$15.00/Part Release...NOT GOOD!

abachman3 said:
Just to make sure that you know that 'Spelt' is an ancient grain that is making a comeback and is regularly part of a multigrain mix for breads today.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelt

Spelt, also known as dinkel wheat,[2] or hulled wheat,[2] is a species of wheat cultivated since 5000 BCE. Spelt was an important staple in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times; it now survives as a relict crop in Central Europe and northern Spain and has found a new market as a health food. Spelt is sometimes considered a subspecies of the closely related species common wheat (T. aestivum), in which case its botanical name is considered to be Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta. It is a hexaploid wheat, which means it has six sets of chromosomes
 
Steve - I realize this causes considerable expense when you are looking for a number of releases, but I took a look at the PDF form for ordering and it says that the pricing of $30 for a digital file of a Drawing on a CD and $15 for Release on a CD has been in effect since 1/2/13. Is this the first time you have ordered since 2013?

Regarding the comments about amortization of development cost and no real use for these prints for Ford, both of those statements are true but this is "intellectual property" belonging to Ford Motor Company and, as such, it has value. A company can chose to generate income from this resource or consider giving it away as some have suggested. For a company which in business to make money for its shareholders, I understand when they choose to charge for this even though I may not like the costs.
 
"Spelt" is an old past tense version of "spelled" going back to the 17th c., and is still acceptable today when referencing how a word is...um... spelled. I'm not so sure about her usage of it. :confused:
 
I know that the Model A Ford Foundation, MAFFI, currently has it's hands full with raising funds for the new Museum and its continued operation but should purchasing a digital copy of all the Model A drawings and Part releases be their next great effort? Maybe Ford would make a deal with MAFFI...
I can only imagine the difficulty considering Ford's possible concerns about "Personal Use" and "Commercial Use" of the information. Has anyone asked? I have an email sent to the current President at MAFFI, Stan Johnson, posing the same question. I'll keep you guys posted.
FWIW: I would contribute to this cause so guys like Steve Plucker could continue their research.
Good Day!

http://www.maffi.org/index.htm

Stan Johnson, MAFFI President, quickly replied to my email saying MAFFI volunteers... "spent many hours in the Benson Ford Research Center indexing all the drawings. During the time we were doing it we made an offer to buy the BFRC a complete scanning station to create digital drawings of the old microfiche-type records. They refused fearing loss of control and reduction of value of their holdings."
 
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I suggest that maybe the two Model A clubs and MAFFI write to comment about the costs involved. Like most businesses, they must pay attention to their customers. As mentioned above, this is intellectual property and corporations are out to get every dollar they can,but it can't hurt to complain in writing.

An interesting related point is that back in the Model T days, Henry Ford wanted to reinvest most profits in his product and production capabilities. His shareholders, which included the Dodge brothers, wanted him to pay dividends to them. They sued him and won, helping to establish shareholder rights in the United States.
 
$100, $300, whatever. This is chump change to a corporation the size of Ford. They could sell this stuff for $1 or $1000, or even $10,000, and it would have no significant impact on their bottom line, their stock price, or their shareholders. It really should be a PR plus for them, as any support for a hobby that demonstrates their product has lasted for over 80 years, but their attorneys don't understand or care about PR, and apparently the decision makers at Ford only listen to the law dept., not the marketing dept.
 
Not the law department, finance. Finance really runs the show and the lawyers are there to make everything really complicated. It may be that every department needs to show break even or a profit or it is axed. It may be that it has to show a certain return on investment. Even profitable products are killed if the profit does not meet the targets. Those are dollars that could be spent on R&D or executive salaries!

I am a Ford shareholder. I have wanted to go to their shareholders' meeting, but it is always on a work day. It is even close enough for it to be a day trip.
 
700rpm said:
$100, $300, whatever. This is chump change to a corporation the size of Ford. They could sell this stuff for $1 or $1000, or even $10,000, and it would have no significant impact on their bottom line, their stock price, or their shareholders. It really should be a PR plus for them, as any support for a hobby that demonstrates their product has lasted for over 80 years, but their attorneys don't understand or care about PR, and apparently the decision makers at Ford only listen to the law dept., not the marketing dept.
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dont forget the bean counter department!!!

last i heard it was $7-$10k a minute their main assembly line was down...

and i highly doubt they would sell it to the main groups for 2 reasons:

1 Why charge $15 for a one time thing for a group that's just going to give them away to hundreds when they can charge each one of those hundreds of people $15 each?

2 Like most things need special approval in writing to resell or share commercially information you bought (much like charging people money to publicly watch a DVD you bought from a store)

also dont forget the saying that will always be true: "Money makes the world go 'round."
 
I guess the main question I have is; Is Bensen and The Henry Ford really under the direct ownership of Ford Motor Company? My belief is that it isn't, ....simply because I get a report (as a paying member of The Henry Ford) that shows a financial report. It shows nothing to do with Ford Mtr. Company or any other subsidiary as far as expenditures or income.

I guess the way I have always viewed THF or Bensen is it is 'business' that is working under a Non-Profit governmental status just to benefit from those rules/laws. Whether we like it or not, they must generate revenue to cover their 'over-head' and general operating expenses. THAT is why they charge for services they offer.
 
A while back I had a Lincoln Town-car that the paint had started to peal off of. This was a garage kept car and only a couple of years old. The dealer told me to call "Corporate." I did and had to leave a message. Several weeks later someone representing themselves as the rep. for Town-cars from Ontario, Canada called me. our conversation ended with him explaining to me proudly that they sell every town car they build and they can't build them any faster, so they know we are pleased with their product, or we wouldn't buy it, therefore no help will be forthcoming. Good bye and good luck. They just don't care.
 
It costs money to maintain and staff the research center. Ford most likely charged a flat rate yearly amount for the rights to hand out the documentation. This amount went up as I'm sure the cost of everything related to the center, wages, utilities, and the like. These costs have to be passed on if monies do not appear elsewhere.

Does it suck that the price tripled, it sure does.

How about posting the numbers you are looking for as maybe a fellow barner has them. how about asking for donations on one of those web sites that help raise funds? I would chip in a few bucks.
 
When you order a print, it takes time to locate, scan, clean up, and mail the print to you. (It's not a fifteen minute job) The daily operation of running the archives is very expensive. It is a business, and if the business operates at a loss, it won't be long before the business will close. The cost of the prints are cheap, compared with what it costs to store and keep them. It is a small price for what you get. Just think of it as a donation, or helping preserve what we have. Ford is about the only source of information that we have for our Model A's.
 
I believe that the Benson Ford Research Center is a different entity from the Ford Motor Company. The Ford Motor Company has its own archives. Dealing with the Ford Motor archives is like dealing with big business. They have a 'legal council' that makes decisions when it comes to information that is requested by the public.
 
brito36 said:
I believe that the Benson Ford Research Center is a different entity from the Ford Motor Company. The Ford Motor Company has its own archives. Dealing with the Ford Motor archives is like dealing with big business. They have a 'legal council' that makes decisions when it comes to information that is requested by the public.
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Where is the Ford Archives that you reference? The only known Archives for the Model A Ford that I've been to is the Benson Ford Archives. Please explain this.
 
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