I think the biggest problem is the dealers. If I had a good dealer here that handled my issue without leaving me with multiple repair bills that didn't fix the problem I'd still have 2 Fords. The Lincoln dealer stepped in and fixed it finally and gave me a break on labor because of the Ford dealer, but their actions and responses toward corporate killed any chance of Lincoln getting a repeal on the warranty decision.
CEO Farley can't be that dumb...
- Thread starter JeffKeryk
- Start date
We've had two Fords. One was a '97 Aerostar 3.0 that was really cheap new and was a real beast, easily as reliable as anything else we've ever owned and a very useful vehicle for a family with younger kids and a large dog (like 130 lbs).
The other was a Focus ZX2 that I bought used for a DIL. It was a great driving little car and felt very European, but it had the usual Focus problems from that era. The alternator placement was really lunatic, for example.
Overall, I'd say that Ford appears to recognize their weaknesses and is striving to fix them.
You probably can't say that about Ford's only US based competitor.
The other was a Focus ZX2 that I bought used for a DIL. It was a great driving little car and felt very European, but it had the usual Focus problems from that era. The alternator placement was really lunatic, for example.
Overall, I'd say that Ford appears to recognize their weaknesses and is striving to fix them.
You probably can't say that about Ford's only US based competitor.
Remember the time Farley tried. to sell that guy the company's line of brakes by telling that story about a family dying just because they saved a few cents with discount brakes? The paramedics show up. The new guys pukin' his guts out.
Yes, they do need to focus on quality and more straightforward engineering. Look at my signature, I’m a Ford guy. Most of my vehicles have been pretty solid, but there have been issues. There are always issues. The trick is to keep them to a minimum. I liked when Alan Mullaly was there as CEO. He tried to change the culture of the execs so that they would be more transparent when they found issues pre production… I guess that didn’t stick….
GON
$150 Site Donor 2025
I experienced that also. Very challenging to get certain parts for even some later model Lincolns.
Farley absolutely can be that dumb. His big message to all dealerships when he took over was “we’re gonna slash warranty costs” Was it by building better products? NO! It was by cutting the times they paid out for warranty repairs. Now they wonder why there’s such a tech shortage…gee I don’t know.
The plant workers and executives got their bonuses though. If the trend continues the plant workers and executives need to figure out how to fix their warranty repairs. For now they can still bamboozle the kids getting outta tech school with the promise of a future 6 figure career! Well guess what, top guys were making six figures in the 90s.
The plant workers and executives got their bonuses though. If the trend continues the plant workers and executives need to figure out how to fix their warranty repairs. For now they can still bamboozle the kids getting outta tech school with the promise of a future 6 figure career! Well guess what, top guys were making six figures in the 90s.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
This is about my 7th Ford new or within 3 years of being new. Had a couple of less than satisfactory outcomes at a dealer I purchased new from. Nothing major and in the end I prevailed 90% of the time. Most of my frustrations could apply to any brand, I'm talking about paid services like wheel balancing that had to be redone, oil changes with upsell for worthless stuff. Filters at retail + 20 to 50% + installation. This was across 4 Ford Dealers and 45 years. Different experiences at each location. Warranty work has always been handled to my satisfaction.
Yep, it's getting old now.
Not dumb, just completely inexperienced like most.
Without experience after a while you start to believe your own press.
To be fair to Jim, he did admit to not getting just how difficult the charging was going to be overall.
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It does show some initiative to get out there and try his own product in the real world at least. Nothing like real life experience to help focus on what matters.
I doubt I'll ever buy a new Ford unless they get an AWD hybrid Maverick figured out. Their strategy to bow out of the challenging lower priced car market after they shot themselves in the foot with the Focus atx, leaves me looking elsewhere.
Im confused, where is the news story? Except to say charging can be frustrating at the present time and this CEO admits it. I dont know but this thread seems to be making something out of what happens with all EVs depending on where you are.
All of a sudden we are down to discussing Ford on ICE powered vehicles
All of a sudden we are down to discussing Ford on ICE powered vehicles
I don't understand what in that story makes him dumb?
Honestly at his level the entire company has been tweaking the executive summary to make it all peaches a cream for fear it will reflect poorly on them or their unit, and that includes their charging partner whoever it is.
So actually it was smart of him to get out and see what the real deal was.
Honestly at his level the entire company has been tweaking the executive summary to make it all peaches a cream for fear it will reflect poorly on them or their unit, and that includes their charging partner whoever it is.
So actually it was smart of him to get out and see what the real deal was.
We have 4 Fords, no mechanical failures with any of them to date but they are older and more simple designs, no GDI, no VVT (except for the GT500), 4 speed auto transmissions (except the GT500). They all have over 140K on them. I've never been to the dealer other than to purchase and get airbags replaced. I don't trust dealership service at all, people need to become more self sufficient and find a good local shop to do the things they can't/won't do and their vehicles would last longer.
CAFE is the problem and Ford put all the eggs into the smaller displacement turbo motors IOT meet it...and it's costing them big time.
CAFE is the problem and Ford put all the eggs into the smaller displacement turbo motors IOT meet it...and it's costing them big time.
How did Tesla do it? Seems to me that there's already a template for a network, or am I missing something?
Even if they were to release their own network, which obviously they have no intention of doing or they probably wouldn't have signed on to use their power plug it would take years to get where Tesla's charging network is these days. EVs are already a hard sell to many so even if they followed the template and even if they bought existing chargers this isn't going to be an overnight thing to sell cars. It's just a new market that Ford in general isn't as familiar with. They'll obviously figure some things out. I don't care for the brand these days, but they didn't get where they are by accident and if they did I wish I had that kind of luck.
A template existed to some extent but it was highly underestimated and undervalued.
The big boys all believed charging was simple because guys like Bob Lutz would bloviate how Tesla had no advantages. He ultimately ate his words.
They also thought that third parties would fix the infrastructure problem they had and they wouldnt have invest because someone else would do it.
Neither were correct.
In an interview with Munroe Farley let on it was way more difficult than they thought, but he didnt realize what a subpar experience road tripping his own truck was until he tried it himself.
Most of my Ford product was great, the power shift focus was a disaster. I want to see Ford get it right.
I applaud Farley for walking the walk and coming clean. Thats always a positive step toward getting it right.
That's the same old bu11$h1t meme thats been repeated here ad nauseum. The production and distribution of electricity will come in time.
Look how far we've come in just a few years, look at what's being tried and improved. Maybe not fast enough or thorough enough for some, but progress typically runs slowly and is often plagued with setbacks.
People are criticizing ford's inductive roadway. It's certainly not ready for prime time. But it's another building block for the future. The future always comes just as the past is often left behind.
