The new CEO of Ford drives a Lexus LS430.............

[Cut-Throat]

Now he's got to 'convince' the world to buy Fords.

 

[unclemick]

Nope

All he has to do is relearn Ford - Toyota is the only auto maker that came close to beating old Henry F's inventory turns/yr. That and Deming's red and white beads - the Japanese listened and the Americans didn't in the sixties.

Relearn the good old stuff - and the world will find Ford.

The Curmudgeon(in training) has spoken.

heh heh heh heh heh heh

 

[jazz4cash]

Nope

Deming's red and white beads - the Japanese listened and the Americans didn't in the sixties.

Our company hired Deming to re-learn us. He was in his declining years, but still fascinating. We did alot of good with the attitude and techniques he promoted, but some of that message has worn off over the years.........

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

heh heh heh heh heh heh

Them dang old engineers again! Cassandras, one and all! (Betcha some is Democrats, too! Get the tar!)

Ed (They-can-take-my-pen-away-from-me-when-they-pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-hands!) The Gypsy

 

[Nords]

Now he's got to 'convince' the world to buy Fords.

FWIW, at the press conference Bill Ford announced that Mulally's Lexus was being "keyed" even as they spoke.

So all the Ford stockholders will be buying the new CEO his first executive vehicle.

 

[saluki9]

He did say that he had an Exploder Explorer when his kids were younger.

Wonder why he sold it?

 

[jclarksnakes]

If he takes the time to compare current Ford products to his Lexus he is gonna be mighty disappointed. Ford has lots of problems. Inability to design and build a good car is the biggest one.
YMMV,
Jeff

 

[Texas Proud]

I agree...


Sorry Ford... and any of the other companies you own and screw up... I will not be buying one from you.. you screwed me royal with my last FORD... and even though you knew what the problem was, decided to keep it to yourself so we could not get it fixed...

One of the problems is in the RV thread... seems a high percentage of Class C are Fords... since I do not trust them at all.. that leaves out a whole big amount of potential buys..

 

[Doctordec]

I've driven Fords daily for the last 10 years and liked every one of them. Been very reliable and good in snow.

I'd rather walk with crutches than drive a Japanese car.

 

[Zathras]

While the new CEO doesn't have a FORD yet, I am more curious how long it takes until Bill buys a Lexus now that he isn't the CEO

 

[lets-retire]

I drive two Fords now, and haven't had a problem with either.  I have driven the imports, but I was not impressed with the style, or interior quality.  They lasted a long time though.  The only company I've had bad experiences with was GM.  

 

[lets-retire]

Zathras--Since he owns most of the company, I'd say he stays in his Ford products.

 

[saluki9]

Zathras--Since he owns most of the company, I'd say he stays in his Ford products.

Hey he might be driving a Ford GT and an Aston DB-9

Not exactly hard duty

 

[Texas Proud]

I drive two Fords now, and haven't had a problem with either.  I have driven the imports, but I was not impressed with the style, or interior quality.  They lasted a long time though.  The only company I've had bad experiences with was GM.  

Yes.. there are people I know that only drive Fords... I have a BIL that only wants Ford or Lincoln... even though he has had problems with most of them... he just overlooks the problems..

My problem was the car would stall in traffic... and not restart... dangerous... and they knew the fix but did not want to recall, so they never told thier mecanics... they would seem to 'fix' the problem, but it would come up again and again.. it also ate batteries.. the longest one lasted was 18 months.. the shortest.. one week.. usually they would go 3 to 6 months.. I had one guy at K-Mart tell me to stop coming!!! I would drive in, they would replace the battery and I would drive away... did it for years as the warranty starts over again..

I doubt I will buy domestic again... but I have had a GM car that has been pretty good for 12 years.. I think 3 or 4 batteries, two alternators and normal maintenance.. right now it need a sensor changed as the cold idle is crap... but they normally do not last this long..

 

[justin]

I've driven Fords daily for the last 10 years and liked every one of them. Been very reliable and good in snow.
I'd rather walk with crutches than drive a Japanese car.

What's the problem with Japanese cars?

 

[brewer12345]

I've owned Ford and Chevy products and I found them to be OK. My biggest knock on the Ford I owned was that it started to get a LOT of rattles and squeaks as it aged, something which my Subaru hasn't done (yet). Of course, that may have been due to the fact that it was a bare bones Escort.

I'd buy another Ford or GM product, no problem. They just have to offer a very safe car that meets my needs, gets decent gas mileage, has decent reliability, and wasn't over-priced. If my car was totalled today, there is a short list of two cars I would immediately go test drive. One is a Ford.

 

[lets-retire]

Texas--I wouldn't buy another Ford if I had those problems either. That's why I don't drive GM cars I spent as much time fixing them as driving them. 3 or 4 batteries and 2 alternators in 12 years. Yikes.

My oldest Ford is 10 years old and I've replaced the battery once and a bushing. My youngest Ford is five years old and I've replaced the battery once. Of course I have done the maintenance. I think my last GM had longer maintenance intervals than my Fords, but the Pontiac was in for warranty work every three months, so it didn't really matter. I got tired of always seeing it in the garage so I traded it for one of my Fords.

 

[Cut-Throat]

I'd rather walk with crutches than drive a Japanese car.

Can you explain your rational?

 

[jclarksnakes]

Do I believe in buying American? You bet I do but the quality of all the Ford and GM and Chrysler products I have looked at lately is just too poor for me to consider buying one of them. My 98 Camaro SS is a lot of fun but the quality is WAY below that of DW's Honda Pilot. Service at the Honda dealership is wonderful. Service at the Chevy delership is absolutely awful. The Hondas we have owned never have anything go wrong with them. BTW many "Japanese" cars are made in the USA.
Jeff

 

[Texas Proud]

Texas--I wouldn't buy another Ford if I had those problems either. That's why I don't drive GM cars I spent as much time fixing them as driving them. 3 or 4 batteries and 2 alternators in 12 years. Yikes.

