02MustangGT

“Cosmetic issue”. Right.

That’s exactly what you are doing. Minimizing the fact that these vehicles will incur paint damage. Not to mention the unknowns (rodents, tire rot/flat spotting, interior fade, water intrusion). Did I say anything about the vehicles rotting on random lots needing to be crushed? I’ll answer that for you..No. I said I care about the appearance of my vehicles and will not be purchasing a vehicle sitting on a random lot for months. Don’t get me wrong, some folks likely won’t give a damn, but I do.

Nope. Vehicles sitting on a dealer lot is much different than sitting at a random lot (such as dirt mountain, KY motor speedway, etc). Dealers actually “wash/clean” and move vehicles around the lot quite frequently.

For some, paint concerns are not overblown. “Most” vehicles that sit outside 24x7 are owned by folks who don’t give a damn about the condition of the paint. I, on the other hand, do care and will continue to avoid purchasing any vehicle that has been sitting on a random lot for months and months. Your opinion may differ, but let’s not downplay the damage done to these vehicles (Ford and others) rotting on random lots. Especially those Broncos with leaky hard tops.

Every new vehicle I have purchased in the past 20 years had a need for paint correction. Vehicles sitting out in some random lot for months will certainly require the same (rain, sun, dust, and environmental pollutants will cause damage to paint). Not to mention, all of those Broncos stuck in “dirt mountain”. That’s almost laughable at this point considering the reports of leaking hard tops on the Broncos that have been delivered to customers. I wouldn’t take delivery of any vehicle sitting in a lot for months, but that’s my choice. Do what you wish, some folks are OCD (me) about the appearance of their vehicles.

You are kidding, right? New gen Ranger will be a definite hit though.

Regarding the “refresh” for the 2022 Navigator….The front end design is just ok in my opinion, our 2020 Nav looks better. I do like the slimmed down tail light treatment. Interior? I certainly appreciate the larger center display and the optional rear seat massage/cooling. Overall, the Nav is already one of best looking full size SUV’s inside and out and the refresh should carry that forward.

Care to share more details on what caused you to give up on your Bronco?

Just a week or so ago, there was a rumor floating that Webasto was building a new plant to support demand for tops. That rumor was shut down by a person with credible sources. It appears the rumor was true after all: "To meet the high demand and increase roof production capacity, we will build another new production location in southeastern Michigan," said Susanne Killian, head of global internal and external communications for Webasto. https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2021/08/13/ford-hard-tops-2021-broncos-webasto-michigan/8119709002/

Not disagreeing with your statement. I also stated that Ford has taken responsibility in another post that was removed by @akirby. I’m a Bronco order holder and am well aware of the situation. You should be directing your posts at your fellow moderator, not me.

Cynical…lol. Sorry to spoil your perception, I have never worked in a factory/office for any auto manufacturer or supplier. Good try though. I’m not blaming Ford, I’m holding them responsible for a defective component for a vehicle that they manufacture (as stated in one of my posts which you removed). You may not agree, and that’s ok. That doesn’t mean you need to continue to argue your point with analogies and so forth that have no impact on the result of the issue at hand (example: jeep, home construction haha). It’s almost like you are hoping everyone agrees with you. Some do, some don’t. For the record, I’m a Ford/Lincoln customer and I buy Ford/Lincoln vehicles. I have supplied Ford/Lincoln with thousands of dollars in profit during the past 30+ Years. I am entitled to my opinion/view as as a customer. I am not required to follow your lead just because you are a moderator on a forum and have a different opinion.

I’m asking for a source since that’s the default response when a forum member has an opinion that doesn’t meet the narrative or opinion of a certain moderator. The fact of the matter is, the current defective top was likely quite simple to produce, especially since there was no concern from a quality control perspective. I’m certain the new top will require more funds and resources (people) which will result in a top that is not “easier” to produce. The new top should be perfect from a functional and aesthetic standpoint. Customers with Broncos sitting in a holding lot for 4-5 months should be satisfied with the quality of the new top.

Source? Who said the new tops are “easier” to manufacture?

Lol, of course you did. You have a problem with anyone who doesn’t agree with your opinion. We all know who is responsible for tops on the Ford Bronco anyway. Good work!

Gotcha. Could it be a difference in material or maybe cutting corners (so to speak) to save a buck for production? Nothing wrong with that necessarily, just wish it resulted in a quality top.

Or Ford “fixes” their design with a top that can be manufactured by Webasto or another supplier.

You said ….”how is that Ford’s fault”. Lol

You have inside info to somehow prove that it’s not the design of the top contributing to such issues? You are still denying that Ford is at fault for designing, engineering and choosing the supplier of defective tops…and the fallout that has ensued.

Who is suggesting Ford is denying responsibility? They aren’t and that isn’t the point. From what I’ve read here, you are blaming the supplier. Oh and making analogies by referencing defective tires and implying that we should blame the tire manufacturer. Ford designs and engineers these tops. Ford is to blame and will most certainly respond, hopefully soon…before it becomes a much larger issue.

Good to know that production is running as expected. Not doubting that anyway. Ford had countless months (more like years) to get this right. My point, and you know this, supplier issues (such as webasto) are not what the general customer is concerned with. Customers are concerned with defective products (whether it’s a top or whatever) that bears the name of the manufacturer. In this case, it’s Ford. I have no doubt that Ford will make this right, but some of you need to admit that it’s a bad look and this entire launch (Covid or not) has been less than ideal.

You keep mentioning “3 weeks”. There is undeniable evidence that defective tops were delivered to customers. Is that a supplier problem or a Ford QC problem? Probably both, but Ford chose the supplier and construction of these tops so now it’s their problem. How do you know pre-prod units were fine? I’ve said this before and you can defend Ford all you want…in this case, I didn’t buy a product manufactured by Webasto (or whoever), I purchased a Ford vehicle manufactured by Ford.

Seriously what? Ross also posted yesterday that those with orders should relax and that all is great in the world of MAP production. It’s a shit show. There are roofs on Broncos that were delivered to customers with defects day 1. Do you blame the supplier? I don’t. Good luck taking delivery of your Bronco and being satisfied with the MIC roof. I will happily wait this out with soft top orders but hope that FORD decides to compensate those who have defective tops.

Wait…that’s normal now? This whole launch has been a joke no matter how you feel about the Ford employees working to assemble a great product. I refuse to blame this on a supplier at this point. Ford made the final decision on the hardtop construction and chose the supplier…then decided to deliver defective tops to the customer. I sincerely hope those who have taken delivery of their Bronco are compensated appropriately. I suppose it’s a good thing that only 100’s rather than tens of thousands of Broncos are “in the wild” thus far.

One would assume… For certain, there are defective tops leaving the factory. Otherwise a customer wouldn’t end up with missing sound deadener on a panel or 2 and delaminating/fit/finish defects the day after taking delivery.

So that begs the question that has not been answered. Why would Ford QC allow these tops to pass inspection, install the tops on Broncos and deliver these to customers? It’s an absolute shame and will cost Ford more money in the long term. Thankfully I switched one of my orders to an ugly soft top.