Heres what I can figure from working in the industry for a short time. When Ford allocates vehicles to a dealer, the dealer pays Ford their cost on it. The dealer can then sell the vehicle at MSRP or higher with ADM. The difference in the dealer cost and MSRP in sales lingo is called the gross profit. Where the ADM goes? I dont know, I am assuming the dealer keeps it.
In terms of what Ford makes as the parent, I will have to speculate from here on. I'll assume that there is some kind of internal markup between them and the store. Freight and PDI/Destination charges also potentially generate some sort of small profit after shipping costs and the initial inspection. Some of the PDI likely goes to the service dept as the tech has to do an inspection on it, program the keys, fill it with gas, pull of the plastic off etc. The other factor I can think of is that when a vehicle lands the dealer is technically accountable for its cost, meaning the dealer has to front the money to pay for the vehicle before it is sold. Ford may finance that interally with the store with decent rates, or they may also have their own means of financing that, not sure what kind of agreements are there though. The longer a vehicle sits on the lot the more interest it accrues so its always in the best interest of the store to sell a vehicle in 30 days or less.
But to simplify what a dealer makes on a sale, think of it as 2 streams of profit which come front and back end of a deal. Service is its own dept and makes their own money.
Sale of the vehicle + (front end) + financing, warranties, Life and Dis plans, accessories, etc.... (back end) = Total Profit
Anyways that is what I know from my time, and talking with my buddies who still work in the industry. I could be totally offbase on some of this, as it is all heresay, I've never sat down and looked at the books of any store I worked for, nor was I in a managerial position privy to that type of info.
