Ford Risks everything (literally) to save company

[JD3520]

First, how did a car take off by itself? If no driver was in the car, who moved it from "park" to "drive" or pushed the clutch to get it into gear? The "park" to "drive" problem only occurs when a human failed to place it all the way into park before exiting the vehicle. That is a human error and not the fault of the vehicle regardless of make.

Second, if a driver was in the vehicle, why was the brake not applied? There is no car made where the engine power can overcome the brakes.

It is comments like these that unjustly hurt a company. I have owned fords all my life. Have a new explorer my wife drives and two 1-ton diesels for pulling. My present drive vehicle is a chevy 1500 (1/2 ton) for comfort and economy.

I don't want to see ford go. They make very good vehicles. In the list from above they rank above some very high dollar, supposedly high quality vehicles.

 

[cp1969]

It would be a shame if Ford goes broke and out of business but they would have no one to blame but themselves.

Ford has been so successful with their F series trucks, Explorers, etc. that they practically ignored the car business for the last two decades. Some might say three. In the '80's they brought out the Taurus which was a trend-setting car. They let it die a slow death by not keeping it up to date and being content to sell it to rental car fleets which causes higher-than-normal depreciation for a particular model. Ford needs to figure out if it wants to remain in the auto business or just do trucks. A few retro models, as much as I like them, is not going to cut the mustard.

 

[dmccarty]

First, how did a car take off by itself? If no driver was in the car, who moved it from "park" to "drive" or pushed the clutch to get it into gear? The "park" to "drive" problem only occurs when a human failed to place it all the way into park before exiting the vehicle. That is a human error and not the fault of the vehicle regardless of make.

Second, if a driver was in the vehicle, why was the brake not applied? There is no car made where the engine power can overcome the brakes.

Chuck,

Obviously it was an Audi in Ford disguise that had a modified tranny by 60 Minutes to show the danger of unattended acceleration.

Later,
Dan

 

[Bob_Young]

Sounds like they got cocky. A decade or so ago, they seemed to be rolling in dough...bought Volvo & Jaguar, as I recall, and possibly more that I don't remember. Decided they were too good to build tractors any more, so NH went to Fiat. Medium truck line suddenly became 'Sterling', if my facts are straight. They came out with that retro T-bird with a price tag twice what any sensible person would pay....and it didn't sell.

Then they got all 'green' and 'socially responsible' and I started to notice the latest versions of the 6 cyl. F150s I'd been buying and happily driving for 20+ years couldn't get out of their own way. To heck with that. If they want to engage in environmentally friendly posturing they can do it with their own money. When I went back to Ford for trucks in '91 and '95, I paid for the performance I'd gotten out of the previous three trucks...not something that made passing a death defying experience. Didn't get it with either one. The V8 Fords from the 90s that I rode in all sounded like they were missing. One owner raised ruckus about it, got a new engine, and it was no different.

I'd been strictly a Ford man since 1971, but the '95 F150 put a stop to that. Last new vehicle was a Dodge.

They made their own bed, let them lie in it. William Ford Jr. (?) demonstrated that business savvy isn't a genetic trait. Sorry to see them go, but there are capable people willing to take their place.
Bob

 

[HGM]

It's funny to hear how different folks look at things... Its also easy to see why bussiness' have trouble because of blind hatred toward a product and that company because they made it...

The '86 Taurus did have troubles, I could thank that car for my first house... However, with the shear number of those cars that were produced, the problems naturaly had to increase as well.. They must have done something right though because it made history as a good car and revoloutionary at that..

Anyhow, the point I would like to make is that the American car companies in general are in fact making better products than ever before, stop by ant see how busy the dealers are now and what they are working on.. Most of the tech's I know are begging for work right now... If someone had a problem with an '86 model and refused to ever drive another of that brand because they are all junk, then they are only kidding themselves.. If they had hard feelings about customer service 20yrs ago, I can assure you it has changed too, but if they're comited to that attutude then its not going to change.. 20yrs ago, you'd be hard pressed to find any car that could even begin to compare with anything made today..

 

[Bird]

It's funny to hear how different folks look at things...

Yep, one bad experience can be remembered a long time. Forty to forty-eight years ago my Dad owned an auto parts store; said he loved Fords, they kept him in business, just didn't want to own one. He drove Buicks and Oldsmobiles. But I liked the feel and handling of Fords so I bought a brand new 1966 Ford Fairlane 500 and quite possibly got the worst lemon ever manufactured by Ford. In fact, I suspect it was worse than anything GM or Chrysler ever built. So for 25 years you couldn't have given me a Ford product. But then, after 25 years, in '91, I bought a Ford powered motorhome, and I've been driving nothing but Fords now for the last 15 years.

