[DeTomaso] Marti report question followup

[Matt]

I want to thank everybody who responded! Good stuff!
Just a couple things:

1. The cars destined for Ford executives needed to be returned to Ford for
re-sale when they reached 6000 mi.
That might also be the case for other divisions such as public relations or
marketing but it probably depended on who ya knew.
But it makes me wonder. Was there also a time limitation? How long would it
take a full time Ford executive to put 6000 miles on a Pantera?
What if you lost your job? Did you have to give it back?
Anybody know any specifics?

2. Just because the Marti report says it was delivered to a specific retail
dealership doesn't necessarily mean they sold it but it does help track
it's travels.
Just as they still do today, dealerships will swap inventory with other
dealers. Sometimes even out of state.
I received a PM about this and I'll copy/paste some of it for you all
hopefully with the writers blessing!

He states-
"The Marty Report really only gives you the "DSO" & "Ordering Dealer", and
then reports the initial (retail) "sale date".  It does not actually list
the dealer that sold the car new to the first retail purchaser.
I stumbled across this oddity researching my own Pantera(#deleted).  My
Marty Report says it was ordered by Pacific LM in Seattle, but I
interviewed the original owner extensively, and he said he bought the car
new in Orange Co. CA.
So this minor incongruence hot me curious, how do I explain this?
The only possible explanation I can think of, is;
1) a simple dealer trade due to regional sales demands, or
2) that Ford was using a non-California DSO & dealer to order 49 state smog
certified cars, then moving them into California (where they were selling
well) and calling them "dealer trades" -- thereby skirting the more
stringent CA emission regulations.  If true, that would be pretty clever. "

That last part got me wondering exactly how Ford dealt with the tougher
smog laws being imposed at the time. See VW.
Besides the 5 mph bumper redesign, bad marketing, low sales headaches,
cooling, electrical issues ,etc. there must have been some major hair
pulling going on around the whole program from the beginning.
Imagine having to tell Alejandro he now needs a redesign to make room for a
smog pump!

We are lucky they got built at all. For just a sliver of time the stars
were aligned just right. Time will tell if they'll ever line up again.
But IF the oddity called the Pantera hadn't been built you would have had
to choose another car to dream about and then eventually own and enjoy.
What would it have been? I probably would have had to settle for a Lotus
Esprit or something at my price point. The M1,Countach,Ferraris, all out of
price and maintenance range for me at the time.
I guess I'll just thank my lucky stars I didn't have to settle for anything
less than a one of a kind Pantera, no matter how it got here.

Happy trails,
Matt
3584
-------------- next part --------------
   I want to thank everybody who responded! Good stuff!
   Just a couple things:
   1. The cars destined for Ford executives needed to be returned to Ford
   for re-sale when they reached 6000 mi.A
   That might also be the case for other divisions such as public
   relations or marketing but it probably depended on who ya knew.
   But it makes me wonder. Was there also a time limitation? How long
   would it take a full time Ford executive to put 6000 miles on a
   Pantera?
   What if you lost your job? Did you have to give it back?
   Anybody know any specifics?
   2. Just because the Marti report says it was delivered to a specific
   retail dealership doesn't necessarily mean they sold it but it does
   help track it's travels.
   Just as they still do today, dealerships will swap inventory with other
   dealers. Sometimes even out of state.
   I received a PM about this and I'll copy/paste some of it for you all
   hopefully with the writers blessing!
   He states-
   "The Marty Report really only gives you the "DSO" & "Ordering Dealer",
   and then reports the initial (retail) "sale date".A  It does not
   actually list the dealer that sold the car new to the first retail
   purchaser.
   I stumbled across this oddity researching my own Pantera(#deleted).A
   My Marty Report says it was ordered by Pacific LM in Seattle, but I
   interviewed the original owner extensively, and he said he bought the
   car new in Orange Co. CA.A
   So this minor incongruence hot me curious, how do I explain this?
   The only possible explanation I can think of, is;
   1) a simple dealer trade due to regional sales demands, or
   2) that Ford was using a non-California DSO & dealer to order 49 state
   smog certified cars, then moving them into California (where they were
   selling well) and calling them "dealer trades" -- thereby skirting the
   more stringent CA emission regulations.A  If true, that would be pretty
   clever.A "
   That last part got me wondering exactly how Ford dealt with the tougher
   smog laws being imposed at the time. See VW.
   Besides the 5 mph bumper redesign, bad marketing, low sales headaches,
   cooling, electrical issues ,etc. there must have been some major hair
   pulling going on around the whole program from the beginning.
   Imagine having to tell Alejandro he now needs a redesign to make room
   for a smog pump!
   We are lucky they got built at all. For just a sliver of time the stars
   were aligned just right. Time will tell if they'll ever line up again.
   But IF the oddity called the Pantera hadn't been built you would have
   had to choose another car to dream about and then eventually own and
   enjoy.A
   What would it have been? I probably would have had to settle for a
   Lotus Esprit or something at my price point. The M1,Countach,Ferraris,
   all out of price and maintenance range for me at the time.
   I guess I'll just thank my lucky stars I didn't have to settle for
   anything less than a one of a kind Pantera, no matter how it got here.
   Happy trails,
   Matt
   3584