Ford Family Plan Puts Out the Welcome Mat; Employee Pricing for Ford, Lincoln, Mercury

* Ford, Lincoln and Mercury are announcing a new plan to offer employee discount pricing for customers who purchase a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury car, truck or SUV between July 6 and Aug. 1, 2005. * The Ford Family Plan is designed to drive showroom traffic through the busy month of July, bringing more customers into the Ford family. * Ford, Lincoln and Mercury will combine the strength of their dealer bodies and advertising might to communicate an easy-to-understand discount on a new Ford, Lincoln or Mercury.

DEARBORN, Mich., July 5 -- Ford, Lincoln and Mercury are combining their strengths and welcoming all customers to the family in July by offering their highly prized employee discount pricing to everyone through the "Ford Family Plan."

Beginning July 6, customers in the more than 4,000 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury showrooms across the U.S. will be eligible to receive the Ford employee discounted price on 2005 model cars, trucks and SUVs.

"The unique thing about Ford is that it's a family company, and it's that sense of family that makes us different," says Steve Lyons, Ford group vice president, North America Marketing, Sales and Service. "The Ford Family Plan is a great deal with a clear, compelling message that shows customers how much we value their business."

The Plan

The plan is simple to understand. All 2005 eligible models will be sold at or below the employee and retiree discount price less bonus customer cash incentives. Excluded from the plan are Ford trucks larger than F-350 and E- 350, the Ford Mustang, Ford GT and Ford Escape Hybrid.

Beginning July 6, participating dealers will receive supplemental window stickers for all 2005 models outlining the MSRP, the employee discount and applicable cash rebates. For example:

  Model                Ford Explorer    Mercury Montego    Lincoln Navigator
                         XLT 4x4          Luxury AWD          Luxury 4x2
  MSRP                   $32,895            $26,840             $51,145
  Employee Price         $28,739            $24,019             $44,133
  Less Customer Cash      $4,000               $500              $2,000
  Ford Family Price      $24,739            $23,519             $42,133

"The big benefits to consumers are a great deal that's easy to understand and eliminates haggling, which is a huge plus for many people," explains Lyons.

Advertising

For the first time, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury are combining their advertising might to communicate the new Ford Family Plan through advertising in print, television, radio and Internet.

Ford will promote the plan on its Web site http://www.ford.com/ and provide Ford Family Plan pricing for all vehicles in stock for individual dealer Web sites.

Ads and dealer materials will feature the Ford Family Plan Welcome mat with the words "WELCOME Ford Family Plan" or "WELCOME Lincoln Mercury Family Plan."