 

[Volfandt]

Be a shame to loose what a large car manufacturer brings to the American table....

I've owned Fords since the 70's and presently my 98 F-150 is showing no signs of any problems.. It's my 2nd F-150 and I've owned 2 Rangers.

Ford's main problem along w/GM & Chrysler is just that they haven't mastered the sub compact nor the luxury compact car like their foreign competition. They can do 1/2 ton to 1 ton pickups better than anybody in the world but not the small cars....

I remember when the small imports started making their run, we all said that those little 4 bangers would wear out way before our straight 6's and V8's. Not only did that not happen but the impending fuel shortages and the subsequent raising of fuel prices changed everything.... Throw in polution control and a stubborn resistance to it by the big 3 and the once famous American quality took a nose dive.....

Who would have thought a little air cooled compact car would make such an industry wide impact.

And America has been playing catchup since.....

The Mrs likes small cars and we went through a bunch. Vega, Chevette, Sunbird etc., we tried 'em and didn't like 'em. I finally talked her into a T-bird which I liked very well but she thought was too big. Traded it on a Saturn and FINALLY got a small car America got right. Handed it down to the daughter and she learned to drive in it. Any ways, now the Mrs is driving a Toyota Rav4 which she loves and the daughter is driving a Honda Civic 2dr and both have so far been trouble free. When we shopped for these, they gave us the best value for the $$$'s as well as having the best reviews.....
I guess the big 3 just don't like to produce small cars like they do big SUV's.....
As long as Ford makes 'em I'll probably continue to buy their trucks so it's my hope that they will make it......

Volfandt

 

[Alan L.]

I have worked in 2 different Ford dealerships in the last 16 years and have never seen or heard of any Ford taking off by itself. Most "unknown" throttle sticking issues leads directly to the customers floor mat or aftermarked floormat being pushed under the gas pedal. You will notice alot of automobiles have a retaining clip on the drivers side which holds the floormat from sliding forward. Must be there for a reason.

I can assure you by the constant decrease of warranty work {except 6.0 diesels} that Ford is building some of the best vehicles in there history. There is just not enough work to go around anymore. Diesel techs and Senior Master Techs like myself are getting all the work. I'm still able to keep one helper and myself busy.

DonnyJ, I have enough **** sense to differentiate between a floormat problem and a car taking off on its own. The dealer accused me of pushing the gas instead of the brake. Thats not what happened. The car lurched backward during a shift from park to drive, never got past reverse. I'm starting to get pi$$ed off all over again. If you haven't heard of it happening, you haven't looked. It was a fairly common problem in the Taurus I learned, but Ford managed to keep it suppressed.

In 1990, about 3 years after the incident, I received a summons to participate in a class action lawsuit against Ford for this very problem. The only problem was that I had gotten rid of the Taurus immediately after repairs and so no longer owned the car. In order to participate you had to still own the vehicle. I didn't follow how this turned out.

Sorry if I am rude with this reply, but it is a very sore subject. I didn't like being called a liar then and I don't like it now.

 

[Donnyj]

No where in my reply did I call you a liar. I simply stated my experiences as well as my reply. I believe that is what you did as well. Learn to respect others opions and experiences. My reply was directed to anyone who was reading this post. I believe in my years of working at a dealership I have seen enough Ford products to form an opinion and post a reply.

 

[Alan L.]

No where in my reply did I call you a liar. I simply stated my experiences as well as my reply. I believe that is what you did as well. Learn to respect others opions and experiences. My reply was directed to anyone who was reading this post. I believe in my years of working at a dealership I have seen enough Ford products to form an opinion and post a reply.

As a former Ford dealer employee you are in a position to disparage the honest description of an incident involving a Ford product, by making the inference that most people who report such incidents are either stupid or untruthful. Too bad you took advantage of that power, especially since you know nothing about the incident, as you weren't there.

But, I'll take your word for it that the post was not really calling anyone a liar, however it doesn't appear thay you have much respect for "others opinions and experiences". So I hope you'll accept the fact that the floor mat nor any other operator negligence had anything to do with the malfunction, because thats what I am saying. I have first hand knowledge of the particular incident. I will refrain from turning this thread into an argument about Ford. We all have our different experiences with Ford, some good and some bad. I own a 1994 Ford diesel pickup, but I won't be buying any new products from them anytime soon, because I doubt their customer service has changed much, and they don't have any products I can't live without.