[RobOnTheCape]

A member in the Games Lounge made the analogy of Ford auto not giving proper attention to tricycles to Apple not giving attention to games. This got me to thinking. Apple puts out a quality product whether it's software or hardware, and people around the world see a certain cache associated with most any Apple product. Then there is Ford.

Few people I know of are truly happy with their Ford. Fixed Or Repaired Daily / Found On Road Dead. I know some will say they love their Mustangs, or perhaps their Taurus SHO. However, I know of too many people who have engines that just die after a few thousands miles, or major problems throughout the vehicles after say 100k to be just coincidence. I've heard of more Ford engines giving out within 100k than all other makes combined. I spoke with a salesperson at a GMC dealership who had just come over from a local Ford dealer, where he had worked for years. He mentioned that he bought most of the members of his family Fords since he worked there, deals etc... He said most all of them gave his family members nothing but problems. I was thinking he was screwing over his family the whole time.

Does Ford put out a better product in Europe? Is their success simply, like Microsoft, because they they are giants and beat out the competition from the starting block? What's your experience with the product.

[skalie]

Ford MKIII Zodiac Black (hole in muffler) = class

[d4nth3m4n]

International model Fords > American model Fords > GM.

i have a ford, but it's really a kia that doubles as a mazda. gets me around adequately.


i don't think i'd ever actively go out looking to buy a ford though.

[budster101]

I had an old Ford F-150 Pickup Truck, and it was bulletproof. It never had any problems.

[OptimusG4]

I have a 2002 Escort and while I hate the car itself, it's been extremely reliable and affordable for me right now. Sure, I have Mustang envy, but it gets me to work and home everyday without a problem.

[OreoCookie]

I remember a friend of my hostmum saying (after she moved to Delaware): <southern drawl>It's not a truck, it's a Ford!</souther drawl>

(She was driving an Explorer at that time.)

[budster101]

Originally posted by OptimusG4:
I have a 2002 Escort and while I hate the car itself, it's been extremely reliable and affordable for me right now. Sure, I have Mustang envy, but it gets me to work and home everyday without a problem.

Mustang. Oh yeah! I love that new mustang... this coming from a former Corvette guy.

[RAILhead]

FORD = Found On Road Dead.

[Fiend]

f'd over repaired dodge
first on race day

And oh, my fav, but not about ford...

pontiac

poor old ****** thinks it's a cadilac

[theJoKell]

Proof that Ford's don't suck:

Edit - Image was too big. Here's a link:
http://mustangworld.com/ourpics/News...how_30_jpg.jpg

And the article:
http://mustangworld.com/ourpics/News.../Shelbycob.htm

[dreilly1]

Originally posted by RAILhead:
FORD = Found On Road Dead.

Fix Or Repair Daily....

[xi_hyperon]

Figure On Rapid Depreciation...

[jasonsRX7]

I've owned two Fords, a 2001 Explorer Sport Trac, and a 2002 Expedition. I really liked them both, they never gave me any trouble. With the Sport Trac I pulled two JetSkis on a double trailer, and with the Expedition I pulled a 23' boat. They both did their jobs admirably. I think Ford, like most auto makers, produce crap at the low end, and better quality products for those that pay for them.

[E's Lil Theorem]

A couple of years ago I read an article about a Honda USA executive that had his roots in GM and Ford. He said that he was amazed at how different the focus of the companies is. He went to explain that while Honda focuses on engineering and thus creating reliable cars, the American companies tend focus on sales numbers, cutting costs, etc. Honda does this too, but they won't do it at the expense of the quality of their cars, or so he said.

(I think the guy I'm talking about is the head of Honda USA, but I don't know for sure.)

[Mr Kino]

think about it. Wen you buy a focus you get a free dell computer.

Ewwww

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

They all look big and cheap to me, that new mustang is totally gross.

[RobOnTheCape]

I looked at quite a few vehicles including GMCs, Fords, but after a lot of research I finally settled on the Honda Element. Not a single complaint so far. However, I only has about 6k miles on it. I went with track record, and the interior engineering. So far so great. An extra I wasn't aware of was the auxiliary input located right above the glove compartment (plent of shelvef space provided). Plugged in my ipod and the sound is fantastic. I believe they are one of the first on the block to offer this input jack.

