Last Ford Rolls off Line at Mahwah Plant
The article makes a vague reference to quality issues at the plant, but the details have been documented elsewhere. By the time that plant was shut down, it consistently had the worst quality control metrics of any plant Ford operated anywhere.
My parents bought gm autos in the 70s and 80s. They all had very predictable component failures beginning at 30000 miles. All of them—same failures at same mileage. What junk.
My view is that Detroit’s quality issues were always due to cost cutting. And outsourcing was part of cost cutting. Just like it was for Boeing.
They don’t outsource for any other reason than cutting costs.
Japan captured a big fraction of the US market with vehicles that were significantly higher priced. They are still, but not as much as in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Detroit cost cutting started in the early 1960’s. You can see it in the interiors of the cars year after year after 1960. But there is much more that is hidden.
A switch to cast cranks and powder metal rods. Shoddy castings full of flash, residual sand and core variations. Flimsy cheaper designs for almost everything.
Lousy body designs that created moisture traps (but cheaper to build). Thinner sheet metal that rusted thru faster. Shoddy primer and paint application, skipped body prep steps to save money, and a change to E-coat which initially made things worse.
Even when the added content to improve quality, they half assed it, and had problems. In Canada, the paint over zinc coated metal quickly peeled off because of inadequate (read cost cut) zinc surface prep.
Cheaper wiring harnesses than the Japanese. Cheaper electrical components, cheaper cooling and ac components... every component and assembly process on the car.