fuzzymoomoo

Let the fire sale begin!

Is there any way to really prove that beyond speculation? Also they are nowhere near clearing out the last of the '14 Focus inventory sitting on dealer lots.

Bring on the profit sharing check!

Since when does shared platform automatically mean a rebadge? Is an MKZ a rebadged fusion? Is an XTS a Corvette? Is a 300 a Charger or Challenger? One platform does not a rebadge make.

Is that what all the hullabaloo is about? That's hardly noticeable unless you're looking for it. Looking at it closer, it looks like it is aligned, there is a slight slope to the top edge of the bumper there in relation to the middle portion.

Perhaps the customer doesn't even notice Customer: I'll take it Salesman: ok, we will take it to get it ready, oh and there's a slight mis alignment with the bumper, we will go ahead and fix that for you right now, it shouldn't be long. Paperwork is filled out while the fix is done. No harm, no foul right? Dealer made it right and the customer is happy. not everyone is a prickly bastard customer.

No worries. I had a feeling you knew that. It was more of a just in case kind of thing.

It is, but it's an entirely different process for MAP than it is at DTP. Also we build the Focus and C-max at MAP, not F-150

Working on an assembly line is unlike any other work you could do. It takes time to adjust to the speed needed to do a job every 45 seconds. Try it some time, there's a reason many new hires walk off the line on their first day, it's a LOT harder than you would think it is.

I'll gaurentee it's not 803. In fact, I'll gaurentee he's never been on an assembly line before

There's a solution to the problem in your statement. If Ford won't authorize adjustment before delivery, then do it after delivery before the customer has a chance to drive it off the lot.

That's not surprising, going from producing full size SUVs (expedition/Navigator) to compact cars has to be equal or greater of a challenge as going from steel to aluminum construction. I can't speak to what went on here at MAP back then, it was before my time here. Btw, who said they're taking shortcuts? Inspection might be a little more lax pending massive safety hazards, but as long as it can be fixed at the dealer level, they're probably letting more stuff leave the plant than they normally would.

Here's a little insight on how much money is lost on one lost production day At max capacity, DTP makes about 75 trucks per hour, that's 1.25 every minute, or one every 45 seconds. That's a total of 803 over a 10.7 hour shift, for at total of 1606 PER DAY! Now, assuming an ATP of $35,218, that's $56,560,108 in lost revenue per day if they don't run at all. So do you really think they would shut an entire plant down while they figure out a bumper alignment issue? I don't think so.

You missed my point. Many people are assuming that all assembly lines are created equal, they aren't. A lawnmower was the first example I could think of And yes, a few people suggested shutting the plant down to figure out what's going on.

You people are acting like this is a ford exclusive problem. It isn't. Every manufacturer, no matter what the product is, has issues at the start of production. An assembly line isn't as simple as many of you seem to think, there's a ton of variables and things go wrong. If one part of the process isn't quite right, it's ama how quickly problems can snowball, sometimes undetected. It's why warranties exist. F250, you say waiting 8 months to buy a brand new product is unacceptable, and that's fine, I know there's plenty more people out there that share that view. There's also plenty of people out there that don't necessarily care, or those like me who aren't willing to take that risk. Just know that right or wrong, like it or not, there is a risk and again, that is why warranties exist I'm witnessing first hand how complicated a new product launch is here at MAP. Granted, the new Focus launch isn't nearly as complicated as the new F-150. That being said, there still hasn't been a day where I haven't seen a group of engineers wandering around and making adjustments since MY2015 started production back in December. The more complicated the product being produced, the harder it is to get everything working right. A car is a lot harder to produce than say, a lawnmower.

^well that was a bit unnecessary

The people that buy a Rolls-Royce don't buy it for looks, they buy it because it's a Rolls-Royce.

It actually severely angers me at how shortsighted American society can be. Watch, expedition/navigator (and other gigantic SUV) sales will explode this month due to the shortsighted nature of people. What approximately 0% of those people realize is that gas prices WILL climb again and these are the same people that will be bitching and moaning about how it costs them $200 every week to fill up their tanks.

I think they have a better idea of what the product mix will ultimately be based on Silvererra sales.

My guess is that they are earlier builds, and as they produce more, you will likely see the issue slowly being corrected (unless an immediate fix is found) Stuff like this is why its not always a good idea to buy a new model in the first 6-8 months of production. There is ALWAYS bugs that need to be worked out, some more serious than others. Its a risk you take by doing so.

Eh? Did I miss something or were you talking to someone else?

Save for a few models here and there, have they ever done that with Caddilac?

Lol. Makes it easy to multitask when you do the same thing 600 times a day, 4 days a week for 1.5 years

Thank you Richard, I wanted to get that detailed, but I can only respond when the line stops right now

99% sure they're mounted on brackets. I have no idea exactly how adjustable those brackets are