Ford executive pays rare tribute to Toyota Camry

Reuters via Forbes.com ^ | 02/13/2003

[GeneD]

CHICAGO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - A Ford Motor Co. executive paid a rare tribute to one of his company's fiercest competitors Wednesday, saying the hot-selling Camry from Toyota Motor Corp. was a better car than Ford's Taurus.

"Very frankly, Camry is a better product than Taurus today," said Jim O'Connor, who heads Ford's sales and marketing division for North America, speaking to reporters at the Chicago Auto Show.

"It's all about product in this business," O'Connor said, when asked why the mid-sized Camry outsold Taurus in the U.S market last month.

O'Connor said Ford still sees near-term demand for the Taurus, especially from its fleet customers and to supply rental cars for its Hertz subsidiary.

But Ford is cutting production of the Taurus and its sister Mercury Sable sharply next year, building the vehicles in one plant instead of two. The glory days Taurus enjoyed as a top money-maker after Ford introduced it in 1986 are clearly over.

A new sedan, the Ford Five Hundred, will be launched next year, and the world's second-largest automaker hopes it will help it recoup some of the car segment's losses.

But Toyota is poised to strip the Ford brand of its crown as the No. 1 seller of cars in the United States this year, and U.S. automakers are growing more anxious about the relentless assault by Asian automakers in Detroit's backyard.

Last year in cars, Ford brand sold a total of 864,903 units in the United States. Toyota brand sold 836,110. That was enough for Toyota cars to surpass U.S. sales of cars with the venerable Chevrolet nameplate from General Motors Corp.

Jim Padilla, Ford's executive vice president for North America, who was also attending the auto show here, said he had no apologies to make about the Taurus, saying the vehicle, like some fallen hero, "served the company well."

'COMMODITIZING"

But he added that Ford itself had helped give the car a bad image, as a vehicle many consumers now see as little more than a drab rental car.

"Frankly, we didn't do ourselves any favor by pushing Taurus into rental fleets the way we did to get the volumes," Padilla said. "That kind of commoditized the product. The product is better than its image, that's my view of it," he said.

[sonofron]

I drove a camry for a while, but around 170k it started needing alot of repairs here and there. It did outlast the ford bronco i drove, which went dead at 175k. the camry is still running(but not that fast) now at 185k. my wife has a saturn with 170k on it and it's not needed any real maintenance(darn sensor went out and the car did funny things). so far the saturn has matched the camry.

[RushLake]

I have a 24V Taurus. Its ride is terrific, the power is outstanding, and it looks nice. I admit I'm biased, I retired from Ford. The people such as O'Connor, and that political whore jerk Jim Padilla are a lot of the reason why Taurus has ended up like it has. Their egos won't allow them to listen to the people who engineer, launch, and build the damned things who have a lot of terrifc insight on what will make them a success.

[sonofron]

my dad has an old dodge pickup '70. it had more than three owners and about 250k when he just gave it to a good friend of his (the guy was in a rough spot in life). my dad used it as his work truck, and he says he could have kept it running for years more. that was about five years ago, i don't know if it's still running now, though.

[oregon conservative]

I've enjoyed my Ford Ranger Pickup-1995 143,000 miles, 3.0 6 cyl and going strong. Replaced clutch after 130,000 miles, other than the heater fan and the battery after 6 years, and I replaced it only because I feared its age,it was still working. So far this rig is the best I've ever had. Oil changes, brakes and tires-just regular maintenence stuff. This is my work truck and is used in landscape maintenence and has seen some heavy use. I would buy Ford again!!

[Old Professer]

I would have kept the 1990, which was only burning about 1/2 qt of oil every 3000 miles, and still got 32 MPG, but it needed new tires, springs, shocks, struts, brakes, clutch, timing belt, and all new front end parts... Couldn't justify that much to keep a great car on the road.

Tires: $275.00
Clutch: $300.00
Strut/spring/shock assys: $350.00
Brakes: $325.00
All four tie-rod ends: $200.00
Timing belt and water pump: $295.00
Grand total:$1695.00

[caisson71]

My Taurus is a '98, wife drives it. Our Camry did not have an air bag problem but we did go through two rear ends. I also now have a 2003 1/2 ton Silverado. It beats my son-in-law's Tacoma in looks, ride and purchase $.

[Rodney King]

A new sedan, the Ford Five Hundred, will be launched next year

I bet they are going to put Dale Jarret and the others in it and name a big Nascar race the Ford 500. The Chevy Monte Carlo sells solely because Jeff Gordon drives one, I guess Ford is trying to tap into the moron market.

[Rodney King]

have a 24V Taurus. Its ride is terrific, the power is outstanding, and it looks nice. I admit I'm biased, I retired from Ford. The people such as O'Connor, and that political whore jerk Jim Padilla are a lot of the reason why Taurus has ended up like it has.

