Weren’t alot of these Toyotas built in the S. US?
2 F150s in my driveway.
do a search here “Ford Foundation” and see if you still want a Ford
Mike Rowe is a great spokesman
People like him he has charisma. Not many people have genuine charisma but Mike Rowe does.
They didn't, and don't, walk on water.
What they did do was to fully embrace quality control principles that work. W. Edwards Deming was mostly blown off here in the US, but embraced as a hero in Japan.
How'd THAT one work out?
Americans had to learn about quality from the Japanese. When GM started Saturn, and wanted to build high-quality cars, they took apart Japanese cars and studied them.
Toyota builds 12 different vehicles in the United States. This is not about Toyota vs. Ford, this is about the UAW vs. the non-union workforce. The U.S. Government has taken sides and is waging war against the non-union workforce.
Hmm.. I seem to remember Ford having a serious problem with their cruise control modules in the late 80’s where the vehicles would immediately accelerate for not reason. I also seem to remember something about exploding tires on Explorers ...
Ford found it’s stride when it told Obama to stuff it.
I currently own two Fords - an Explorer and a Fusion.
I love them both. Great vehicles.
I have no quarrel with Ford. They acted like any good capitalist competitor. If you see a marketing opportunity, take it. Japan certainly has taken every opportunity and leverage move possible.
However, somehow this article overlooks the potential that 99.5% of the whole Prius brake issue is being cooked by Obama Motors. When one car company has the ability to regulate the competition, something smells. AstroTurf anyone? I am impressed with the attention, openness and speed with which Toyota has addressed this problem. I recall how well our government addressed even the little bump of Cash for Cars.
The market lead held by imported autos is the direct result of the United Auto Workers and their pet congress critters.
I will like American cars much better when the UAW, the Teachers Union, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, and the SEIU are in the same bin as the Air Traffic Controllers.
My wife really liked the Infiniti M35 but we decided to check out the new Ford Taurus / Lincoln MKS. We went to Ford on two occasions to look at the models and the sales staff knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about the cars, features or operation. One guy even tried to show us a model that was being prepped up on a rack. Like, what good is that. Actually, she really liked the Lincoln but was so frustrated with not being able to get any information, she is now driving an M35. The sales lady at Infiniti as very knowledgeable.
I don't know where they get these guys. They stand around smoking all day doing nothing. If I were a Ford sales guy I would spend every spare moment in the cars, learning every feature, and would have my own personal demo of the GPS/Computer system. Go figure.
I still stand behind Toyota not only because we have 2 (Tundra and Avalon) but because the unions hate them so much and are kicking them while they’re down! I hope they come back bigger and better.
They should focus on what they do well and be very careful with any potshots at a competitor (which their ad’s don’t seem to do in this example).
Any car company is not very far away from a recall of their own.
I’ll be looking for a new vehicle here soon...and Toyota is still on my list.
Ford, while quality has improved, is not. The price for an Escape is far too high for the car you’re getting, in comparison to other small SUV’s...and I will not support a UAW controlled auto company. Chevy has been off my list for a couple years now and Chrysler is now on my s-list. Ford, while basically telling Obama to shove it, is still controlled by people who support his agenda.
Is there ONE company out there that is good ?
I’m looking for some sort of “Quantas” here. I’ve enjoyed japanese cars from way back when - but after my brief stints, I’ve simply given up on owning cars made post-91. For the most part, even post 1972 gives me reason to grouse.
With US manufacturing standards being so impossibly high, a new car company can NOT come to existence. Normally the market would allow me to be dis-satisfied, and simply start my own auto company. This happened a LOT in the 20s and 30s.
Here is the “but...”. If I start my own company, with a few good (or even one good) design(s), I’ll have to obey us standards for car sales. From bumper impacts (Just proving those standards involves destroying several cars every year), OBD3 electronic controls (With a satellite subscription costing millions), the ultra-confusing world of carbon offsets, and finally the economic standings necessary to register. It’s “almost impossible” !
Government regulations, from 1960’s power brakes standards to today’s ultra-exclusive computer control back-ends have shoved out the natural market progressions of out-of-business, and start-of-business cycles that made the US the automotive gold standard in innovation and design. It’s over, and it’s been over.
Solution ? Apparently it varies state-by-state, but kit cars are still viable. Build your next car. I’ve been working on my own for a while now, and I am very familiar with the reasonable STATE regulations for composite cars.
Ford has to be aware of the transmission problems but they have never issued a recall over it.