Ford Triplets Score Best Inital Quality Ever

[pcsario]

This is on FCN, so I can't link.

 

DEARBORN, Oct. 25, 2006 (FCN) -- Ken Grody says quality is one of the key reasons his dealership in Carlsbad, Calif., is selling a lot of Ford Fusions. He has noticed that Fusion customers rarely come in with service problems and believes that's driving sales.

 

 

"People come in to change the oil and that's about it, and the word is starting to get out," he said. "For us, the Fusion is really beginning to establish a beachhead against the imports."

 

To the north in New Brunswick, Ontario, Dave Emerson, owner of Riverview Ford, is experiencing similar customer feedback.

"We never see them in the shop," he said. "Once we sell them, they just don't come back for repairs. The quality has been excellent."

 

Beyond anecdotal evidence on quality from dealers, Ford corporate research shows that the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr had the best quality showing of any vehicle in Ford's long history.

Ford's year-end Global Quality Research System survey (GQRS) shows the three mid-size sedans have the lowest number of Things Gone Wrong (TGW) for any of the company's first-year vehicles. They also outpaced former segment leaders, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

 

"That is exceptional for a start-up," said Enrique Delannoy, assistant chief engineer for the program. "In most vehicles at the beginning of a program, the quality tends to suffer, but with the Fusion, Milan and Zephyr, we've been at the top of the segment right from the very beginning. It's a real testament not only to our launch team engineers but to everyone at the plant in Hermosillo, as well."

 

According to the GQRS, the Milan had 1,149 TGW and the Fusion had 1,172 TGW, just behind the Dodge Stratus with 1,066 and the Chevy Malibu with 1,073 and ahead of the Toyota Camry with 1,193 and the Honda Accord with 1,353. The rankings reflect things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles at three months service.

 

In the mid-size luxury class, the Lincoln Zephyr had 1,119 TGW, second only to the Lexus 330 with 943.

 

The number of warranty repairs for mid-size entries also set a company record. With an average of 116 repairs per 1,000 vehicles after three months in service, the Fusion and Milan registered the lowest retail warranty repair rate of any Ford vehicle ever sold.

Warranty numbers for Powertrain are just as impressive. The Fusion and Milan are averaging 16.5 repairs per 1,000 vehicles and the Zephyr is averaging 16.3 repairs per 1,000, the lowest levels ever achieved at Ford.

"We're exceptionally excited, but not surprised," said Fusion launch manager Kate Pearce.

 

"The team that created those vehicles from concept to production has been relentless in making sure that every component used was the best quality. Those results are not an accident."

 

Along with the JD Power APEAL award for design, Fusion was recognized by Smart Money and Consumers Digest for best value and Parent Magazine as the best family car. Pearce and the launch team point to the Strategic Vision Total Quality Award given to the Fusion for best quality in the hotly contested medium-size category. The Milan came in second.

"It's funny how the quality story never gets told," said Art Spinella, the president of CNW Marketing Research, a consulting firm in Bandon, Ore., that tracks auto industry trends. "I don't care which survey you look at, they all say the same thing. While Toyota and Honda continue to make improvements, other automakers like Ford are moving at a faster pace and, in many cases, they now offer better vehicles."

 

The Fusion launch team says it's working to give consumers something else to talk about.

"We want those vehicles to be best in their segment," said Jim Saad, the leader of the Fusion Quality Process team, who added, "We are so close."

It's that mentality that Pearce says is being passed on to other Ford products, including the Edge and the new Focus.

"The Fusion, Milan and Zephyr are just the first ones," she said. "From now on, everything else will be held to the same standard. This is just the beginning."

 

So what's the spin on this, Pioneer?

 

I thought those monkeys weren't as good as those leeches from the UAW?

Edited October 26, 2006 by pcsario

[RichardJensen]

Quality is a process.

 

Build the CD3s in Wixom, Atlanta, or Wayne, as long as you use the same systems you get similar results.

[pcsario]

I know that, but you would think it's a genetic thing judging from some posts here.

[pcsario]

Nice.

 

Edit: I know Richard said that in jest, but don't play dumb now.

Edited October 26, 2006 by pcsario

[RichardJensen]

I know that, but you would think it's a genetic thing judging from some posts here.

To me that attitude is functionally equivalent to the attitude that 'car guys' should run car companies.

 

Both attitudes stress the contribution of the individual over the system that processes that individual's input

 

Both attitudes have put Detroit squarely in the mess they're in today.

Edited October 26, 2006 by RichardJensen

[Edgey]

How on Earth has GM nailed quality on the Malibu?

 

Ford is finally catching up to GM's quality level, that's great to see. Ford was re-securing Detroit's bad reputation while GM was doing a good job turning it around. Over the next 5 years, both of them should be on track to eliminate the quality gaps.

[xr7g428]

To me that attitude is functionally equivalent to the attitude that 'car guys' should run car companies.

 

Both attitudes stress the contribution of the individual over the system that processes that individual's input

 

Both attitudes have put Detroit squarely in the mess they're in today.

 

Richard, you are better than that...

 

First of all some people get paid to think. Their contributions are individually important. We have certainly seen where bad leadership can take us. Some people are paid to do a certain job. How well they do it is a variable. Some systems allow more variance, above and below the standard, than others. Individual commitment to the task cannot be dismissed.

