Double Posted from the General Discussion Forum, but this article certainly needs to go here, too:

So CEO Jac is now saying Ford was "distracted" by last year's tire recalland that caused Ford to drop to the last of seven manufacturers in automotive quality. Guess they are really going to be distracted by the latest new tire recall. Looks as if it is time to sell the Ford stock. Too bad.
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Ford tire recall highlights own quality problems
By Michael Ellis

DETROIT, May 24 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co.'s (NYSE:F - news) decision to replace 13 million Firestone tires has inflamed questions about the quality of its own cars and trucks, just days after another embarrassing recall and poor results in a benchmark industry study measuring consumer complaints.

Ford Chief Executive Officer Jacques Nasser said last fall's Firestone recall of 6.5 million tires, most fitted on the Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle, distracted the company and contributed to its quality problems.

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Initial Quality Study obtained by Reuters, Ford fell to last place among seven major automakers this year from fourth place a year earlier.

The study, which measures customer complaints during the first 90 days of ownership, showed Ford lodged 162 problems per 100 vehicles, behind an industry average of 147 and and 115 for leader Toyota Motor Corp. .

Among Ford's many brands, only Jaguar has moved up in rankings, to a strong second place among 37 nameplates, according to the study which is closely scrutinized by the industry and is cited in automakers' advertisements. Consumers cite quality as a key factor in considering which vehicle they buy, analysts said.

Mazda Motor Corp. , 49 percent owned by Ford and controlled by the U.S. automaker, suffered the worst fall in the industry, dropping to 35th place from 19th last year.

Nasser said the company was ``disappointed with those numbers'' when asked by Wall Street analysts on Wednesday about the results.

``We were distracted by Firestone, and there is no question that the recall of those 6.5 million bad tires (last August) had a tremendous impact on this company, and it affected everybody. It affected our plants, it affected our suppliers, it affected our dealers, and it was a major distraction to us.''

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2000 F150 Harley-Davidson: Superchip, K&N FIPK
Hard Tonneau, Hidden Hitch, 2-Meter Rig (KG0UK)
<I>Motorcycles: '99 FLHRCI, '95 XLH, '65 305 Dream</I>


[This message has been edited by HarleyGuy (edited 05-25-2001).]

 

HarleyGuy - I think Ford is being ridiculous! It's an OBVIOUS PLOY (read that clearly Ford brass!) that by saying this, they are HOPING to avoid being named in lawsuits resulting from the Explorer fiasco! Yes the tires were faulty but so was Ford's design & the suggested tire inflations if all thatI've read is correct.
I can't believe they would stoop SO LOW as to try weaseling out of their responsibility here! By saying that Firestone tires are not good enough suggest they want the best for us. I'll believe that when I see them fix all the problems many of the guys have w/their trucks! I doubt very much that they care about anything except the bottom line here - PROFIT! Now, this is just my opinion but I'm sure I'll get blasted & flamed for it. Wanna know something? I really don't care! I am going to say what I think just like a bunch of the rabble rousers are doing in other forums. If they don't like it too darn bad!

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<IMG SRC="http://www.fordf150europe.com/foto/cowlady.jpg"> <IMG SRC="http://www.animfactory.com/animations/animals/cows_bulls/milk_cow_looking_md_wht.gif">
<A HREF="http://www.andthensometoo.com/owners/cowlady" TARGET=_blank>www.andthensometoo.com/owners/cowlady</A>
<B>Love my truck & PROUD of it! If you can't beat 'em, you're NOT driving a FORD!
Shovies PROVE that FORD'S are #1!!
'97 Black F150 XLT ORP 4X4 Reg Cab/LB
4.6L/auto/3.55 LS/power EVERYTHING,
nerf bars, 17" wheels, fog lights, trailer hitch w/electrical connector, front tow hooks, bed rail caps,
6 CD changer, lumbar support & 3 cow license plates - so far! </B>

[This message has been edited by Cowlady (edited 05-31-2001).]

