Car buyers on Web can name price for Fords.

On-line auction house Priceline.com Inc. is testing a service in Florida that lets consumers name their price for a new car or truck on Ford Motor Co._s Internet site. Florida residents who visit www.ford.com can name the price they_re willing to pay for a vehicle from the world_s second-largest automaker. Priceline.com will present the offer to local Ford dealerships, and the first dealer to accept the price wins the sale. The move is one of several Ford has made recently to rev up its use of the Internet and improve relations with customers. The automaker announced Tuesday it soon will be possible for customers to reach a person at the company -- to question, complain or compliment -- 24 hours a day by phone, fax or computer. A still-unnamed joint venture between Ford and Denver-based TeleTech Holdings Inc. is to be formed in January to centralize customer service for all of Ford_s brands -- Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Jaguar, Mazda and Aston Martin. Ford Credit and the company_s Hertz car rental operation might be folded in later.When a customer telephones or e-mails one of the customer-service centers (there might be three or four around the globe), "all company data relating to the customer_s total sales, service and ownership experience will be available and can be discussed with a single contact," said Brian Kelley, president of Ford ConsumerConnect, a group formed recently to oversee and coordinate Ford_s global e-commerce efforts. On the Internet, "our system will permit collaborative browsing, with both customer and company representative simultaneously viewing the same screen," Kelley said. TeleTech, founded in 1982, is a customer relations consulting company specializing in electronic contact. TeleTech and Ford have not decided where their joint venture will be based. Priceline.com, which began in April 1998 selling airline tickets, already offers a new-car service on its Web site. The test with Ford brings that service directly to consumers who can visit the manufacturer_s site for information before buying a car.