Back to Ford. Someone mentioned the Explorer. My wife bought one. The power seat stopped working. The metal piece you press to allow the driver seat to come forward for the rear seats simply snapped off. Rust started on the running board much too soon. Electrical issues and more. Fun to get through the mud and sand to the beach, but mostly a big disappointment. She fondly remembers her mustang from the 70s I think, but would never buy another Ford.

Though really hard to pass up the new mustangs.

[waxcrash]

Originally posted by budster101:
I had an old Ford F-150 Pickup Truck, and it was bulletproof. It never had any problems.

I've always been told that Ford makes good trucks, but crappy cars.

[RAILhead]

Ford interiors are pure crap. Cheap crap. If you get in my wife's Infiniti or my Nissan, then go sit in a Ford, there's no comparison -- the Ford interior is sucks.

[villalobos]

they are better than the GM stuff.

[TubaMuffins]

Ford cars are horrible and should be avoided, however the line of pick-up trucks are great, they need to stick with just making those.

[effgee]

Originally posted by RobOnTheCape:
... Does Ford put out a better product in Europe? Is their success simply, like Microsoft, because they they are giants and beat out the competition from the starting block? What's your experience with the product.

They make affordable vehicles that are somewhat reliable, that's pretty much the extent of it - sorta like GM. I wouldn't buy a car from either company.

[TheJoshu]

Spent $5,000 on a 2000 Focus last January -- just sold it this morning for $2,200, with a bad tranny and numerous other issues. Thanks, Ford.

[xi_hyperon]

I had a Contour about 10 years ago, and I lost count how many times it was in, either for a repair or a recall. A few years later, I rented a car in Switzerland, and it turned out to be a new Ford (a Mondeo, I think). The damn thing's cooling system completely crapped out and left me stranded in the Alps on a Sunday afternoon with my (at the time) 1 year old daughter.

That's not to say that everyone has the same luck as I did, but no more Fords, purchased, rented or otherwise driven by me, again.

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

I�ve always hated Fords- and most American cars for that matter. But the last time I went looking for a car, I test drove the usual assortment of Japanese cars, and on a whim tried a 2002 Ford Focus. I freakin� love this car, and thanks to the negative stereotype Ford has as being cheap crap compared to Japanese cars, the price was dirt cheap.

I like this car better than any Japanese auto I�ve owned. It rides comfortably, the interior is so quiet I can hardly tell if the engine is on or not, it�s higher off the ground and much roomier than it looks from the outside, and it�s been 100% reliable for me. Considering the car cost less than half what I was willing to spend, the bang-for-buck factor is off the charts.

Any car will be a pile of crap if you don�t take care of it. Properly maintained, any car should last for a long time. Sorry, but some people simply don't know how to drive a car properly, beating the **** out of it time after time, and don't know how to maintain a car- these types will have problems with virtually anything they own, Ford or otherwise. Living in a car culture like LA, I see a lot of people that wouldn't know how to maintain a vehicle if their lives depended on it.

I guess owning a Ford is something of a fluke for me. For the record, I still pretty much hate everything else Ford makes. The Focus 3 and 5 doors are at least interesting, the sedan Focus though is fugly. (What is the American obsession with ultra BORING sedan style vehicles anyway?)

Every other model Ford makes to me looks to me like absolute crap, and I wouldn�t consider owning virtually any of them. They seem to pile on unneeded bulk to everything they make, and make cars that look and feel like something I couldn�t imagine anyone younger than 60 wanting to get into and drive.

Older 1960�s vintage Mustangs were cool- since then they all look crappy to me, like �wanna-be� sports cars that have retained NOTHING of the styling and ballsy look of the original.

[ink]

1996 Ford Explorer here; just passed 100k miles. It's never had a problem. Ever. Just routine maintenance, per the schedule. It gets a good workout when we go skiing or mountain biking with it (4wd, 6cyl).

Our commuter car is a 2003 TDI Golf that gets close to 50mpg, and it's been in the shop for Check Engine more times than I can remember -- but we still love it for some reason. Glow plug and all.