 

It's the PEOPLE in power who ruin things for the institution, and what it stands for. I don't care what CEOs or presidents of companies say or do when it comes to a brand I love, because they did not start the company, they're just running it poorly. I still can't beleive we have a foreign person as the CEO for Ford Motor CO. Who's bright idea was that?

 

I agree with Cowlady! I am not in the business of believeing that Ford gives a darn about our happiness or well-being until I get my door cracks fixed, until the Lightning intercoolers are right, until the wrong radiators are replaced, until the piston slap is cured and fixed for everybody that paid their hard earned money for these trucks! I mean, I save and save since I was 16 to buy a Ford F150, I found the exact one that I was already in love with before I saw it on the lot, and I spent every penny I had on the truck, and I was happy, but then I find door cracks and the dealer lies to me about not ever having heard of them before, and the only real answers I can get about anything are from people on here who are just nice people, and I paid lots of money to Ford and they won't even call me back. Then I see the HNIC (Head Nasser in Charge) with a smile on his face saying that he cares whether or not I'm safe and happy with my Ford, and it looks really good to the people who don't have Fords yet or who haven't had any problems yet, but I can't imagine anyone who has been d**ked over by Ford trying to take their side. I am not blaming Ford for the tires, but I don't think 100% of it is Firestone's fault, either. I think it was a sad, tragic mistake, but it got even worse when people died and all that can be done is pointing fingers and blaming this and that. I mean, I am still loyal to Ford, and I wouldn't say this outside of a Ford site, I am just saying that I don't believe they care about me, or any of us to a personal level, they want their money. They will take a loss this year, but they will make it all back because they will end up looking like the good guys in the argument, and really I don't think it was anyone's fault 100%. Sorry for the hoarking post here, but I just feel like drinking when I get pretty much laughed at by Ford for my problems, and then I see them on tv smiling and saying that they care. I don't know Nasser, and he may be a great man, I am not saying anything bad about him, I bet if I told him personally about my problems, they would be fixed, but he won't convince me that the company cares.

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1997 F150 Lariat Three Door Extended Cab Flareside 4x4, Two tone Pacific Green w/ Harvest Gold, Tan Leather Interior, Ford Premium Sound w/ CD Changer, Lund Solar Visor, Leather Tonneau Bedcover, K&N Air Filter, VentVisors
Wish List: Lund Racer Back Cab Spolier, Lund Shadow Winshield Wiper Cover, Lund Steps, RhinoLiner Spray-In Bedliner, Vortech Super Charger, Brush Guard, Hidden Winch, Lighted Ford Logo, I'll list more when I think of it...

 

I personally think the media, and 2 huge companies acting like 3 year olds have blown everything way out of proportion. The Explorer is a safe vehicle. Some had faulty tires....Bridgestone/Firestone said they were. Ford decided to replace all Firestones in order to get out of lawsuits that would be coming for years. That action is blowing up in their face because of all the bad press BS/FS is getting. If I were BS/FS I'd be pi$$ed too.

Everytime some nitwit that uses his head for nothing other than a hatrack get a blowout on their Explorer at 90 mph and says it flipped over and it's faulty design and they want to sue somebody, because god knows it was not their fault. You know what.....it's a truck, on a truck frame. Don't drive 90 and expect it to handle like a Mustang. There is nothing wrong with the design on the Explorer!!

I just drove my FIL's 2000 Tahoe to work this morning, I'll tell you what...I could flip that thing if I wanted to.

Ford had some big quality hits in the last year with the Focus, Escape, 4r100 trans, and even the new Explorer release. That is why theyve slipped. They can't seem to release a new product right the first time anymore. I got my 97 within the first 6 months after they were out in 96. For the most part it was great for a new release.
The Escape had 5 stop sale recalls before they could get any amount out the door.

They'll get their act together. They have new releases in the Expy/F150 for 2003. New Mercury's coming out. T-Birds, etc. There is a lot going on at ford with New engines and tranny's due out as well. They will succeed.

