Recalls, what is it Ford doesn't understand!

[Bluecon]

I don't think so, and I don't think the pressure's all that high. The switch is mounted on the reservoir, not on one of the lines. The membrane, when not manufactured to spec (apparently the membrane is supplied by DuPont), can leak. I think Visteon designs and builds the switches, so by the time Ford gets the parts, QC can be quite tricky, especially since I'm assuming it's quite difficult to tell if the membrane meets specs.

 

Anyway, Ford should've designed the switch with an inline fusible link, on the off chance that the switch itself would short out, but that kind of forethought is a rarity in almost any profession you can think of.

 

I don't really fault Ford for neglecting to incorporate the fusible link in the initial design. However, I do wish Ford would've had systems in place to detect and rectify this situation once it became apparent that there was a problem with the design, as well as the materials (in that the design itself is not 'bad', but it is unable to cope well in less than perfect conditions).

 

That's where, IMO, Ford has fallen short. They didn't have systems in place to catch and correct the shortcomings of the design.

 

...

Maybe they should just copy the GM design.

You can replace that switch for less than $20.00

[Bluecon]

Maybe they should just copy the GM design.

You can replace that switch for less than $20.00

 

How does the switch work if there is no pressure?

[RichardJensen]

How does the switch work if there is no pressure?

Well, you can replace the Ford switch on the cheap too.

 

The switch is not on the reservoir per se, but immediately below it, where (given the width of the line) the pressure should be fairly low. You can see the connector (this is not the location of the swtich covered by the recall, but is a similar design) on the bottom of the master cylinder assembly on this pic:

 

 

Read here to find out more

[Bluecon]

Well, you can replace the Ford switch on the cheap too.

 

The switch is not on the reservoir per se, but immediately below it, where (given the width of the line) the pressure should be fairly low. You can see the connector (this is not the location of the swtich covered by the recall, but is a similar design) on the bottom of the master cylinder assembly on this pic:

 

 

Read here to find out more

 

The width of the line won't matter. Pressure will be the same thruout the brake lines.

Anyways it is the same problem they had on the 1964 Fords.

[JAAF150]

Market cap is malarkey, for the most part.

 

To the extent that it deviates from shareholder equity, it is nothing but bluesky and sailboat fuel.

 

Market cap is no measure of a company's worth.

 

But, more to the point, I am not saying that Toyota is going to collapse Enron style.

 

However consider this:

 

Revenue is increasing, but revenue and profit per unit are decreasing, and this has continued for about 3-4 years non stop.

 

Moreover, in order to control costs, Toyota budgeted NO increase in R&D in a fiercely competitive industry for FY 2005. Their failure to adhere to that unrealistic budget estimate resulted in costs outstripping revenue growth for the first time in years, and I would guess that sky-high energy and materials costs this year will result in revenue growth being outstripped by cost growth again.

 

So this is the picture you've got.

 

Cost growth > Unit growth > Revenue growth > Profit growth.

 

That is not a sustainable model. I don't care if you're Toyota or a street corner hot dog vendor, you CANNOT sustain growth like that.

 

...

 

Richard,

 

I don't always agree with your assessments but I think you are dead on with this one.

 

To your comment(s) I will add the following. Much of the problem with the market in North America today is due to Toyota's fixation with their 15% goal. They set 15% of the world wide market as their number on priority and the overall state of the market is suffering as a result.

 

As the overall market weekend, all manufactures have been forced to react to maintain sales. The size of the reaction depends on the position you hold in the marketplace. Given the weaker positions of Ford and GM, their reactions have been the greatest. If you added in DCX, they still have better than half the market and any pricing actions, if take collectively, have an impact on market conditions. The pricing actions of the big three have result in a reduction in overall market pricing.

 

Toyota was immune to the lowering of overall pricing for a time. However, eventually they were forced to react as well. This lowers their profitability along with everyone else. In some respects, the harder Toyota pushes, the more the market reacts and the lower the profit for every manufacturer.

 

The only way this could have a happy ending for Toyota would be to push GM and/or Ford out of the business. This is not very likely for a number of reasons. As a result, they will be able to brag about selling more cars but in the end, have little else to show for it.

 

On another note: Great Toyota service? As I have stated before I am a fleet manager for a large US company. We have vehicles from all of the big three and a few Toyota's as well. The Toyota's are good cars but they do have issues as well. When we do have an issue, Toyota dealers are the worst to deal with. I hear many complaints about having to convince the dealer that there could be an issue with a Toyota.

 

I am convinced that there is generation of people who's only experience with an America cars is the one they had with dad's five year old hand me down Oldsmobile. Since their first new car was a Toyota-Honda-whatever, and it was some much better than that old Cutlass, they wonder why anyone buy anything else. Pop-culture reinforces this opinion and off they go to the Toyota dealer for another boring Camry.

 

 

JAAF150