Randy Norton, general manager of Fox Marquette, a Ford store in Marquette, Mich., say he's not worried about the move to restate the fuel economy of the C-Max Hybrid.
"Consumers who we sell the C-Max to love it. We're not worried it will affect sales," Norton said. "I think they handled it very well. It was a voluntary action on their part, taking care of customers."
Norton's reaction was fairly typical among dealers.
"I don't think it's a big deal," says Larry Taylor, owner of Beau Townsend Ford in Dayton, Ohio. He added, "I've got customers that rave about the gas mileage. One guy commutes about 50 miles to work and gets 50 mpg. And we've had others complain."
Beau Smith, owner of Sill-TerHar Motors in Broomfield, Colo., which sells Ford and Lincoln, said that by restating the fuel economy numbers on the C-Max, Ford is "leading in transparency."
Smith, chairman of the Ford National Dealer Council, added: "And that's what I think we should do. I think we're not the only manufacturer and dealers who have to continue to work on giving good information to customers."
Gabriel Peterson, a salesman at Bob Maxey Ford in Detroit, says it's all about managing a customer's expectations about miles per gallon. Peterson says some customers have complained about their fuel economy. On average, they're getting 39 mpg, he says.
Peterson said he was pleased to hear Ford was restating the mileage on the C-Max because it's easier to manage a customer who's dealing with a fuel economy discrepancy of only a few miles per gallon, rather than a gap of seven to 10 mpg.
- Bradford Wernle