Jacques Nasser was the pits.

[caisson71]

I've also owned a VW, BMW, Buick, a couple of Chevys, Balzers, S-10, Ford 150 and 250. For the buck, I find my '98 Taurus a great car, great comfort and runs like a clock. Of course, my '03 Silverado is the "cats meow", even better than my F-250 which I still keep for tough jobs.

[FightThePower!]

I don't understand why the Ford and GM can't build a car as good as foreign car makers can. Why can't a Ford or Chevy be as good as a Toyoda. Why can't a Caddy or Lincoln be as good as a BMW???????????????????????

[Slewfoot]

the Ford Five Hundred,

That name seems to be missing something....I know the middle name like Ford Fairlane 500 or Ford Galaxie 500.

[Slewfoot]

the Ford Five Hundred,

That name seems to be missing something....I know the middle name like Ford Fairlane 500 or Ford Galaxie 500.

[Mr. Jeeves]

The Camry is a reliable, well built and well designed car. But it is designed for people with mediocre driving skills.

Well, isn't that the majority of the market? LOL!

I just got a 2003 Lexus RX 300, which is a crossover vehicle/SUV built on the Camry frame. It's incredibly easy to drive but it handles the twisty backroads of Marin County very well, too. The unfortunate side effect is that you see a lot of people who have no business being on the road at all driving RX 300's. Soccer mom-type women, usually - unfortunately confirming the stereotype. I think their husbands buy them RX 300's hoping that when they cause the inevitable accident, their chances of survival will be better.

Never would have considered any Ford car. In fact the only American-made car I even thought about before buying the Lexus was the GMC Yukon, but I decided it has too big for what I needed.

[Revolting cat!]

You can say what you want. I luv my Yugo!

[SBprone]

"I don't understand why the Ford and GM can't build a car as good as foreign car makers can."

They can and in many cases they do build as good or better than foreign manufacturers. American auto manufacturers are so large that major product groups are like companies within companies. Some are just rotten from top to bottom and others are on the ball. And things change rapidly in this business.

Saturn made some nice cars a decade ago. Now they are making cars that would have been competitive a decade ago but they can't compete against today's products. Chrysler was on the move just a few years ago with a wealth of new products and the best design talent in the business. Most of that talent left when they were bought out by Daimler Benz.

I think the Ford light truck division, makers of F series trucks and the Expedition, is making outstanding products right now. The F150 didn't become the best selling VEHICLE in the US because they suck. But Ford has to fight for its place in this market and if they don't keep up with the competition they will be in for some hurt just like Saturn and Chrysler.

You mentioned Cadillac and Lincoln in comparison with BMW. This is a tough comparison right now because BMW is generally considered to be the reigning world champion at making cars that people admire and desire. Most BMW models command a price that is 50% higher than competing products from US and Japanese manufacturers. Cadillac and Lincoln are both tired and sick divisions right now and a success model like BMW is simply beyond their comprehension. But compare Ford and Toyota full-size pickup trucks and you have a pretty close contest between quality opponents.

In short there are lots of domestic auto producers if you consider the various product divisions. Some are competitive and some are not.

[DWC]

I owned an LTD crown victoria gave it up after 150,000 miles. Someone else now is still driving it. I now own a
ford explorer and a ford windstar. They're both great.

[Antoninus]

I love my '98 Ford Contour. Too bad they stopped making them. Gotta love a small car with a V6.

[wcbtinman]

"Rarely do I hear of a satisfied Ford owner."

Well, I am one. I bought 2 99 Ford trucks, an F-350 XLT Crew Cab with the Diesel, and an F-150 Lariat for the wife.

I have put 170K on the Dually, without ever visiting the dealership for anything. I haul a 3/4 car transporter that grossly exceeds the manufacturers GCVWR, and the truck hauls it without complaint. The F-150 developed a small oil leak at about 30K and was promptly repaired under warranty. Absolutely no trouble since. The F-150 is still on the original plugs at 93K. While I am carefull about proper ooperation and maintenance, and use only synthetic lubricants, I do the maintence by the factory mileage intervals.

I was previously a GM only buyer, but I got such a deal that I decided to try a Ford. I still like the interior of the GM trucks better, but I have to say that I am truly satisfied with both of the Fords that I own.

[Poohbah]

Rarely do I hear of a satisfied Ford owner.

I own a Focus ZX3; it's the best damn car I've ever driven.

[Inyo-Mono]

Ford trucks are great! I bought my six cylinder F250 4WD brand new in 1988, and it is still going strong after 140,000 miles.

Almost one half of the miles driven on my Ford have been on rugged, high altitude, dirt roads, and the only things I've had to replace are: tires (fourth set), clutch (at 130,000 miles), and new upholstery ($120 on the bench seat).