Ford....in trouble??

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Originally Posted by PimTac
Ford has been having troubles assembling the new Explorer. It has been so bad they set up tents at the plant to hold all the questionable vehicles.




Car companies caught in the throes of a recall or production issue seems almost likely these days.
That doesn't sound like a bad way to stage them.

Any chance you have a link to the story or photo you can include ?
 
They need to make cars again.

The Taurus was an awesome car and their mustang is butt ugly aside from the 80k thing with the voodoo V8.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Ford has been having troubles assembling the new Explorer. It has been so bad they set up tents at the plant to hold all the questionable vehicles.
Rule #1 for buying an all-new or completely redesigned vehicle... NEVER buy the first model year. This applies to all makes, even Toyota and Honda, but to Ford in particular. My advice to anyone interested in purchasing a new Explorer, wait till next year. Also, if you think that the new Explorers are problematic, wait until the new owners get their C8 Corvettes.
 
I thought the return to rear drive was going to be a good thing …
But, likely "it will" be a good thing in the 2nd/3rd year model …
 
Thanks for the link PimTak. I expect they'll be having some sweet discounts, financing incentives and who knows what else? They might have hit the mark on exterior styling but as a redesign, they are proving what many people know,, hurry up and look, take breath and wait a while on new stuff.
 
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European built Ford cars are no better. I owned a 2017 Focus RS that was built in Germany and it was a complete disaster. Worst year of ownership I ever experienced. 3 weeks into ownership I get a letter from Ford regarding a possibly faulty HG. Ford must replace HG and/or head or my warranty will be voided. Okay Ford, got it.

Made appointment...dropped off car.... 5 days later I get the car back. Notice an odd idle at startup and thought nothing of it. Fast forward 8K miles I notice disappearing coolant and the smell oil in the mornings. Get under the car and low and behold the HG and front timing cover are leaking oil and the oil leak soaked my passenger drive axle CV boot and that it was in need of replacement as well as the leaking Power Transfer Unit seala. The odd idle was because the timing was ever so slightly off. Take the car to a 2nd Ford dealership for repairs. 4 warranty trips later Ford replaces the turbo oil feed line and banjo bolt, and replaced a faulty back-up camera and oil-dampened front engine mount.

Check back under the car two weeks later and it's still leaking. Open a case with Ford Corporate, I am assigned a Regional Case Manager. Another month goes by and Ford finally approves an in-depth repair after repeated attempts to tell the Service Manager and Case Manager that because my car was an early Customer Satisfaction Program 17B32 repair, the oil leak were caused by improper TSB procedures. I show the Service Manager the updated TSB HG procedures regarding TA-30 sealant placement and where it was added to prevent HG/TC leaks.

My opining is that Ford refused to use the word Recall in an effort to save face knowing they had botched the Focus RS.

2nd dealership techs attempt to repair the front timing cover and discover that the front timing cover and block alignment tabs were so poorly cast that the timing cover would not sit flush. My RS needed a new long block and timing cover and and I was told it was on backorder.

No thanks Ford. California Lemon Law and within 45 days I had my money back.

Best part of my Ford ownership experience was working with their Reacquired Vehicle Services Department which was an outsourced business.

Horrible quality control if you ask me. How thousands of RS models rolled off the production line with the wrong HG and such poorly cast parts is uexcusable.

Maybe some of that 5.9 billion dollar loan should have been put towards quality control.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Fordiesel69
A certain amount of vehicle logging exists already, but there is not a way to transmit it yet.
Is this for Ford specifically, or all vehicles in general?

All of them.
 
I've posted in other earlier threads that Ford, GM and FCA are all in trouble come the next recession since they lack vehicles suited to sell profitably during one.
FCA is probably better positioned than either GM or Ford since they do have a deep bench of current tech cars sold in Europe, which the other two lack.
GM does have something of a bench in Chinese and Korean models, but Ford is very weak in Asia and not too much better in the EU.
We'll see how all of this plays out in the next economic downturn, but my personal bet is that FCA will fare better than GM and that GM will fare better than Ford.
For the record, we've owned one Ford and it was as reliable and as durable as anything else we've ever had and I still remember it fondly, but that was a product built in the later nineties and designed in the eighties.

Edit: We've really had two Fords. I forgot the Focus, which drove really well with its Euro engineering and ztec two liter. It also had some baked in problems related to the brakes, the insane alternator placement and the electric in general. A good driving little car that wasn't especially economical, durable or reliable but that drove and rode really nicely.
The 1997 Aerostar we bought new was cheap but proved to be as reliable and durable as anything else we've ever had.
 
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^^^

I agree about the big 3 will be in BIG trouble for the next recession. Not many $40K+ Ford F-150s will sell during a recession. But few people had interest in smaller America sedans.

My old and very low tech Fox body 5.0 Mustang was very reliable.
 
