Ford initial quality beats Honda, ties Toyota... according to Ford
Most auto pundits will tell you that Ford has made great strides in quality over the last few years. Ford's own studies, performed for the automaker by third party RDA Group, show that the efforts continue to pay off, with Ford pulling even with Toyota in initial quality and breezing by Honda. It's a little bit like a cigarette company funding studies on smoking safety, but the results aren't far-fetched.
The five cars that Ford touts as segment leaders in initial quality – Mustang, Taurus, Taurus X, Milan, and Ranger – have been praised in the open waters of the media, though the Ranger has been left behind as its competitors have upsized, and the Taurus X is not long for this world.
For the first quarter of 2009, problems-per-vehicle have dropped by 5% to 1,228 per 1,000 vehicles, meaning that there's a good number of Ford vehicles that show no initial quality defects whatsoever. Toyota's 1,150 per 1,000 rate of things gone wrong is considered equal to the performance of the Ford models, and Honda's not too far behind at 1,422, despite Ford saying its showing is "significantly better" than Honda's. Initial quality is only part of the deal, of course, with long-term quality scores telling more of the story. Of course, initial quality helps too, and besides, it's easier to ace the long-term test when you start off with a bang. Press release after the break.
[Source: Ford]
STUDY: FORD SURPASSES HONDA IN INITIAL QUALITY
- Ford surpasses Honda in initial quality and remains in a statistical tie at the top with Toyota.
- Ford's initial vehicle quality improved 5 percent over last year.
- Ford customer satisfaction continues to improve and is equal to Toyota and Honda.
- Ford has five segment leaders: Ford Mustang, Taurus, Taurus X and Ranger, and Mercury Milan.
DEARBORN, April 17, 2009 – Ford Motor Company, continuing its rapid quality improvement, surpassed Honda in initial vehicle quality for the first time and reached new levels of customer satisfaction with vehicle quality, a new survey shows.
Ford is also statistically tied with Toyota at the top of the industry when it comes to initial vehicle quality, according to the 2009 U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS) survey conducted quarterly for Ford by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
"This is truly a significant accomplishment for us," said Bennie Fowler, Ford group vice president, Global Quality. "Honda and Toyota have claimed bragging rights for years, but now we are seeing our hard work pay off. It's evident in study after study."
The latest GQRS survey measured 2009 model year vehicle initial quality in two categories: the number of "things gone wrong," and customer satisfaction with vehicle quality in the first three months of ownership.
In the first quarter of 2009, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles saw things gone wrong fall by 5 percent to 1,228 per 1,000 vehicles, significantly better than Honda's 1,422 things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles and statistically equal to Toyota's 1,150.
In addition, the survey shows that Ford Lincoln Mercury improved two percentage points to 79 percent in customer satisfaction with vehicle quality, which puts Ford's domestic brands in a tie with Toyota and Honda for industry leadership.
"Ford's commitment to quality is really paying off as they continue to rival Honda and Toyota on both initial quality and customer satisfaction with the quality," said Donald Pietrowski, president, RDA Group.
The following models led their respective segments in the survey:
- Ford Mustang – initial quality and customer satisfaction for sports cars
- Ford Taurus – initial quality for large cars
- Ford Taurus X – initial quality for crossover utilities
- Mercury Milan – initial quality for midsize cars
- Ford Ranger – initial quality for compact pickups
The new 2009 Ford F-150 recorded quality levels that equate to less than one problem per vehicle, as did the Taurus, Taurus X, Fusion, Milan, and Edge.
"We are energized by the continuous improvement we are seeing on both initial vehicle quality and customer satisfaction," said Fowler. "This survey validates the hard work and dedication to quality from Ford employees, suppliers and dealers. We will keep the momentum going as we strive to become the clear global quality leader."
The GQRS study is conducted on a quarterly basis with scores assessed from survey responses collected from owners of vehicles purchased within specific short-term time frames.
