You'll be packing that Ford up with school supplies sooner than you think!

OK, summer is a long way from over, but if you have anyone in your home that’s still in school, whether it’s kindergarten or grad-school, back to school is creeping up, no, jogging up quickly!  That means now can be a good time to start getting the things you’ll need for the start of the school year, and doing that soon can actually save you some cash! And since stores are stocking back to school now, the selection is best, with no crowds!
Here some tips to save a bit this year:

 • Start at the dollar or discount store, then shop for things you don’t find there at department, office supply, and specialty stores.
• Use coupons! It doesn’t matter whether you download them, print them, use a smart phone app, or sit down with flyers, the Sunday paper, and scissors… the savings can add up!
• Buy as much as is feasible in bulk. Sure, your two kids may not need 1,200 No. 2 pencils from the box store, so try and hook up with your neighbors and buy the supplies you can in big quantities together and save some money!
• Check your home to see if there are any supplies from previous years that were never used, like that binder not needed for the science report, a ream of graph paper, or our favorite, glue sticks!  Hey, it’s worth a quick look!

So a little time with back to school shopping now can mean a little more summer fun later, spending the money you’ve saved on something fun perhaps? Enjoy it! Everyone else will be hitting the stores.

It's Show Time! Then it's drive time at Ricart Ford!

   An auto show is like a movie. You can see what it’s all about, but you can’t actually experience any of it. For that, you’ve gotta be in the real world! That’s why we love it every year when the Columbus Auto Show comes to the Greater Columbus Convention Center, and folks have the chance to see what’s new on the road, what’s on the horizon, and sometimes an early

peek at what’s on the drawing board in the automotive industry.

  

  Having a bunch of different cars, trucks, SUV’s, and crossovers all in one place, it’s a car enthusiasts dream, and a car shopper’s candy store! The only problem is you can’t drive the vehicles at the car show. Sure, you can sit in some of them, but you can’t grab the keys (or just push the start button) to fire up your favorite ride and tool around the extra wide hallways in the Convention Center, or up and down the aisles in the Exhibition Hall! That kind of activity definitely does not fit with proper auto show decorum, and will probably get you arrested. Actually, that’s pretty much a guaranteed criminal record and guest appearance in the next Need for Speed game!

   

So, let’s say you saw something you really like at the auto show, but where can you put it through its paces, safely and legally? Umm… that’s exactly the reason why we have as many vehicles as we do at The Ricart Megamall, and as many kinds of vehicles we have! It’s easy to compare and contrast vehicles when you can do it at one location with no fuss and no muss!

   

Whether you go to The Columbus Auto Show every year, or have never been, when the time comes to see what that new ride you’ve been thinking about is like when rubber actually hits blacktop, just stop by the Ricart Megamall. We’ll be waiting for you

Ricart Ford fills in for the elves this year!

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   If it weren't for the fact that we are all much taller than elves, the showroom in the Ford building at The Ricart Megamall would be looking quite a bit like the staging area at Santa's Work Shop getting ready for Christmas Eve's big sleigh ride!

   Nope, we're not working for the big man directly, but Ricart Ford is lending a hand to the Columbus Firefighters for Kids Toy Drive this year, and have been collecting toys to do what we can to make sure every kid has a reason or two to smile this Holiday!

 We want to thank all of our customers and employees that brought a toy to help fill up the bed of the Red Ford F150, make a few dreams come true, and the season just a little bit brighter. We also thank the Columbus Firefighters and NBC 4 in Columbus for allowing us to be a part of this amazing endeavor.

 

 

Ricart Ford has the right Ford for your deadstyle!

   Most people don’t realize the Ford F150 Raptor was specifically designed in response to leaked information about a secret program creating undead creatures, a program rumored to be taking place

right here in Raccoon City!

   Not really...

   Ok, maybe "Resident Evil 6" wasn’t so good, but "World War Z" was a huge hit, "The Walking Dead" is still sprinting, "The Last of Us" became an instant classic, and like the masses of walkers surrounding the mall in "Dawn of the Dead", there is no end in sight. With that in mind (brains!), let’s look at Ford’s vehicle line-up, and how they fit various zombie deadstyles!

   Let’s start with the classic and original zombies from George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead”; rugged, purposeful and relentless… they will not stop, just like Ford F150 trucks! And while Romero’s ghouls have a voracious appetite for brains, the F150’s available Ecoboost engine means you’ll spend less money and time at the pump! 

    

   The 2013 romantic comedy “Warm Bodies” gave us zombies who could think, and by the virtue of love, become human again. These thinking undead really don’t have to put a ton of thought into driving one of Ford’s Hybrid or Electric vehicles. The C-Max Energi or Hybrid, Fusion Hybrid, or Focus Electric, all have great economy, amazing style, and cutting edge technology. It doesn’t take a high functioning brain to drive smart!!