Originally Posted by Mike L. V.
European built Ford cars are no better. I owned a 2017 Focus RS that was built in Germany and it was a complete disaster. Worst year of ownership I ever experienced. 3 weeks into ownership I get a letter from Ford regarding a possibly faulty HG. Ford must replace HG and/or head or my warranty will be voided. Okay Ford, got it.

Made appointment...dropped off car.... 5 days later I get the car back. Notice an odd idle at startup and thought nothing of it. Fast forward 8K miles I notice disappearing coolant and the smell oil in the mornings. Get under the car and low and behold the HG and front timing cover are leaking oil and the oil leak soaked my passenger drive axle CV boot and that it was in need of replacement as well as the leaking Power Transfer Unit seala. The odd idle was because the timing was ever so slightly off. Take the car to a 2nd Ford dealership for repairs. 4 warranty trips later Ford replaces the turbo oil feed line and banjo bolt, and replaced a faulty back-up camera and oil-dampened front engine mount.

Check back under the car two weeks later and it's still leaking. Open a case with Ford Corporate, I am assigned a Regional Case Manager. Another month goes by and Ford finally approves an in-depth repair after repeated attempts to tell the Service Manager and Case Manager that because my car was an early Customer Satisfaction Program 17B32 repair, the oil leak were caused by improper TSB procedures. I show the Service Manager the updated TSB HG procedures regarding TA-30 sealant placement and where it was added to prevent HG/TC leaks.

My opining is that Ford refused to use the word Recall in an effort to save face knowing they had botched the Focus RS.

2nd dealership techs attempt to repair the front timing cover and discover that the front timing cover and block alignment tabs were so poorly cast that the timing cover would not sit flush. My RS needed a new long block and timing cover and and I was told it was on backorder.

No thanks Ford. California Lemon Law and within 45 days I had my money back.

Best part of my Ford ownership experience was working with their Reacquired Vehicle Services Department which was an outsourced business.

Horrible quality control if you ask me. How thousands of RS models rolled off the production line with the wrong HG and such poorly cast parts is uexcusable.

Maybe some of that 5.9 billion dollar loan should have been put towards quality control.


Dude, after five or however many hate-on-Ford replies in this thread, you needn't spend the effort composing a nine paragraph dissertation to lay additional foundation for why you are against the brand. We get it.
 
I have no skin in the game as I don't own any Fords (though I would certainly consider one if I was in the market), but for all of the hatred towards them in this thread, there sure are a lot of their vehicles on the road. Considering that no one is forced to buy a Ford, they must be doing something right...
 
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
Originally Posted by Mike L. V.
European built Ford cars are no better. I owned a 2017 Focus RS that was built in Germany and it was a complete disaster. Worst year of ownership I ever experienced. 3 weeks into ownership I get a letter from Ford regarding a possibly faulty HG. Ford must replace HG and/or head or my warranty will be voided. Okay Ford, got it.

Made appointment...dropped off car.... 5 days later I get the car back. Notice an odd idle at startup and thought nothing of it. Fast forward 8K miles I notice disappearing coolant and the smell oil in the mornings. Get under the car and low and behold the HG and front timing cover are leaking oil and the oil leak soaked my passenger drive axle CV boot and that it was in need of replacement as well as the leaking Power Transfer Unit seala. The odd idle was because the timing was ever so slightly off. Take the car to a 2nd Ford dealership for repairs. 4 warranty trips later Ford replaces the turbo oil feed line and banjo bolt, and replaced a faulty back-up camera and oil-dampened front engine mount.

Check back under the car two weeks later and it's still leaking. Open a case with Ford Corporate, I am assigned a Regional Case Manager. Another month goes by and Ford finally approves an in-depth repair after repeated attempts to tell the Service Manager and Case Manager that because my car was an early Customer Satisfaction Program 17B32 repair, the oil leak were caused by improper TSB procedures. I show the Service Manager the updated TSB HG procedures regarding TA-30 sealant placement and where it was added to prevent HG/TC leaks.

My opining is that Ford refused to use the word Recall in an effort to save face knowing they had botched the Focus RS.

2nd dealership techs attempt to repair the front timing cover and discover that the front timing cover and block alignment tabs were so poorly cast that the timing cover would not sit flush. My RS needed a new long block and timing cover and and I was told it was on backorder.

No thanks Ford. California Lemon Law and within 45 days I had my money back.

Best part of my Ford ownership experience was working with their Reacquired Vehicle Services Department which was an outsourced business.

Horrible quality control if you ask me. How thousands of RS models rolled off the production line with the wrong HG and such poorly cast parts is uexcusable.

Maybe some of that 5.9 billion dollar loan should have been put towards quality control.


Dude, after five or however many hate-on-Ford replies in this thread, you needn't spend the effort composing a nine paragraph dissertation to lay additional foundation for why you are against the brand. We get it.