[SSharon]

I have always been a big fan of the Toyota Camry, but I have driven my share of Fords. My grandmother's taurus has maybe 30k miles on it, but has been in for brakes and engine trouble more times than I can count. The ambulances I drive are also Ford's and they have the strangest electronics problems I have ever seen. Every sharp turn would raise the volume of the radio then the knob would do nothing and the only way to lower the volume was to smack the dashboard in just the right spot, because a hit in the wrong spot sent the volume soaring up again. This happened in two diffirent vehicles, only one of which Ford agreed to fix, and it was a pain in the ass, albeit funny.

[Weyland-Yutani]

Originally posted by villalobos:
they are better than the GM stuff.

Ford is better than GMC?

They look pretty decent!



Never driven one myself. The Ford trucks look good too.

[RobOnTheCape]

O and I forgot. My wife's Explorer Sport, Some crank in the engine gave out. Our mechanic and the Ford mechanic both said it was a defect and couldn't have been cause by wear. When trying to negotiate with Ford of America the dealer mechanic wouldn't say a word. Ford shafted us and it was $2,700 to replace the engine. Thanks Ford.

[Skip Breakfast]

The 2000 Focus was a dog. Never buy an American car in its first year.

Ford has more problems with Mercury and Lincoln than they do with the Ford brand itself.

[wdlove]

Since Volvo is owned by Ford. I think that car in particular is a great car.

[Skip Breakfast]

When trying to negotiate with Ford of America the dealer mechanic wouldn't say a word. Ford shafted us and it was $2,700 to replace the engine. Thanks Ford.

Explain that, please. Out of context it sounds like the dealer screwed you, not Ford.

Having said that, my father had a '88 Chevy Silverado and the block cracked after two years. The dealer tried to string him along until the warranty expired, so he traded it in somewhere else.

[RobOnTheCape]

Sounds the same. I just asked, and it was in fact the block that was cracked, and it was determined to be a manufacturers defect. It had just gone past the warranty period and she got shafted. The expense would to have been borne by Ford, not the dealer.

Bad memories with that rig all the same.

[Link]

Ouch.

My dad was a total ford fanatic -- even when you had to question it seriously (actually, we would tease him about buying japanese cars sometimes) --

Let's see, as long as I can remember he had a taurus, an escort, a tempo, and a mystique (mercury) -- the mystique still lives in our driveway..

The tempo was.. well.. that lovable piece of junk that was always leaking coolant onto the driveway. He liked it, but I recall it being one problem to another, somehow he got it up to about 140,000 miles and one day when we went to the mall, he returned with a shiny green car...

OTOH the mystique was (and still is) hella reliable -- it had a few brake probs back when the mechanic regrided the drums improperly (whoops), but that's about the only thing I can think of.

So I'll just say it's kinda 50/50 -- I never judge by the brand myself, more like the model. After having gone through a few driving school mustangs (gotta get that license!) -- I wouldn't mind one, but they're *too low!*

IMHO if I were to randomly get a new car I'd get that new passat that's coming *grin* TDI with a sweet looking exterior.. the amount of times I hear about VWs with electrical problems scares me though

[sugar_coated]

You get what you pay for, but fords can be good when they are made expensive.

[nredman]

i don't know if i can say fords suck, my dad has a ford ranger - hasn't had any problems with it. i wouldn't buy a ford - however i do like the f-150's

[dampeoples]

No one car manufacturer is better than the other, you have this group whining about american cars, while another is whining about foreign cars, they all have their problems, they all have their fanboys and haters.

if you ask me (you didn't, but i'll tell you anyway), most car maintenance issues, American or foreign (what's the difference nowadays), depend on maintenance.

[NYK Ace]

we've had 8 fords in my lifetime ranging from an '86 thunderbird to the 2005 escape limited edition

lots of great machines each going well over 100,000 before selling

[JHromadka]

My family is a Chevy family now (uncle works at a dealership), but my Dad has a '78 Ford that he still uses on his farm.

[Kilbey]

A friend I know has owned a Ford Ranger since it was new with zero problems. It currently has 320,000 miles on it. The only thing he has done is routine maintainance. Brakes, oil/filter changes, coolant, trans fluid/filter, shocks, and a clutch. He uses it for his sign business and to drive to his teaching job everyday.

I've owned two '81 Mercury Zephyrs, a '88 1/2 Ford Escort, and a '79? Ford Fiesta. I didn't have any major issues with them except the Escort had a cracked head and a worn timing belt which were covered under warranty. But they were all dog slow. Nothing special to own.