 

Who do you want to run the car companies? Consumer Electronics guys? I know for some reason you think the companies would be better run by people who don't know the business, but history just doesn't tend to support that. BMW has been the most consistently profitable car company for years and I think you would struggle to find anyone there that wasn't a car guy. Car guy status alone doesn't guarantee success, but it sure seems to be a common ingredient in the recipe.

 

Still, I agree that you cannot use the success of the Hermosillo plant in producing great cars to put down the UAW or any body else. It is an apple and oranges comparison when they are building different products. It is equally unfair to say that the products built in Mexico are inferior just because they are built in Mexico. Using BMW as an example, they have proved time after time that the US workers in their plants are just as capable as their workers anywhere else.

[RichardJensen]

Who do you want to run the car companies?

I want people that will implement and continually improve a system that consistently delivers quality product that exceeds customer expectations.

 

They don't need to be experts on the design of cars.

 

They need to ensure that the system in place properly utilizes that abilities of its most capable workers.

 

That's what I want.

 

Now to the BMW example. It's a bit disingenuous, don't you think?

 

Ford is McDonalds, BMW is Starbucks.

 

There are points of similarity in how you run McDonalds and how you run Starbucks. But nobody goes to Starbucks for hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, french fries, fish (and I question the sanity of ANYONE that goes to McDonalds for fish), pop, biscuits, eggs, apple pie, sausage, bacon, etc. McDonalds needs to have a more 'business' oriented approach to its product offerings. They may want to make good coffee, but building a business model that revolves around making the best daggone coffee on the planet is going to ruin their business. OTOH, if Starbucks stops consistently brewing great coffee, the rest of their business goes down the crapper.

[630land]

If the UAW would stop with the jobs bank, the 'entitlement' thinking that they "are equal to Doctors and Life Savers", and paying people to sit around, there would be no plant closings.

 

If the Edge and freshened 500 and Focus score this well, they can get some ground back.

[StevenJ]

There are points of similarity in how you run McDonalds and how you run Starbucks. But nobody goes to Starbucks for hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, french fries, fish (and I question the sanity of ANYONE that goes to McDonalds for fish), pop, biscuits, eggs, apple pie, sausage, bacon, etc. McDonalds needs to have a more 'business' oriented approach to its product offerings. They may want to make good coffee, but building a business model that revolves around making the best daggone coffee on the planet is going to ruin their business. OTOH, if Starbucks stops consistently brewing great coffee, the rest of their business goes down the crapper.

 

 

Richard I normaly agree wiht what you say but Mickey D's fish sandwich is the only meal I generally eat from them. Other than that, great comparison. So here is to the fried fish sandwich eater.

[RichardJensen]

Richard I normaly agree wiht what you say but Mickey D's fish sandwich is the only meal I generally eat from them. Other than that, great comparison. So here is to the fried fish sandwich eater.

I hope you've made a will.......

 

:rip:

[xr7g428]

The comparison with McD and S'buck implies that BMW has a single product, and Ford many. I completely realize as a global company, Ford is much much more complex than BMW. My point is only with regard to the Ford brand in the north American market, as that is where the problem is right now.

 

If we just consider Ford North America, and BMW North America. With the exception of the truck offerings, the two have comparable mixes. BMW has 3 variants of the 3 series coupe, sedan, wagon. (and a 4th if we count the M3). The Z4 convertible, and coupe (and M versions), the 5 series in sedan and wagon variants (plus the M5) the 6 series in coupe and convertible (plus the M6), and the 7 series in two different wheel bases. There are also the SUV crossovers X3 and X5. They are adding a people mover and a new car below the 3 series later this year. All told, 20 car and crossover offerings. Of course, they have Mini and the motorcycle business, but that is not relevant to the discussion.

 

From Ford we have Focus, Fusion, Five Hundred, Freestyle, Mustang, Crown Vic and the SUV's and trucks. Certainly Ford has it all over BMW in the truck based suv area. Right now, I wish we could trade product lines...

 

I will predict that Ford will become much more like BMW than BMW will ever become like Ford. In the final analysis, the one thing we absolutely know for certain, is that Ford must return to profitability. The profitable car companies do not look like Ford. That is the point, and frankly I am sick of the only example being Toyota.

 

Well, I think we can all say for sure that Ford has not been run by experts on the design of cars. Now why is that a good thing?

[RichardJensen]

The comparison with McD and S'buck implies that BMW has a single product, and Ford many.

Starbucks doesn't have a single product. But their reputation is heavily dependent on a single product. All the macchiatos, frappuchinos, and all of their other high-margin froo-froo drinks depend on their reputatation as a vendor of quality coffee. From one who worked there, I have it on reasonable authority that their drip coffee is their lowest margin product, yet they invest heavily in it because it is what their reputation is based on.

 

Ford sells cars for under $12k up to $250k. BMW does not sell in that range.

 

Ford sells 900k F-series, 500k Focuses, and something like 500k Fiestas. BMW does not sell in that volume.

 

Ford does not need brilliant car guys operating in a dysfunctional system.

 

Ford needs people that will overhaul the system itself.

Edited October 27, 2006 by RichardJensen

[range]

regarding non-car guys running an auto company, refer to Thursday's Wall Street Journal for a front page article on how a non car guy has turned Fiat around.

 

He brought fresh insight, and zero experience in the auto industry and pulled Fiat back from the brink.