BTDT,
Your story brought back memories of my 25 years in the farm and industrial equipment business (up to 1990). My company represented major OEMs like Bobcat, New Holland and White, and shortline (minor) manufacturers like Gehl, Farmhand, etc. In fact in the early '60s, Bobcat was a minor OEM, but transitioned to a major OEM over those 25 years.
Let me give you my thoughts on your delema. In the early to mid 1970s, farm prices were high and consequently farm equipment sold like crazy. I started selling in 1973 and our biggest problem was getting enough inventory. All was well. Every dealer got a piece of the pie. Dealers sold in their home territories. No need to sell far away from home. No internet! Then came the late '70s/early '80s when prices dropped and equipment sales dried up. However, equipment dealers and manufacturers had forecasted even stronger sales. Equipment, now expensive equipment (remember the inflation days of the Carter years), was piling up. Dealers became desparate to move it and sold to anyone who would sign a purchase agreement. This caused chaos among dealers and especially major OEMs. Many dealers had made significant investments (millions of dollars) in their dealerships. The major OEMs had encouraged this as they saw benefits to large, better organized and more profitable dealers. Most major OEMs started to consolidate dealers as the strong bought out the weak or simply took over the bankrupt territories of the dealers who failed.
By the mid '80s, you saw fewer and larger dealers. But at the same time customers were getting larger (big farms) and less loyal to one dealer. The dealers and OEMs saw this and in many cases such as Caterpillar, Bobcat, John Deere and others established exclusive territories for dealers who committed to their brand and growth targets. With exclusive territories, the dealers agreed to sell new equipment only to customers within their territory. For the most part this worked well. However, their were dealers who just couldn't resist a sale to another dealers territory. It was then that the OEMs established a punishment system for dealers selling into unauthorized territories. The most common punishment was a 10% surcharge paid by the offending dealer to the dealer who lost the sale in his territory. Back then, this pretty much stopped sales into unauthorized territories. The OEMs claimed victory because their dealers focussed on their home territories with better products, service and support. The dealers liked it because they could focus on customers and customers ultimatel benefited because the OEMs that took the strongest action back then are the majors today.
Now most of my recollections above are farm dealer related, but my dealership made a transition during that period and especially in the late '80s to industrial/commercial equipment. Land development consumed most of the farms. However, a very similar transition took place with industrial equipment through the '70s and '80s. In fact, Caterpillar was the model for most major farm and industrial OEMs.
So BTDT, back to your situation. Your local Ford dealer was either honoring the spirit of the agreement among dealers to focus on their home territories or perhaps was bound by a punishment clause where he received compensation from the selling dealer or just handled the situation poorly. You choose. 1983 was a long time ago.
I've been out of the equipment business since 1990 so I don't know the specific ins and outs today, but I do know much of what I stated above is still in place today. Just try and purchase a piece of new Caterpillar or Bobcat equipment outside of your home territory.
The above is my humble opinion and recollections of the past.
OrangeGuy
