Reliable Ford value resides at Ricart Ford (Wow, alliteration)

Reliability means many things to us. It means your loyal dog at your feet on a chilly night, or your best friend watching your back in a tough spot, or even Old Faithful doing what geysers do at predictable times to thrill vacationers at Yellowstone Park.

Reliability also means the vehicles you’ll find at Ricart Ford according to the 2008 Consumer Reports Car Reliability Survey, which says, “Almost all Ford models are now average or better… Ford's reliability is now on par with good Japanese automakers.”

The article goes on to rave that the Fusion is among “the most reliable family cars” and has the Focus landing an above average rating. Check for yourself here.

Obviously this is great news for Ford and Ricart, since Ford is our flagship brand, and also for those folks who have said to themselves in the past that they wanted to buy an American car, but they just aren’t as reliable as Japanese cars. Well… actually a Ford is as reliable, costs less, and tends to have more innovations than Pacific Rim cars… and most of all, it’s a Ford!

Reliability does mean many things, and at Ricart Ford in The Ricart Megamall, it means even more value in your new Ford car, truck, SUV, or CUV. So, when you spend your hard earned money on a new Ford at Ricart, it’s worth every penny and so much more… you can rely on that!

Fall Classics, The World Series and Ricart Ford Truck Season

For my money, October is the best time of year for sports. Football is in full gear, hockey and hoops are getting under way, and my favorite, Major League Baseball is preparing to crown their champs. During the baseball playoffs you get to see salted veterans and still wet behind the ears youngsters perform on one of the world’s largest stages, so whether you love the excitement, energy, and promise of the new, or prefer the tried, tested, and true performance of the well known, it’s a great time to be into baseball.

If you’re a truck person, or just need to have a truck, it’s a great time to stop by Ricart Ford in The Ricart Megamall because we have two great performers together on one stage for you too, just like Major League Baseball… the legendary 2008 Ford F150 and the new, redesigned 2009 Ford F150… the solid veteran and the five tool rookie!

For the cagey old vet, the 2008 F150’s you’ll see thousands in rebates and discounts, or rates as low as 0% for 60 months, automatic regular cabs as low as $11,995 with the Ford Credit and Factory Lease term rebates… or $8500 to $11,000 off MSRP on 4X4 Supercabs… or $10,000 to $12,500 off F150 crews… come see us for all the possibilities and full details.

As far as the new 2009 F150’s go, it’s the truck with the heart and heritage of generations of F-series, and the innovations and enhancements which will maintain Ford’s truck leadership for years to come! Use this link to discover why the new 2009 F150 brings value, reliability, style, and much more to your workplace or driveway, ably taking the ball from its predecessor, and carrying the tradition forward. To set up your test drive at Ricart Ford, just give us a call at 866-494-7397.

0% on F-series and Taurus at Ricart Ford

“Nothin’ from nothin’ means nothin’… you gotta have nothin’, if you wanna be with me!”

According to Billy Preston (the true fifth Beatle) in his 1974 song, and more importantly, according to Ricart Ford and Ford Credit recently, nothin’ really means something because there’s a lot of nothin’ happening right now for qualified buyers of new 2008 F-series trucks, Taurus’, or Taurus X’s… no interest for 60 months with financing through Ford Credit.

“Now wait a minute,” I know you are asking yourself, “what about the credit crunch?” If you want a new 2008 F150 through F550 truck, or a new 2008 Ford Taurus or Taurus X, there is no crunch, there’s 0% for 60 months when you qualify through Ford. That’s more like an anti-crunch! A none crunch! A complete lack of crunchiness! Hot oatmeal as opposed to dry corn flakes. You get the idea.

What it all boils down to is this. If you have been thinking about a new Ford F-series truck, or a new Taurus or Taurus X, you can save thousands in finance charges by getting to Ricart Ford in The Ricart Megamall as soon as you can for the best selection, and while you still have time, because this 0% offer ends November 3, 2008.

Oh, and if you are old enough to remember the Billy Preston song, I really am sorry it will be playing in your head for the rest of the day. At least it’s not Melanie’s “Brand New Key”! (“I got a brand new pair of roller skates…”)

Ford MyKey tech coming to Ricart Ford for 2010

When you are a teenager, say sixteen or seventeen years old, there is no rush of freedom quite like when you get the keys to the family car and head out on the road… no Mom, no Dad, no hassles. The problem is, a teen is dramatically more likely to be involved in an accident because teens tend to speed more, fasten their seat belts less, blast their tunes louder, and in general lack the experience most adult drivers are able to acquire over time. Ford, that innovator of automotive technology has come up with a device which will help keep younger drivers safer, giving them the chance to build the skills that only come from being behind the wheel. It’s Ford’s new MyKey, and it will be available as standard equipment at Ricart Ford in the Ricart Megamall starting with the 2010 Ford Focus coupes.

MyKey is designed to allow parents to encourage their kids to learn safer driving skills, as well as increase the fuel economy of their vehicles, and it does it by letting Mom or Dad, Grampa, Uncle Dave, or whoever limit the top speed of the vehicle, the volume of the radio/entertainment system, give earlier warning signals when the vehicle is low on fuel, encourage the use of safety belts, and give audible cues when the car attains specific speeds, like 55 miles per hour. All this should help your younger driver be more aware of how they are driving, enhance their focus while they are tooling around town, and prevent you from having to endure DMX at sonic shrapnel volumes if you are first to start up the car after your youngster has driven it.

MyKey is only one of the ways Ford has been working to help your family drive more safely. Another is Ford’s Driving Skills for Life Website (see it here) which is a gold mine of information and tips for teen drivers, and drivers of all ages. Ricart Ford takes the safety of younger drivers, and all drivers so seriously, we have teamed with The Bloom School of Driving Dynamics in offering one of a kind, hands-on training at The Ricart Megmall. Check out all the details, and sign up for the course on the Bloom Driving Dynamics site.

Ford’s MyKey and Driving Skills for Life, and Ricart Ford’s relationship with Bloom Driving Dynamics are a few more ways that Ricart and Ford continue to build a family experience of vehicle ownership for all of our customers. After all, everyone wants to keep their family members as safe as possible when they're on the road.

Shelby GT500 KR arrives at Ricart Ford (and you gotta check this beast out!)

September 25th was a very special day at Ricart Ford in the Ricart Megmall, because the rebirth of a legend took place at about 4:30 in the afternoon. That’s when we welcomed a 3,700 pound bouncing, 540 or so horsepower, Shelby Mustang GT500 KR, King of the Road to our store!


All these photos were taken just after the KR was backed out of the covered transport, waiting to be hand washed using the mildest cleaning solutions, and wiped down with shammy clothes spun from the finest standards available… you get the idea. This is a car you just don’t put through the automatic car wash.

The list of features for the Shelby GT500 KR is truly impressive, almost mind boggling! From the carbon-composite hood mirroring the classic Shelby KR design, to the 40th anniversary Shelby badging, six speed short-throw shifter married to a 5.4 liter supercharged V8 that cranks 510 ft-lbs. of torque and an estimated 540 horsepower, to the Shelby embroidered headrests and dash nameplate, to the unique performance suspension and much more, the Shelby KR is one amazing piece of machinery.

You can see, smell, and (gently) touch the Shelby GT500 King of the Road on the showroom floor at Ricart Ford in the Ricart Megmall on South Hamilton Road in Columbus, Ohio. Oh, and if you are thinking that maybe the KR is a bit more than what you want in a Mustang, don’t worry, there are plenty of V6’s, GT’s, Bullitts, and even some more Shelbys to check out. Heck, if we had many more, we’d have to change our name to The Ricart Ranch!

Ford-Microsoft Sync goes to New York, in my Focus.

