I bought a 335i coupe only after the transmission in my 2002 honda accord coupe died after 101K miles – right outside of the extended warranty. Would Honda sub the costs? NO.

My 1997 Isuzu Rodeo…ERRRRR….Honda Passport’s transmission died at 41K miles – right outside of the 36K mile warranty. Would Honda sub the costs? NO.

My Dad’s 1996 and 1997 Lincoln Mark VIII’s are running like a charm.

I know the sample size is small here, but from these conclusions, I could suggest that Fords quality is better than Honda’s.

It’s also a Mazda….

So yes, Ford can build a good product. I was biased against Ford before my cargo van experience so this has been a real eye-opener for me.

I can also add that their passenger cars do not feel anywhere near as rugged as these vans, and I still do remember the Taurus 3.8L engines, the tranny problems, a/c issues, power steering, etc.

Not exactly. It’s based on consumer self-reporting, so is doubly psychologically important: It reflects how consumers feel about the cars they own, and it influences how potential buyers feel about the cars they are considering. (And at some level, genuine quality improvements or declines move those numbers.)

Ford is still nowhere near Toyota or Honda but it is at the lead of the Big 2.8 pack and improving. Fusion roughly ties Camry in the CR reckoning, which is huge.

So credit where credit is due: If Ford is moving both JD Power ratings and CR’s vox populi ratings upward, the company is making some genuine progress.

thoots:

Gosh, too bad that the Fusion leather seat doesn’t have eight-way power — while everything else in the segment lets you power your way through every move, you’ve got to reach for a manual lever to adjust the Fusion’s seat back.

And Gosh, too bad Fusion doesn’t have a sliding armrest like Accord and Camry XLE, so even shortish people can enjoy a useful armrest.

I think the average buyers are looking more for things like these, rather than MPG-sapping AWD.

And so on. The others are beating Fusion because, well, they BEAT the Fusion in a number of areas. Pretty pure and simple. Beats me why Ford can’t figure stuff like this out, and do something about it.

But the Fusion does have Sync, which is more useful than a power reclining seat to most people, as well as very high quality interior materials (at least in SEL trim), arguably better styling than the pregnant Camry or the bloated Accord, and comes in with MSRP/Invoice/and real world prices thousands less than any of them, so, yes, some cost cutting, but also some very solid features on its own, and the cost cutting is passed on to the customer in a (gasp) lower price.

I have to assume that the only reason the Fusion isn’t getting the revised 2.5 liter and 3.0 liter engines in the 2009 incarnation is that the redesigned 2010 is going to get the 3.5 ala the new Mazda6, which will also give it class leading power.

And, to get back on point, better quality scores so far than the majority of the competition.

As far as Consumer Reports goes – anyone who knows anything knows it is a joke.

Toyota’s reliability at this point is half real and half self perpetuating myth. Most people expect a domestic product to break, and then when it does, it confirms their belief and they shout it from the rooftops. When a Toyota or a Honda malfunctions people can’t seem to get their heads around it, assume it was a one off fluke, and never speak of it again…

I don’t have enough to buy a new car, and I can’t bring myself to spend anything for another transmission.

All i have to say is … what a piece of raging shit.

Btw, it died at about 210K km. Did I mention that my 96 infiniti has 400K and the transmission works like a charm? *knock on wood*

I also have a 06 Fusion … i haven’t been disappointed in the car so far … than again its only had 18K km

How many times in the past 30 years has a Detroit mega-corporation claimed to have finally got their $h!t together ??

Can you really make such quality claims while you squeeze every dime out of your near bankrupt suppliers ?

I still see far more black dots in the Ford columns of consumer reports than Toyota and Honda.

You can sprinkle lime on dog crap to make it smell better, but it is still dog crap.

But not the various Fords in our family. All have been good, reliable vehicles – and one dates back to ‘92. As always, though, there are the inexcusable parts – like the corporate heat/ac controls that feel like dog crap.

Deconstruct how the AXOD transmission was allowed to fester in the product line for years and net out how many Honda & Toyota converts it created.

Then explain how things will be different and what will be invested to re-acquire those lost customers.

Seeing the headline, I believed this statement… provided the next few words were “…of the Big 3.”

Sufficiently ambitious (unless Ford is the only survivor), yet attainable! Why don’t you work on “today, the country!” before skipping to “…tomorrow, THE WORLD AHAHAHAHAHA!”

The latest quality survey results by Consumer Reports and JD Power suggest hope. They show solid improvement for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury. Same with the survey being tabulated by this site’s Mr. Karesh.

On an anecdotal level, I will say that the 2005 Focus SE sedan that my wife brought to our marriage has been been quite reliable over 68,000+ miles, especially considering that she hardly babies her cars.

Don’t really care, but comparing old Hondas to old Fords on rust…you can’t tell me the Hondas are any better or worse. Guarantee a Ford purchased today won’t rust any more than a new Honda.

All of this is still customer, dealer and manufacturer sourced data at the end of the day. And a lot of the dealer data comes from customers who bring their car in complaining about a rattle. Manufacturer data comes from warranty claims that dealers submit from customers complaining about wind noise.

That said, TGW as generally defined in the industry is a proficient if not entirely precise way of measuring a vehicle’s quality, generally observed and respected in some form by everyone from Chrysler to Honda, which can be tied loosely with customer satisfaction of a product.

Bingo.
Ford adopted the slogan “Quality is Job #1″ back in the late 70s. Anybody here think they lived up to it? Will Lucy hold the football this time so Charlie Brown can kick a field goal?

I wouldn’t give a bucket of warm spit for any of these Detroit mediocre executive tools with their political games and their empty braggadoccio.

“That’s right, I said it”? Ooh, it’s so gutsy to make yet another empty boast about the future. Why don’t you borrow from the Japanese and show some real commitment: “I’ll commit seppuku in front of Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn if we don’t meet this goal in three years”. Then I might believe you. Better still, just shut up and work toward the goal with humility (a foreign word in Detroit, I know), and save your victory lap for when or if you actually achieve it.

Don’t tell me about quality — show me.

Sounds like you’ve owned the same Ford products that I have.

John

I thought the leather looked awful and cheap. Also, my head hit the ceiling. I wanted to like the fusion, but frankly I can’t imagine a reason to buy it over a Civic.