    

   The 21^st century saw a major shift in zombie philosophy. Zombies in the new century still view humans as their entrée of choice, but movies like “28 Days Later”, Will Smith’s “I Am Legend” and the Brad Pit big screen adaptation of “World War Z” made them fast. Inhumanly fast! And if you are a zed-head in the new millennium, Ford’s got the speed you need. Mustang offers a slew of packages and options to take you from quick with the V6 pony, to ripping the screaming tires off the back from a dead stop with the Shelby 500, and all points in between! Or as a Zack runner, you may want the thrill of the Focus ST, the Focus that’s not for the faint of heart, whether it’s beating or not!

   

    The new century has given us way more Zombies than we have ever had before, and “The Walking Dead” comics, novels, and television series gave rise to “the hoard”, which is cool, because Ford has cars, CUV’s and SUV’s that’ll help get that walker team to the soccer pitch, or the shamble family down the block to the school play comfortably, economically, and looking good… at least the Ford vehicle is good looking. Whether it’s the Escape or Explorer, Edge or Flex, Taurus, Fusion, or Focus, Ford has the right vehicle for every undeadstyle. And if you happen to still be warm, you can stop by Ricart Ford in The Megamall and find the Ford for your, ummm,  lifestyle!

We are the champions. we are the champion... The Focus that is!

Please hum Queen’s song “We Are The Champions” to yourself while you read this:

    

    It’s one thing when your neighbors decide they like your Ford Focus from Ricart Ford, and go out and get one for themselves. It’s something completely different when another country decides they love your Focus and just have to have one… or actually 104,065! That desire for the Focus in China is what propelled it to the top selling car in the world for the first quarter of 2013!

   Ford’s plan for the Ford Focus has always been to build a car that is desirable all over the world, and the Focus has done just that. Sure you see the Focus all over your home town here in the United States, with good reason, because 21% of all Focus’ sold worldwide are bought and driven on American soil. What may surprise you is, 28% of Focus’ are sold in Europe, and 35% in China. That truly makes Focus a world car, and means Ford is doing what it can to help off-set the trade deficit!  

   Check out the Focus at ricartford.com, and call 866-471-3777 to set up a test drive to see for yourself why the whole world loves the Ford Focus!

Embrace the future of driving at Ricart Ford... Or at least learn to be comfortable with it!

   Gas powered. Diesel powered. Gas and electric hybrid. All electric. Warp drive. Flux capacitor. Okay, so the last two not so much, but gas, diesel, hybrid, and electric are now all viable options for powering your automobile, and at Ricart Ford in The Ricart Megamall, you can check out all of them. We are patiently awaiting the plasma drive and flux capacitor.


   Technology has given us so many choices for our motor vehicles it almost feels like we are living in a Science Fiction novel from the past. The thing is, all this technology can be a bit daunting to some folks, but with familiarity comes acceptance, and Ricart Ford is the perfect place to get to know what state of the art is in the driving world.

   A few years ago, satellite radio, Bluetooth connectivity, Ford SYNC, MyFord Touch, turn by turn navigation, and all the stuff we touched on in an earlier posting on this blog seemed so foreign, especially when you think about the first time you saw a video screen on a car’s dash. “Whoa dude! You watching Two and a Half Men on that?”

   We became used to seeing, then using all those tools quickly, and now it’s a little hard to think about a vehicle without them. The next generation vehicles we have available to us now will also seem just as common place sooner than later, so don’t be afraid to embrace the Ford Focus Electric, C-Max Energi or Hybrid, Fusion Hybrid or Energi, or at least learn a bit about them. Stop by Ricart Ford in The Ricart Megamall and ask to check out the vision we have for the future of automobiles with a vehicle tour and a test drive or two.

Your smart phone can do so much more than all the computer systems used to put a man on the moon combined, and you use it every day without a second thought. When you think about that, the new technologies offered by Ford don’t seem foreign anymore, do they? See you soon!

It's Columbus Auto Show time!

The thermometer is bouncing up and down like a basketball on The March Madness hard wood, the Arnold Fitness Classic has come and gone, the award show season is done, and the count to baseball’s opening day is just around the bend. What do all these mean? It’s time for The Columbus Auto Show, when auto manufacturers tout their current wares, and offer a glimpse at what they have in store for us, or at least what they may have coming down the road. And this year, every single new Ford you see at the Columbus Auto Show is from Ricart Ford in The Ricart Megamall! That means you can get the exact new Mustang, or Fusion, Escape, F150 or whatever Ford you see at the Greater Columbus Convention Center this year at Ricart Ford!

This year’s Columbus Auto Show runs March 14th through the 71th, and in addition to exhibits and presentations that fill a motor-head’s dreams, and the thoughts of somewhat less possessed car lovers, Dialed Action Sports BMX Team will have multiple shows each day, The Columbus Zoo will have some animals to check out Saturday and Sunday, Matt The Balloon Guy will be at The Show Sunday, so there’s things for the whole family to do!

The Columbus Auto Show hours are Noon to 9:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Saturday 10 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And if you see a new Ford you really want to drive, Ricart Ford will be open 10 to 8 Thursday and Friday, 9 to 8 Saturday, and Noon to 6Sunday! That makes it easy to take a spin in the new Focus ST, C-Max, or any Ford you saw at The Show on our six acre test track, on the road, or both!

 Enjoy this year’s show, and we’ll see you at The Ricart Megamall soon!