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By Mark Truby / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Ford is looking for payback after getting beaten by Chevrolet in sales in February for the first month in nearly 11 years.
While General Motors Corp. is celebrating the milestone, Ford Motor Co. is exhorting dealers to snatch back the crown of best-selling automotive brand from Chevy -- and quickly.
In the Denver region, for example, Ford asked dealers to sign a pledge to outsell their rival Chevy dealership this month.
"It's a matter of us motivating dealers," said Ford spokeswoman Susan Krusel. "The Ford brand has been the best-selling brand for 15 years in a row and we plan to make it 16."
In the brutal U.S. automotive market, bragging rights count, especially between heavyweights GM and Ford, longtime bitter rivals. Chevy outsold the Ford brand by nearly 13,000 vehicles in February and holds a paper-thin 707 unit margin in 2002.
"There's an old saying that payback is a ... and it will be," wrote P.C. Bonfanti, a Ford regional sales manager, in a dispatch last week to dealers. "It's a matter of pride!"
Earlier this month, Ford Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. pledged to match GM dollar for dollar on vehicle rebates. GM triggered an incentive showdown by offering no-interest finance deals after Sept. 11.
"GM is going to continue to compete very hard, as will Chevy," spokesman Tom Wilkinson said. "Chevy's long-term goal is to earn back the No. 1 position."
Ford's often-disgruntled but potent dealer body will be difficult for Chevy to outsell consistently, marketing expert Jim Sanfilippo said.
"This wonderful dealer network has sustained Ford through every cycle," Sanfilippo said. "(Ford and its dealers) fight amongst themselves but when they are threatened they come together like a family."
DETROIT -- Ford is looking for payback after getting beaten by Chevrolet in sales in February for the first month in nearly 11 years.
While General Motors Corp. is celebrating the milestone, Ford Motor Co. is exhorting dealers to snatch back the crown of best-selling automotive brand from Chevy -- and quickly.
In the Denver region, for example, Ford asked dealers to sign a pledge to outsell their rival Chevy dealership this month.
"It's a matter of us motivating dealers," said Ford spokeswoman Susan Krusel. "The Ford brand has been the best-selling brand for 15 years in a row and we plan to make it 16."
In the brutal U.S. automotive market, bragging rights count, especially between heavyweights GM and Ford, longtime bitter rivals. Chevy outsold the Ford brand by nearly 13,000 vehicles in February and holds a paper-thin 707 unit margin in 2002.
"There's an old saying that payback is a ... and it will be," wrote P.C. Bonfanti, a Ford regional sales manager, in a dispatch last week to dealers. "It's a matter of pride!"
Earlier this month, Ford Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. pledged to match GM dollar for dollar on vehicle rebates. GM triggered an incentive showdown by offering no-interest finance deals after Sept. 11.
"GM is going to continue to compete very hard, as will Chevy," spokesman Tom Wilkinson said. "Chevy's long-term goal is to earn back the No. 1 position."
Ford's often-disgruntled but potent dealer body will be difficult for Chevy to outsell consistently, marketing expert Jim Sanfilippo said.
"This wonderful dealer network has sustained Ford through every cycle," Sanfilippo said. "(Ford and its dealers) fight amongst themselves but when they are threatened they come together like a family."
