The Millionaire Next Door

Ford Pickup: #1 Vehicle in Sales & Profits

The following question was asked in The Millionaire Next Door:  What makes of cars are most popular with millionaires?  Number one in market share (9.4%) was Ford. . . the most popular models include the F-150 pickup. . . about three in ten millionaire Ford drivers own F-150 pickups.


More recently, in Stop Acting Rich, I mentioned that “among the millionaires surveyed for this book, Ford had the highest market share (9.5%) for the [previous] 10 years combined.”  Toyota was found to be number one in terms of the most recent vehicle purchased.  But net out the arch type millionaires next door from my surveys.  They are self employed business owners.  Among them Ford is consistently number one or number 2, and the F-150 pickup is a favorite. 


Overall the Ford F series pickup truck is the number one best selling vehicle in America.  According to Automotive News from 1-1-11 to 12-10-11 Ford had already produced 695,389 pickup trucks or 5.5% of all the 12.7 million vehicles produced by the auto industry in total.


And here is another accolade for the Ford F series pickup:  “Ford’s F series led the profit parade with more than $50 billion since 1990,” from “Cash Cows: The Most Profitable Vehicles Ever,” Automotive News, 11-21-11, p.22. Yes, the F-150 beat out every other highly profitable models produced by the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and even Porsche. 


Henry Ford’s objective was to produce vehicles for the “common man,” and no one is more common in their consumption habits than the millionaire next door.


Along these lines, let me share a personal case study that involves the F-150.  A while back, my Golden Retriever blew out her knee.  Our veterinarian, Dr. Andy, said  “too big an animal for ligament repair.  A radical procedure would be required.   The best orthopedic surgeon in the Southeast is Dr. G.”


This radical procedure required the upper leg bone to be completely severed and reattached with steel fasteners so that the angle of the upper and lower leg would be perfectly aligned. 


As you can imagine, I was concerned about the involved operation.  When I arrived at Dr. G’s clinic, however, somehow my confidence was enhanced.  In his parking space was his 10 year old Ford 150 pickup truck.  I thought to myself, I’ll be that Dr. G is the “real deal,” and that he gets greater satisfaction from the recognition of his peers and patients than from displaying his considerable success with status brands!  I was right.  After 14 weeks of no “horse play” my Golden Retriever is 100% back. 


Best wishes for this holiday season and see you in 2012!

2 thoughts on “Ford Pickup: #1 Vehicle in Sales & Profits”

  1. I think the whole idea about millionaire next door and cars is to buy cheap and durable cars, so that at the end of the day it would be like the car was purchased for nothing…simply a way to living below your means!

  2. Haha, excellent! I operate an old clunker vehicle worth approximately .8% of my income. I simply can’t stand putting money into something that goes down in value.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *