Ford Bold Moves - Episode 27: "Fix Or Repair Daily" finally addressed
None of you probably noticed the we skipped reporting on the release of Ford Bold Moves - Episodes 26. Yeah, we watched it, but its subject matter didn't even register on our Interesting Meter, so we passed. Episode 27, however, entitled Proving our Metal, hits the company pretty hard with the recognition right up front that a large portion of the population still thinks "FORD" is an acronym for "Fix or Repair Daily."
This episode of the Bold Moves web documentary tackles quality issues at Ford, which have admittedly improved by a factor of ten in the past few years. Nevertheless, a bad quality rep sticks like white on rice, and Ford, along with the other domestics, have yet to change many minds. Episode 27, however, just might help. We get to see the beating Ford vehicles take at the company's Arizona Proving Grounds where their durability is tested to the breaking point and beyond. Also on screen is a new way to test a vehicle's durability that can achieve results in the lab after only two weeks versus seven months out in the field.
[Source: Ford Bold Moves]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
chewy @ Dec 21st 2006 7:08PM
Ford: Found On Road Dead.
Found On Road Dead @ Dec 21st 2006 7:11PM
They should have used a busty gal wearing a bikini top in the uphill truck test.
Good video otherwise. Still no commercials are made whre ford states "Qaulity is Job #1"
$0.02 @ Dec 21st 2006 7:17PM
Can anyone dispute they are trying. They need to now try harder because they have to overcome the stigmas. They need to buy space on TV for half-hour programs to convince people. Honda and Toyota have the mags and JDPower but Ford has to do it in spite of the mags and JD Powers
Pete Angilly @ Dec 21st 2006 7:45PM
Back in the 80's when Chrysler was just about dead Lee Iacocca did commercials that just outright told people what Chrysler had been through, how they had fixed it, and how good their cars now were. In my opinion Ford could hit a home run with this type of campaign. Mullally has been very honest in his assessment of their situation. Ford's Fusion just beat Honda Accord and Toyota Camry in reliabilty according to consumer reports. Ford's new 3.5 V-6 was just named one of the 10 best engines, and they've got a new 6 speed automatic transmission that is getting rave reviews. Ford needs to get the word out in a no nonsense approach. People love a good story, especially a comeback story. JUST TELL IT!
Be Oh Be @ Dec 21st 2006 8:12PM
That was fun to watch.
I'm totally rooting for the home team auto companies (the Big 2.5). I'd hate to see Ford or any of the others go under. I currently drive a GMC and it's actually pretty good. I've owned mostly GM products over the last 15 years or so and one Ford. The Ford was a 97 T-Bird - and it was a nice car - when it ran. I had a lot of really weird and actually quite major problems with the car. After a year of multiple trips back to the dealer, I finally traded it in on what was actually one of the coolest cars I ever owned, that being my 1998 Camaro Z28.
I have recently test driven a new Ford Mustang GT however, and it's a real cool ride - but I may hold out for the new Camaro, not really sure yet.
Jackson @ Dec 21st 2006 8:25PM
How's this for an acronym: Ford= For Outstanding Reliability and Durability.
See...we can do it too...
Ford is obviously trying, people just need to get out of the import bubble that they are in, as well as stop letting other people tell them how a car is or isn't. You need to go test it for yourself. Don't go by past experiencess, they're old cars, old news...
Art @ Dec 21st 2006 8:42PM
Ford has all the data they need. It's called warranty repair claims! All they are doing in that video is testing the overall design. They are NOT able to find out, via the testing in that video, if a vendor is sending them a part that has an excessive (and early) failure rate over the thousands and thousand of units they deliver to Ford. As long as they hammer their vendors to cut costs beyond what reasonable productivity improvements would bring, they'll keep building and selling vehicles with a lot of parts that fail.
Vic @ Dec 21st 2006 8:51PM
Like some people, I had soured on Ford, and swore I would never buy another one. I actually didn't drive one for years. Then my company purchased some F150s, and we found them very durable. Mine has 178,000 miles on it, but only had two small problems in all those miles. Most people don't even keep their car that long, but mine's "still truckin"
Ford has definitely changed, and its a better car today than it ever was, imo. I favor Ford's now, partly because I'm rooting for our All-American "home team", and also because they are making a great product.
"First On Race Day" :)
drolds1 @ Dec 21st 2006 9:12PM
Wow, #1, that's really original.
Ted @ Dec 21st 2006 9:50PM
I think that is great, however Ford and GM still have a network of old crappy dealers that are more interested in selling cars than fixing them.
The next thing both companies need to work on is raising the bar at some of there 40 year old dealers, with even older technicians.
murphy @ Dec 21st 2006 9:50PM
I love this video. I love ford. I Work for them and drive them. Ford hasn't always had the best rep. It sure feels good to not only see the attitude change on the inside but to see them advertising it as well. Thank you Ford!! Hopefully I can keep my job now.
dave @ Dec 21st 2006 10:29PM
fifteen years since i owned a ford. test drove one last week, bought it and love it. thank you ford, you finally did your homework. sorry toyota, i was going to wait for your new tundra, saw the pictures and threw up!
Barney @ Dec 21st 2006 10:31PM
Ford isn't the first to show the public all the lab type road tests. Nor are they the first to show their vehicle going on lumpy roads. This has been done since the 1930's. It still don't make the vehicle better. They ignored the leaky manifold gaskets in their V6s but did provide a better one when the customer had to spend the money rebuilding the engine. All the video show's,is that the parts aren't falling off in the frames they allow us to see. If they want the consumer to come back, fix the dam problem and don't charge the consumer for it. People buy the vehicle in good faith. It's the run around and the out-of-pocket expenses, that keep them from coming back. Ford isn't the only one. GMC had the rattling V8s as well. It took extreme pressure from consumer groups before GM made any kind of compromise. Show a video of what they will do for the buyer who has his car on the back of a tow truck.
dave @ Dec 21st 2006 10:49PM
hey barney fife, i see just as many imports on the back of tow trucks as i do domestics. your right, ford and gm have pr problems, but as well do the imports. most likely found in toyota's. not making this up, my son's nightmare tundra has been in for service related problems more times than i can count. after the third or fourth time, they told him he was abusing the truck and tried to make him pay for repairs. in arbitration and should know soon. now he wants to drive my new f150 and me drive his. no way.
Andy @ Dec 21st 2006 11:22PM
The problem in perception with US cars isn't reliability nowadays, according to overall consumer surveys. (Consumer Reports is the exception.) The problem is build quality.
Michael Karesh @ Dec 21st 2006 11:46PM
Visit any import forum on the Internet and it's obvious that many people still perceive domestic cars as unreliable.
I'm working to put some real numbers around it. Just released the first results from my research, and domestic cars do tend to have higher repair rates:
http://www.truedelta.com/results0906.php
I didn't have quite enough data on the Ford Fusion to put it on the public page. But the data I do have show a repair rate the same as the 2006 Accord and 2007 Camry. I'm also seeing a very low repair rate for the 2006 Five Hundred and Freestyle, but with an even smaller sample.
Next results around the end of February. The samples of both of the above will then be large enough for the public page. I'm very interested in seeing if the repair rates remain low with the additional data.
Dustin @ Dec 22nd 2006 12:08AM
Hey all, I have a question that maybe one of you can answer: Who is watching the "bold moves" commercials? as in, who are they marketing it to, what channels are they using to display it?
Matt @ Dec 22nd 2006 1:24AM
"Visit any import forum on the Internet and it's obvious that many people still perceive domestic cars as unreliable."
That's because the ricers LOVE the imports. :)
John @ Dec 22nd 2006 2:09AM
From #18
"That's because the ricers LOVE the imports. :)"
Why does any discussion of foreign vs. domestic always bring out the racists? Perhaps its time the people who run this forum look at moderating the comments before posting them. Allowing these racists posts makes Autoblog and its advertisers look bad.
There is no need to constantly bring up race to discuss the import vs. domestic issue. We all have the same red blood and breath the same air. By and large humans around the world are all the same. Please get with the program.
Scott @ Dec 22nd 2006 6:49AM
I do think Ford is making huge strides in improving quality and reliability. However, I don't think the public will truly take notice until their products have been consistently top-notch for a good 5-10 years, as the reason many of the imports have their reputations is really how good their cars are after a decade or so, not new. Plus, I'm a little skeptical of how two weeks worth of testing in a lab can really equal 7 months of field testing. Can a lab really simulate driving in the winter in the snow belt and getting road salt and sand all through your undercarriage? Can it really simulate how the plastics in your interior respond to temperature fluctuations of 150 degrees in the summer to minus 20 degrees in the winter? I hope so, but I have my doubts.