Ford’s Big Sale Failed Because People Don’t Have Cash For New Cars

A month ago, Ford kicked off a huge round of incentives that seemed unusual even by Detroit standards. Four weeks later, Ford’s “Friends and Neighbors” has been kicked to the curb after Ford found out a painful lesson: New-car buyers need to borrow money to actually buy cars.

While Ford’s overall sales were up 0.4 percent in November from a year earlier, all of that gain came from its F-Series pickup and van lines. Sport utility sales slid 10 percent, while car sales were down 13 percent, paced by a 25 percent drop in Ford Focus sales.