My oldest Ford is 10 years old and I've replaced the battery once and a bushing. My youngest Ford is five years old and I've replaced the battery once. Of course I have done the maintenance. I think my last GM had longer maintenance intervals than my Fords, but the Pontiac was in for warranty work every three months, so it didn't really matter. I got tired of always seeing it in the garage so I traded it for one of my Fords.

You misunderstood my post... that is for my GM car.. which I like..

The Ford (actually Mercury Cougar) went through... not exactly sure, but something like 20 to 25 batteries in the 10 years I owned it...(possible as much as 30... I did not keep track and know I went through 6 one year.. and only paid for two.. the rest were under warranty) It was towed into the dealership an average of once a year with the car stalling... I had a dash that was digital.. the lights behind them burned out twice... requiring the whole dash to be removed to replace them all.. I lost a transmission... the gas pump went out.. lost two alternators.. . OH.. almost forgot that the power steering fluid started to leak just after the warranty went out which caused suspension problems as I did not get it fixed... the EGR valve clogged up and I could not find a replacement... just drove with it bypassed.. and this is only what I can remember... I know there is more...

and believe it or not...I liked the car when it was working.. but Ford will never get me back.. you have good experience... and if I had I would think about buying one..

Now look at the two alternators on a 12 yo GM and you can see that it is a whole lot better.. now, I do not like having to do brake jobs every 30K miles.. but that is maintenance, not breaking down..

 

[lets-retire]

Texas--I understood you, but after rereading my post I confused myself. I can understand that after your trials with the Mercury you'd think the GM was good, I would have to disagree. You replaced the alternator two times on a twelve year old car, that's and average of one every four years. That is a lot. I've owned three new cars and many, many old ones with the oldest being twenty years old. I've replaced one alternator. All but one of my cars have been purchased from people who provided very detailed repair records or family. The one alternator I replaced was on a GM that was 12 years old.

I just replaced the brakes on both of my cars. The brakes on the new one lasted five years and 90000 miles and on the old one 10 years and 90000 miles. With the amount of driving I do, if my brakes only lasted 30000 I'd have to get rid of the car. Them brakes are expensive, now that I don't know anybody who actually owns the shop.

My MIL had a Cougar back in the late '80's. She had a lot of problems with that car also.

 

[dmpi]

I've owned a Ford in the 80s. I had all sorts of problems. The dealership & the Ford Co were not helpful.
I told myself never again. I'm willing to pay more and get a Honda or Toyota. Fords may be better now, but I still won't buy one.

 

[Meadbh]

My 11 year old Honda runs like a dream. Other than normal maintenance, I have NEVER had to fix or replace anything. Previous Fords and GM autos were constantly developing problems. My next vehicle will be another Honda or maybe a Toyota. Quality pays in the product lifecycle.

 

[Texas Proud]

Texas--I understood you, but after rereading my post I confused myself. I can understand that after your trials with the Mercury you'd think the GM was good, I would have to disagree. You replaced the alternator two times on a twelve year old car, that's and average of one every four years. That is a lot. I've owned three new cars and many, many old ones with the oldest being twenty years old. I've replaced one alternator. All but one of my cars have been purchased from people who provided very detailed repair records or family. The one alternator I replaced was on a GM that was 12 years old.

I just replaced the brakes on both of my cars. The brakes on the new one lasted five years and 90000 miles and on the old one 10 years and 90000 miles. With the amount of driving I do, if my brakes only lasted 30000 I'd have to get rid of the car. Them brakes are expensive, now that I don't know anybody who actually owns the shop.

My MIL had a Cougar back in the late '80's. She had a lot of problems with that car also.

The thing that you have to appreciate is that all cars before were not built as well as today...

So, having a car where 'something' breaks every 4 years to me is built well... for me that is an average of 3 items that break on a car before I get rid of it... move it to 2 does not save me enough to worry about.. move it to zero.. the same... and I do know people who have Hondas and Toyotas that have had things bread (my sister).. She had an Accord and a Civic (her son's) who had a front ball joint break.. she was on the freeway and was lucky not to be in an accident... he was in a parking lot and it only broke when he was turning.. yes, they were both about 12 to 15 yo... but they did break..

So, to me a GM is OK today... now, I did have a Firebird Formula 350 that did have some problems off and on.. but I KNEW that when I bought it.. it had an almost all black from consumer report.. but it was a HOOT to drive.. and in truth, it was a LOT better than the Cougar..

Since you had good luck with Fords.. buy them.. I am sure they are built a lot better today then when I owned... but I do not trust the company.. and I am just following my words... when I bought the car they tried to sell me an extended warranty.. I said.. if it is so bad that I need an extended warrant I will not buy another car from them... well.. guess what?

 

[brewer12345]

Since you had good luck with Fords.. buy them.. I am sure they are built a lot better today then when I owned... but I do not trust the company.. and I am just following my words... when I bought the car they tried to sell me an extended warranty..  I said.. if it is so bad that I need an extended warrant I will not buy another car from them... well.. guess what?

TxP (couldn't use TP), I think the problem was that it was a Cougar, not that it was a Ford. Those things were always junk.

I think with the domestics, you really have to be more picky about which model you buy and pay attention to reliability ratings. I wouldn't worry much about a Crown Vic or a 500, but there are other Fords I wouldn't touch (like their minivan). Same goes for GM and Chrysler. Toyota is starting to get that way (no Avalons for me, thanks), but I am noyt aware of a Honda or Subaru model with any real reliability issues.