Ford Motor Company’s Product Communications Manager for North America, Mike Levine, is denying that Ford has delayed delivery of 2017 Ford F-150 models equipped with the automaker’s new 10-speed automatic transmission, according to website Hard Working Trucks. Reuters reported last week that Ford had held up deliveries so that the brand-new transmission could undergo additional testing.
“The Reuters story is wrong,” Levine told Hard Working Trucks. “Reuters says we are delaying delivery of 10-speed F-150s but these trucks have already arrived at multiple dealers. Not sure how that’s delaying?”
The Ford Product Communications Manager went on to say that “launches are complex, and every one of them presents different challenges and opportunities. Our process is to work through any issues and ensure that our customers receive a quality vehicle. That said, 10-speed F-150s have been shipping to dealers since last month and are already on sale at Ford dealers.”
The new 10-speed transmission, which debuts in the revamped 3.5L EcoBoost version of the 2017 Ford F-150 and in the new F-150 Raptor, is a longitudinal planetary automatic resulting from a partnership between Ford and General Motors. GM will first deploy the new unit in the high-performance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, before adding it to other RWD/4WD vehicles.
Reuters’ report last week stated that Ford President of the Americas Joe Hinrichs had told the outlet that some 15,000 Ford F-150s with the new 10-speed gearbox had been stockpiled because the automaker “wanted to be extra sure, to do extra testing” with regard to the new product launch. The report also said that more than half of that stockpile had since been shipped to dealers, and that the rest ought to go out before the year is through.
Comments
Ask Mr. Levine about My Raptor. VIN 1FTFW1RG3HFA21755. Built on October 27th and was last updated on November 3rd. This is confirmed with Ford Service, Ford Performance, and my dealership. I’d call that a substantial delay and I’ve been kept in the dark, as well as many other customers. Why would a truck, built 7 weeks ago still be sitting at the plant in Dearborn without any shipping or delivery ETA unless there’s a problem? I would love to get an answer to that question from someone at Ford. All they’ve been telling me is “soon” and “try again next week.”
Same song second verse…at least you had a vin#. I was on the list for a new 2017 raptor since February of 2016. Called the dealer to confirm and order in August . As of today 1-10-2017, my truck still has not been built ! I was told by dealership that my truck is on hold because of carbon fiber trim package. Why does ford offer something that they are not going to produce ? And why did they take 4 months to tell me? As you can imagine , I am not happy with ford at this point. They need to work on their communication skills !
I ordered my hybrid maverick the first of Oct 2021 just wandering when Ford will be informing us of a build date