I've seen hatred for auto companies before, but this guy acts like people from Ford murdered his family...
 
Bashing tends to draw a pile on, normal here … Other guys on this site have already said stay away from the first year or two of a major platform change. I think the Explorer will improve … but I'd be getting a V6 and nicer trim level anyway …
 
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Originally Posted by Mr Nice
I agree about the big 3 will be in BIG trouble for the next recession. Not many $40K+ Ford F-150s will sell during a recession. But few people had interest in smaller America sedans.
Trucks will always sell, even in a recession (at lower numbers), because some people use them to make a living. They were still selling during the worst part of the last recession.
Where the auto industry will get in trouble is with all of the big/heavy/thirsty loaded and expensive SUVs they are producing, something that most people can live without. Where specific auto manufacturers will get in serious trouble is if they don't have any inexpensive entry-level vehicles available to sell.
 
Originally Posted by wag123
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
I agree about the big 3 will be in BIG trouble for the next recession. Not many $40K+ Ford F-150s will sell during a recession. But few people had interest in smaller America sedans.
Trucks will always sell, even in a recession (at lower numbers), because some people use them to make a living. They were still selling during the worst part of the last recession.
Where the auto industry will get in trouble is with all of the big/heavy/thirsty loaded and expensive SUVs they are producing, something that most people can live without. Where specific auto manufacturers will get in serious trouble is if they don't have any inexpensive entry-level vehicles available to sell.


Well put, but think about what happens when the economy takes a long dive and the struggling couple walks into a dealer to look at an affordable family car. They ask to see the 4 door vehicles around 20k -25k and are advised they dont exist, there are no more sedans. The manufactures created the market by saying supply and demand forced them to no longer offer affordable cars (sedans). In my opinion is almost racketeering and forcing people to buy a "suv" for 10k more than the sedan platform it was built from. If or when this happens, the manufactures are not going to go back to selling cars for less money than their "suv" counterpart. Just my .02
 
Originally Posted by 1978elcamino
Originally Posted by wag123
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
I agree about the big 3 will be in BIG trouble for the next recession. Not many $40K+ Ford F-150s will sell during a recession. But few people had interest in smaller America sedans.
Trucks will always sell, even in a recession (at lower numbers), because some people use them to make a living. They were still selling during the worst part of the last recession.
Where the auto industry will get in trouble is with all of the big/heavy/thirsty loaded and expensive SUVs they are producing, something that most people can live without. Where specific auto manufacturers will get in serious trouble is if they don't have any inexpensive entry-level vehicles available to sell.


Well put, but think about what happens when the economy takes a long dive and the struggling couple walks into a dealer to look at an affordable family car. They ask to see the 4 door vehicles around 20k -25k and are advised they dont exist, there are no more sedans. The manufactures created the market by saying supply and demand forced them to no longer offer affordable cars (sedans). In my opinion is almost racketeering and forcing people to buy a "suv" for 10k more than the sedan platform it was built from. If or when this happens, the manufactures are not going to go back to selling cars for less money than their "suv" counterpart. Just my .02
The smart auto manufacturers that are looking at, and planning for, long term goals (rather than trying to maximize quarterly profits) and have figured out how to manufacture and sell affordable entry-level vehicles at a profit (even if it is only a minimal profit) will survive and thrive at the expense of all the other short-sighted manufacturers IMO.
 
Originally Posted by wag123
Originally Posted by 1978elcamino
Originally Posted by wag123
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
I agree about the big 3 will be in BIG trouble for the next recession. Not many $40K+ Ford F-150s will sell during a recession. But few people had interest in smaller America sedans.
Trucks will always sell, even in a recession (at lower numbers), because some people use them to make a living. They were still selling during the worst part of the last recession.
Where the auto industry will get in trouble is with all of the big/heavy/thirsty loaded and expensive SUVs they are producing, something that most people can live without. Where specific auto manufacturers will get in serious trouble is if they don't have any inexpensive entry-level vehicles available to sell.


Well put, but think about what happens when the economy takes a long dive and the struggling couple walks into a dealer to look at an affordable family car. They ask to see the 4 door vehicles around 20k -25k and are advised they dont exist, there are no more sedans. The manufactures created the market by saying supply and demand forced them to no longer offer affordable cars (sedans). In my opinion is almost racketeering and forcing people to buy a "suv" for 10k more than the sedan platform it was built from. If or when this happens, the manufactures are not going to go back to selling cars for less money than their "suv" counterpart. Just my .02
The smart auto manufacturers that are looking at, and planning for, long term goals (rather than trying to maximize quarterly profits) and have figured out how to manufacture and sell affordable entry-level vehicles at a profit (even if it is only a minimal profit) will survive and thrive at the expense of all the other short-sighted manufacturers IMO.



You need to track the average transaction prices over the last 5 years. It makes the last part of your statement nonsensical.
 
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