So a few weeks ago I drove our 2008 Ford Focus SE to New York to visit my folks, the same ones we visited in Florida this past Easter. They spend summers on a small lake between the Finger Lakes and the Adirondack Mountains. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s lovely there, but I really want to tell you about how cool the Ford-Microsoft Sync system is when you get the chance to put it through its paces. I’ll tell you about the ducks and geese on the lake, and the first tinges of autumn color on the hillsides some other time. Hopefully the picture will tide you over.

Anyway, we left The Ricart Automotive campus at about nine in the morning after stopping by to pick a couple of things. By the time we made the first turn onto Hamilton Road, the Sync had already indexed the additional songs I had put on the Zune MP3 player the night before, and everything was set to put that talking car to work!

I pushed the media button on the steering wheel… “Sync, please say a command” comes the pleasant female voice, not at all mechanical or clunky.
“U.S.B.”, I tell her because that’s the port under the radio and Sync console where I plug in my 80G Zune. (With over 10,000 songs ranging from stuff by AC/DC to Zwan and all points in between!)
“U.S.B. Please say a command.” she says, again politely, bringing me to the realization that my new Focus is a girl.
“Play playlist Road Tunes!”
“Playing playlist Road Tunes…” The quietness of the Focus’ cabin is then immediately shattered by the down-beat of Headin’ Out On The Highway by Judas Priest and we were on our way!

Of course Sync does not limit you to playing just playlists, its indexing system and the speech recognition programming lets you choose what you want played by album title, artist, genre, or playlist. Sync does just about everything for your musical entertainment in your car except teach you to play all the songs yourself! (Please do not attempt to play guitar, drums, keyboards, bag pipes, or any other musical instruments while driving. (Oh, and if you want a free lesson or two on guitar, Fred’s giving lessons at fredricart.com.)

When we were about an hour outside of Syracuse, I called my folk’s house to let them know what progress we were making, and all I head to do was push the phone button on the steering wheel, the music muted, and there she was again… that voice.
“Phone, please say a command”
“Call Mom at lake” I say and the phone starts to ring at their house.

Since the trip to New York was the first chance I have had to interact with my Focus and Sync, it wasn’t until we got back home to Columbus that I realized what a great safety, convenience, and entertainment device it actually is. Oh, and again this year, Sync is only available on Ford Company vehicles, so if you stop by Ricart Ford in the Megamall sometime, just ask to check out Sync. After you do, I’m sure you’ll want one too.

The New Truck- 2009 F0rd F150

If you are into trucks, really into trucks, you are probably counting the days until the all-new 2009 Ford F150 hits the asphalt at Ricart Ford in The Ricart Megamall. That’s cool because we are counting down the days too… to September 9th when we (and you) will have the first chance to see, smell, touch, climb all over, and drive the latest version of the only half-ton that’s built Ford tough!

We don’t want to spoil the surprise, but you should be left slack-jawed with what Ford has done with the F150. The best-in-class payload capacity has been enhanced with industry firsts like the box side step, and an available integrated tailgate step that makes it easier to get all you need to haul into one of the available box styles saving you time and trips!

If you need to tow, the 2009 F150 has taken the factory installed Integrated Brake Control, a familiar feature to F-Super Duty owners, and adapted it to the F150, another class first innovation. When combined with trailer sway control, you now get a towing experience that other owners only dream of.

If this short list of advancements in truck design makes you think that Ford has really, really nailed tough with the all-new F150, you’re right, but that doesn’t mean it’s unrefined… you’ll hear that when you drive or ride in one, and the difference is in what you don’t hear. This really is a truck tat will bust hump all day, and clean up really nice for the night. Oh, and with the no-cost option of the Flex Fuel engine, the F150 can do it all and still respect the environment.

I’ve already let quite a bit of the cat out of the bag, so you’ll just have to join the Ricart Ford Truck Team at the Ricart Megamall Tuesday, September 9th from 5 to 7 p.m. to see all this and more for yourself.