New vehicle owners are asked to report any defects or issues as well as rate their satisfaction with vehicle quality on a scale of 1 to 10 across an array of vehicle systems and features.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
artso06 6:39PM (4/17/2009)
the blue oval saving the country one car at a time
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Temple 7:47PM (4/17/2009)
. . . same PR train that shoves the fact that GM and Chrysler are taking bailout money down the throats of public.
chconline 1:11AM (4/18/2009)
Initial quality... meh. If a company can't make a car that works right off the lot properly, then there's a lot of problems in that regard.
By the way I heard that the quality of recent Toyotas against recent Fords has been an inverse relationship. Ford going up of course.
arinzeuno 3:39AM (4/18/2009)
Initial quality is not a good measure of a cars quality. Initial quality is the consumers intial response to the vehicle and is persuaded by how the car looks much more than the cars actual quality. If the Ford doesn't fall apart in the next few years (which it ultimatly will), then it is a truly quality car and this cannot be determined by owning the car for a short time.
Draaaainage! 2:52PM (4/18/2009)
Initial quality is a measure of recorded defects within a group of vehicles over the short term. It has nothing to do with consumer sentiment and is all about statistical measures of problems (most likely ones that need repair) that cars experience in a certain time frame.
Saying it's about how a consumer feels about the car is like saying Toyota Carollas from the early 1990's last forever because people just like them so much. That's silly indeed.
Sektor 6:41PM (4/17/2009)
Ford has done quite a bit of aggressive marketing lately. That's signs of imminent danger.
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the_MVP_X 6:47PM (4/17/2009)
Maybe, or maybe they want their old position back.
asng15 6:43PM (4/17/2009)
Game..............
according to KIA, KIA initial quality beats Honda, ties ACURA... according to KIA
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P.V. 7:16PM (4/17/2009)
I'm not sure what you're trying to say: is KIA really beating Honda/Acura, or is it similar to the Ford study in its bias? In any case, I'm taking both with a bit of salt.
asng15 8:03PM (4/17/2009)
P.V.
"I'm not sure what you're trying to say"
means blow one's own trumpet,praise the goods one sells
Taglane 6:48PM (4/17/2009)
I read an article that says GM placed right behind Ford. Don't remember where I read it, but I just thought that would be an interesting bit to add. It's kind of sad, because most people won't even care that two of three domestics are currently competitive.
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Stumpy 6:55PM (4/17/2009)
I don't dislike GMs just to dislike GMs. I dislike what they have to offer right now.
Example. The Cobalt SS. I wish I liked it. It is fast, handles well and a decent interior. The problem is the styling and simple things like it is a hatchback, without the hatchback.
Seems like this happens with a lot of GM cars.
However, Ford seems to be doing MUCH better in this area. Practical, cool and functional cars coming to the US.
Taglane 7:44PM (4/17/2009)
I know what you mean.
Taglane 10:43PM (4/17/2009)
Found that article I was talking about.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/study-ford-gm-quality-surpass-honda.html
jv2k 1:11AM (4/18/2009)
The hell does "hatchback without the hatchback" mean?
toronado455 2:57AM (4/18/2009)
Stumpy,
Well put. I couldn't have said it better myself.
jv2k, he means it's a fastback with a tiny little useless trunklid instead of a full hatch that would actually be practical.
Nick 7:00PM (4/17/2009)
I read another survey today done by the European Auto Club (ADAC) saying that Ford and Peugeot cars are the least reliable cars for sale in Europe.
Maybe Ford cars are different over there, but I'm just sayin.....reliability surveys are highly biased, every country has its own. Betcha Kia is called the quality leader in Korea.
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Sektor 6:59PM (4/17/2009)
ADAC is in bed with German automakers. Nothing coming from ADAC should be treated seriously.
TomdeTomTom 10:58PM (4/17/2009)
I read an article about it too. A survey done by Germans puts German brands above Ford and Toyota...big surprise...Same as situation above.
AngeloD 12:40AM (4/18/2009)
ADAC is the German, not EU-wide, auto club.
As has been pointed out, it acts more like a German auto industry trade association than an independent auto club.