaming Elephants
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Monday January 10 2022, @09:15PM (11 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 10 2022, @09:15PM (#1211612) Journal

      What valuable service do scalpers provide?

      In what way to they benefit society, or anyone, actually?

      Buy up the supply of something highly coveted, then immediately sell it at an exorbitant price. How does this help anyone?

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by linuxrocks123 on Monday January 10 2022, @09:55PM (5 children)

        by linuxrocks123 (2557) on Monday January 10 2022, @09:55PM (#1211620) Journal

        Scalpers prevent shortages. If the price of a good is too low, demand will exceed supply and some people won't be able to get something they want even if they want it so much they're willing to pay a high price for it. Scalpers ensure that people who are willing to pay a high enough price for something are able to get it.

        The original seller should have the motivation and ability to set the price at a level that won't cause a shortage, and, if the original seller does that, scalpers will not able to profit. However, if the original seller messes up somehow, scalpers can both profit and fix the market by stepping in to correct the seller's mistake.

        • (Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @10:38PM (4 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @10:38PM (#1211627)

          Scalpers typically create artificial shortages to drive up the price, often only selling part of what they buy. If you buy 100 items and then sell half of them at 10x the price then your ROI is 5:1. Selling the other half would tank the price for the next batch so the scalper is better off stockpiling or destroying the 'surplus'. Limited duration items like concert tickets are particularly bad, but any market they can corner is vulnerable.

          • (Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Monday January 10 2022, @11:13PM (2 children)

            by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 10 2022, @11:13PM (#1211641)

            create artificial shortages

            Multinational megacorporation with factories all over the world, vs Bubba next door, lets see who wins a battle of "lets create a shortage".

            • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:52AM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:52AM (#1211671)

              Multinational megacorporation with factories all over the world, vs Bubba next door, lets see who wins a battle of "lets create a shortage".

              Uh, Bubba next door? Like he already did with graphics cards, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper?

              • (Score: 2) by crafoo on Tuesday January 11 2022, @12:30PM

                by crafoo (6639) on Tuesday January 11 2022, @12:30PM (#1211740)

                Each of those is an example of the market not being allowed to price the product appropriately for the short-term spike in demand. So there were shortages. As was already clearly explained to you.

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:33AM

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:33AM (#1211715) Journal

            Scalpers typically create artificial shortages

            The shortage was created in the first place by the original issuer of the product.

      • (Score: 2) by loonycyborg on Monday January 10 2022, @10:00PM (2 children)

        by loonycyborg (6905) on Monday January 10 2022, @10:00PM (#1211621)

        Their service is the ability to trade money for time, you pay more but you don't have to be quick about getting it. If you're fine with waiting you can also just wait them out, if they make wrong choice about what to buy they'll have to sell it even cheaper than original price. Scalping issue is solely about either bleeding edge stuff for overpaying early adopters or or things of very temporary utility like concert tickets. In any case scalpers will end up losing money if demand isn't high enough.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @04:20AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @04:20AM (#1211702)

          What's a reasonable amount of time to wait? I've been waiting about 2 years now for a PS5 to be close to the MSRP. Nintendo OLED Switches? Graphics cards?

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 11 2022, @03:36PM

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 11 2022, @03:36PM (#1211782) Journal
            Actually, two years sounds good. You're probably just noob searching in the wrong places. Noobs getting exploited by bad search strategies is a different problem than scalping.
      • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @10:42PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @10:42PM (#1211629)

        Car Dealers **ARE** Scalpers. So your question still stands "In what way do they benefit society?"

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:00AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:00AM (#1211709)

        What valuable service do scalpers provide?

        They get money, ie they create wealth. Then they spend their newly created money so that other people can spend it in turn. So the benefits trickle down and help all of society.

        At least that's what I read. On the web somewhere. So it must be true.

  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday January 10 2022, @09:13PM (14 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 10 2022, @09:13PM (#1211611) Journal

    I've heard the horror stories. Mostly about things I don't care about, like X-boxes. Or F-150 Lightnings.