Once they get the bugs worked out they are great vehicles. Ford is no different than any other US auto maker.
-jeff b.


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2000 F150 4x4 SC/SB 5.4 Auto, Tow Package, ORP (with the sticker for 2000), Cab Steps, Lariet.
Oxford White/Harvest Gold 2 tone.

 

Alot of the problems with the roll overs in the Explorers is the fact that most drivers panic when the tire blows out or the tread comes off and most of them were speeding and just slam on the brakes instead of just letting of the gas and slowly coast to a stop. As they showed a Explorer on Car and Driver TV doing test at different speeds and making one of the tires go flat the last test the driver did a bit of a panic stop only when he did that did it start to get out of control a little bit but he was quick to get back under control so that just shows its a bad tire and bad drivers making the Exploer roll over it has nothing to do with the designs done by FORD. And that is how FORD is getting all this bad press because of bad Firestone tires and bad drivers.

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2000 F150 XLT Reg. cab
4.6 Triton Engine
4x2 3.55 rear end gear
sliding rear window
automatic keyless entry
white styleside short box

 

Hmustang...A family member was involved in an explorer rollover. This young lady is the most reliable and safe defensive driver I have ever known; hell she even follows the recommended speed for curves. I was with her when her mustang blew a tire and she let off the gas and coasted to a stop just like it says in the book. I won't go into all of the details surrounding the accident but it was not because she was a poor driver and speeding.
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Red 01 XLT SCrew 4.6

[This message has been edited by Lee (edited 06-29-2001).]

 

Lee all I can say is that over 90% of the time you should be all right with coasting to a stop after a blow out. I'm just going by what I was taught to do in that kind of situation and what I've read there is always an exception to the rule. I've had 2 blow outs happen to me in my 20 years of driving one in a car and one it the truck both were the right front and I done what I was supose to do and had no problems keeping it under control.

 

I just picked my '01 F150 SC up from the dealer where it spent a week in their shop for a vibration. I had already diagnosed the vibration and even told them that, but they started from scratch. They told me that 3 of 4 tires were out of balance, the ring and pinion contact pattern was not correct, and the driveshaft was out of balance. All of this on a truck with less than 1900 miles on it! Not only has Ford's quality slipped but their dealers' have as well. I didn't take my truck back to the selling dealer because I didn't feel they had the experience to fix my vibration. The dealer that did have my truck basically told me I was full of crap when I told them that I know where the vibration is. I was so pissed that they ignored me that I demanded to speak to the service manager. He told me that he was not obligated to work on my truck since I didn't purchase it there. I said "WHAT?!!!". So much for customer service!!! The vibration is STILL there because they chose to ignore me. I even drug the service writer out to the truck when I picked it up and showed him the vibration. He had the nerve to tell me that it's normal for a 4.2L to vibrate through the exhaust. I said BS, if the engine, trans, and exhaust mounts were doing their job, I shouldn't feel a thing. I'm going to fix this thing myself and watch Ford and the dealer wipe egg of their faces.

 

So how did you go about diagonsoing your vibration problems?

 

I borrowed some test equipment from our test dept. (I work for a heavy truck OEM) and installed sensors all over the truck. After taking readings, I plotted the frequency against the engine rpm to come up with the vibration order and component related to that particular vibration order. I had all readings verified by our test engineers and they agreed that I have a 2nd order engine vibration thats being transmitted through the exhaust. The dealer chose to ignore my findings and didn't help the vibration at all, although they did find some other things wrong such as the tire imbalance and the diff problem. I argued with them why they thought they knew more than our engineers who do this type of testing every day. It isn't my problem to fix, but it looks like that's what I'll have to do. I told them that I took the Y-pipe support off at the back of the trany and the vibration disappeared. They said they tried that but didn't see a difference. That's when they said it's normal for a V6 to have torque related vibration. I agreed since diesel engines (inline 6) are notorious for shaking the outside mirrors, but I said if all the mounts were doing their job, I shouldn't feel a thing.