Ford Journey, the direct, quick and worry-free way to buy a new Ford car on the Internet, today goes live online at www.fordjourney.com.

From today, the Ford Ka, Ford Fiesta, Ford Puma and Ford Focus new car ranges will be available through Ford Journey. The models available are the full standard range of series, engines, body styles and options: there are no limited, online special editions. In 2001, the Ford Galaxy and Ford Mondeo full ranges also will be available online.

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Customers buying online through Ford Journey purchase their new Ford car direct from Ford Motor Company Limited. The chosen car is then delivered to the customer’s selected Ford dealer. To ensure the customer receives the vehicle in the shortest possible time, Ford has established a realistic 10-day, Ford-to-dealer delivery objective.

Ford Journey will particularly appeal to customers who want a new car quickly, do not need to offer their existing vehicle in part-exchange and for whom marketing offers, such as free insurance, are less attractive. For such customers the single ‘haggle-free’ price, as provided on Ford Journey, also may be an advantage.

This focus on the essentials allows for the new Ford car prices quoted on Ford Journey to be totally transparent with reductions on recommended on-the-road prices. In addition, all new Ford cars purchased via Ford Journey come as standard with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, one year’s RAC cover and 21-day comprehensive insurance.

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In order to allay customer concerns about making high-value purchases on the Internet, Ford Journey customers can also take advantage of a unique dispute resolution service that has been arranged with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. If a customer should have a concern that cannot be resolved to their satisfaction, the customer can present their claim for online arbitration using a simple process. The arbitration is totally independent.

Ford believes this is the first time in Britain – and possibly in Europe – that such an independent online arbitration service has been made available to Internet shoppers, and ensures that customers can buy a new Ford car through Ford Journey with the sense of trust and confidence they have come to expect from the Ford brand.

The Ford Journey website can be found at www.fordjourney.com

FORD JOURNEY TECHNICAL FACTS

  • The Ford Journey web site platform is Windows 2000 using IIS and SQL Databases on Compaq Hardware and integrated into indigenous Ford computer systems.
  • The site is virtually 24/7, with the exception of a 30-minute window in the early hours of the morning for essential maintenance.
  • The system uses search criteria that initially search for the customer’s preferred specification and then relaxes option specification/ trim colour and exterior colour to provide near matches.
  • The Ford Journey site was developed internally by the Ford Process Leadership organisation. Microsoft technical expertise was used to help design the system architecture. IBM worked on the internal processes and some development. Imagination designed the User Interface.
  • State-of-the-art language technology has been used such as XSL, XML, VB+ and COM+.
  • The site has been tested to cope with 4.5million hits/ day. This will ensure that the site can cope with up to a quarter of a million customers a day and still maintain an impressive response time.
  • The site uses a two-tier client server web hosting architecture as this gives a combination of performance and flexibility with extensive use of XSL and XML.
  • Ford Journey links with other Ford systems, such as the stock management system, dealer information system, customer information systems and the Ford accounting system.
  • Ford has deployed high levels of security on the web system, including firewalls and strong authentication controls. All personal details are electronically encrypted when transmitted over the public Internet. Information such as credit card details also are encrypted when stored in internal systems. Ford only stores customer credit card details as long as it is necessary to process the deal.
  • The site cannot at this time be viewed through interactive television. However, the system has been developed in such a way that it can be easily deployed on interactive TV as the market matures.
  • Ford Journey is not WAP compatible. WAP devices are not practical for sophisticated graphics and configuration tools.
  • Currently it is believed that between 12-15 million households have Internet access in the UK, which equates to roughly 25%. This number is expected to rise sharply over the next two years bringing it closer to the 45% of households in the USA that have Internet access.