    But what about if it were to affect something like Raspberry Pi's?

    Is scalping becoming a national problem that needs to be fixed?

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday January 10 2022, @09:25PM (13 children)

      by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 10 2022, @09:25PM (#1211617)

      But what about if it were to affect something like Raspberry Pi's?

      What if? Tried to buy one lately? Go look at prices on ebay.

      Honestly, outside of jacking up retail prices to make scalping unprofitable, not much. This is a somewhat unique situation, as most of the items you buy don't involve lengthy contacts in order to buy them. You could pass laws but it's a cat and mouse game. Many places have laws on ticket scalping yet it happens everywhere (sometimes by a subsidiary of the very company selling the tickets themselves, although that is somehow legal). You could make the big online marketplaces forbid selling certain hot items for above MSRP but people will find ways around it or find other outlets.

      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @10:44PM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @10:44PM (#1211630)

        But ownerships goes with "First Sale". Once sold it is not thiers. If they are under pricing the truck, that is their problem.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:01AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:01AM (#1211663)

          The problem is dealers overpricing rather than underpricing.

        • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:40AM (2 children)

          by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:40AM (#1211717)
          Contracts take precedence over first sale doctrine. This isn’t anything new, even in the automotive world.
          • (Score: 2) by epitaxial on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:53PM (1 child)

            by epitaxial (3165) on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:53PM (#1211753)

            Contracts take precedence over laws? I'm curious about your comment.

            • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Wednesday January 12 2022, @02:42AM

              by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 12 2022, @02:42AM (#1212004)
              Yes, every day and twice on sundays. You can sign away rights under a contract as long as the contract is legal.
      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by stretch611 on Monday January 10 2022, @11:00PM (7 children)

        by stretch611 (6199) on Monday January 10 2022, @11:00PM (#1211635)

        But what about if it were to affect something like Raspberry Pi's?

        What if? Tried to buy one lately? Go look at prices on ebay.

        Actually, I noticed that as well... The prices are much higher now. as I looked at buying one the last week of December. (and re-confirmed now)

        The seller I have bought from in the past (an authorized reseller of Raspberry Pis in the US) does not seem to have any stock other than a few Pi Zero 2Ws.. Those seem to be priced correctly by the out of stock Pi4Bs seem to have gone up in price.

        TBH, My *guess* is that they may be close to announcing the Raspberry Pi 5... Possibly they slowed down production on the Pi 4s to have more 5s at the launch date. The Pi Zero 2s were just launched a few months ago which would explain why they are still in stock. For reference, the Pi 4 line was announced in 2019 so it has been almost 3 years without a refresh... The longest stretch between refreshes in the (brief) history of Raspberry Pi was between model 3 and 4 which was just over 3 years. (reference [wikipedia.org])

        --
        Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
        • (Score: 4, Informative) by VLM on Monday January 10 2022, @11:22PM (6 children)

          by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 10 2022, @11:22PM (#1211645)

          A manufacturer of ham radio kits in Swiss land or maybe its Turkey, was bragging on his support forum last month that due to "the global chip shortage" he bought a two years supply of atmel parts rather than doing JIT. Totally wiped out the supply in his country of that specific chip. All gone, all in his garage now.

          The thing about this is it locks up his capital to the level of "a new truck" for two years. So I get cheaper spectrum analyzer because he can't bid for it because he locked up his money. He can't release new products with the soon to be released STM32 products for 2023 model year because all his money and warehouse space is full of ArduinoShit from 2021. He might be successfully hoarding today, but tomorrow is a great day to be his competitor.

          The other problem with hoarding is a Pi 4 or a atmel part from 2021 is not going to magically become a pi 7 or whatever in 2024 by the time it gets used. So the competitors of hoarders always have the better product. If some moron bought two years worth of 2022 F-150s, why would I pay full price for a used 2022 F-150 in 2024 when he's trying to unload them? Screw that I'll buy a brand new 2024 Toyota its two years newer and "better" He can't unload his hoard.

          Hoards of gold and silver work for market manipulation. Hoards of rapidly depreciating cars trucks and chips, not so much.

          Anyone want a limited edition 74LS00 or a LM741 chip? F no you say? OK then hoarding them wouldn't have worked out so well.

          • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday January 11 2022, @02:18AM

            by krishnoid (1156) on Tuesday January 11 2022, @02:18AM (#1211682)

            Aye, technology truly be an evergreen, fickle mistress.

            Anyone want a limited edition 74LS00 or a LM741 chip? F no you say? OK then hoarding them wouldn't have worked out so well.

            It's all in how you market it [smbc-comics.com].

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @03:55AM (4 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @03:55AM (#1211695)

            > A manufacturer of ham radio kits in Swiss land or maybe its Turkey

            I think I can guess who...

            But his entire market is Bourgeois Westerners, who have priority over everyone else for every resource on the planet (including the planet).

            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:49AM (3 children)

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:49AM (#1211719) Journal

              But his entire market is Bourgeois Westerners, who have priority over everyone else for every resource on the planet (including the planet).

              Everyone else would need those chips for what? At some point, surely that narrative gets old to you.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:08PM (2 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:08PM (#1211745)

                You should re-read the part in the previous message about how a whole country's electronics nerds were screwed-over by single guy selling a trinket to Burgerlandians.

                • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:47PM

                  by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:47PM (#1211750) Journal
                  Ok, did it again and got nothing more. You have a serious point to make here?
                • (Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday January 11 2022, @09:11PM

                  by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 11 2022, @09:11PM (#1211920)

                  whole country's electronics nerds

                  Whoa now its 2010 era ArduinoShit for older products using older chips, its not that big of a deal.

                  But yeah he did F over an entire country and bragged about it on his support forum. Nobody in that whole country can get cutting edge 2010 ArduinoShit.

  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Monday January 10 2022, @11:30PM (3 children)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 10 2022, @11:30PM (#1211649)

    Seller may seek injunctive relief

    May is the key word.

    The PR and legal cost of giving someone a financial death penalty level of "nuke it from orbit" is so high that they'll never unleash it IRL. It'll be all bark no bite. Or they'll do precisely one financial death penalty to kill one person to scare the rest via journalism, and never do it again.

    Too many people die and the kid inherits the vehicle, or "I bought it for my GF as a birthday present" or "She took it from him in the divorce". Its not realistic as a legal attack, the PR cost would be too high.

    Also don't forget weird situations like high interest vehicle title loans, and police stealing property either for profit or as a legal although criminal act.

    I would further extend my remarks that this is a Ford. Its unlikely there are people lining up to buy them. You could generate massive PR for free by falsely claiming a new model is so popular that hoarders are scalping them. I wonder if this level of deceit might reach the level of false advertising, or if the slap on the wrist fee for false advertising would approach the free PR price.

    • (Score: 2) by VLM on Monday January 10 2022, @11:32PM

      by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 10 2022, @11:32PM (#1211650)

      Also don't forget weird situations like high interest vehicle title loans,

      Sorry to follow up on my own. Trivial example: Privately arranged financing. Not everyone finances thru the stealership. Simply fail to make payments, get repo'd, Ford gives the new owner a financial death penalty by stealing their car, essentially, PR nightmare.

    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday January 11 2022, @03:51AM

      by krishnoid (1156) on Tuesday January 11 2022, @03:51AM (#1211692)

      Just one financial death penalty? Why don't they fake it a few times with some shills like they faked [smbc-comics.com] the moon landing? Oh wait, I forgot that modern journalistic fact checking would probably call them out on that :-|

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:56AM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:56AM (#1211722) Journal

      You could generate massive PR for free by falsely claiming a new model is so popular that hoarders are scalping them.

      This. I find the tale implausible. IMHO the real story here is that Ford probably has serious manufacture problems, and reached into the marketing excuse jar to come up with this whopper. Which is too bad for me, since I own an amount of Ford stock.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:22AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @01:22AM (#1211666)

    Then sell the corp.

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