[Kilbey]

Originally posted by dampeoples:
No one car manufacturer is better than the other, you have this group whining about american cars, while another is whining about foreign cars, they all have their problems, they all have their fanboys and haters.

if you ask me (you didn't, but i'll tell you anyway), most car maintenance issues, American or foreign (what's the difference nowadays), depend on maintenance.

Very true.

[budster101]

I've got a Chevy right now, and the driver's side window motor gave out one week after the warranty... $480.00

One week later? The rear driver's side window motor gave out... I asked them (Dealership) how the fcuk could that happen? They said, no worries, we'll do it for free. NOT!!!!

I now have tape on my window because it won't close, and can't afford to fix it.

I now hate Chevy and tell everyone my story.

Do you like Apples Chevy? How do you like them apples?????@!!!!E#$()#$!@*#$_*@$Q

[pooka]

Yeah, people keep telling me that there is no difference between foreign and domestic autos. It's a negative stereotype that has stuck from the dark GM days in the 80's. All I know is that when I worked for my dad's delivery service in the 90's is that you couldn't have forced me into one of his ford vehicles at gun point.

Constant problems. Window motor failures, transmission crapping out, interior falling apart and the list goes on. Maybe it's not really fair to say they sucked since we did put quite the beating on those vehicles daily. But the damn japanese vehicles never gave us any where near the grief the domestics did.

Oh, and I just recently bought a 2005 toyota.. and I freakin hate it.

[Kilbey]

Originally posted by budster101:
I've got a Chevy right now, and the driver's side window motor gave out one week after the warranty... $480.00

One week later? The rear driver's side window motor gave out... I asked them (Dealership) how the fcuk could that happen? They said, no worries, we'll do it for free. NOT!!!!

I now have tape on my window because it won't close, and can't afford to fix it.

I now hate Chevy and tell everyone my story.

Do you like Apples Chevy? How do you like them apples?????@!!!!E#$()#$!@*#$_*@$Q

That's some bad luck.

Do you think a Subaru/Honda/Chrysler/Ford/VW dealer would have responded differently?

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
That new mustang is totally gross.

Yeah that is what everyone has been saying.

Oh wait, no they haven't.

Stick with your boxy yuppy cars.

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by TheJoshu:
Spent $5,000 on a 2000 Focus last January -- just sold it this morning for $2,200, with a bad tranny and numerous other issues. Thanks, Ford.

Probably not Ford's fault, but the person who owned it before you I bet.

Lots of people do this, treat their car like crap, then complain that stuff goes wrong with it.

"What a load of junk, It hasn't even been a year since i changed my oil, and it's already screwing up"

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by CRASH HARDDRIVE:
Any car will be a pile of crap if you don�t take care of it. Properly maintained, any car should last for a long time. Sorry, but some people simply don't know how to drive a car properly, beating the **** out of it time after time, and don't know how to maintain a car- these types will have problems with virtually anything they own, Ford or otherwise. Living in a car culture like LA, I see a lot of people that wouldn't know how to maintain a vehicle if their lives depended on it.

[villalobos]

Originally posted by CRASH HARDDRIVE:


Any car will be a pile of crap if you don�t take care of it. Properly maintained, any car should last for a long time. Sorry, but some people simply don't know how to drive a car properly, beating the **** out of it time after time, and don't know how to maintain a car- these types will have problems with virtually anything they own, Ford or otherwise. Living in a car culture like LA, I see a lot of people that wouldn't know how to maintain a vehicle if their lives depended on it.

Although I agree that peopel tend to be skimpy on maintenance, I can tell you that no amount of 'regular maintenance' would have prevented the problems I had with my VW, from the starter dead at 10k miles, to the cat converter, the window regulators, the bad piston, the countless CELs... Some cars just aren't reliable.

[ink]

Originally posted by villalobos:
Although I agree that peopel tend to be skimpy on maintenance, I can tell you that no amount of 'regular maintenance' would have prevented the problems I had with my VW, from the starter dead at 10k miles, to the cat converter, the window regulators, the bad piston, the countless CELs... Some cars just aren't reliable.

Hence the black circle reliability rating that VW gets in Consumer Reports. Dodge also consistently receives poor marks in that category. Honda and Toyota usually get good ratings, and Ford is a mixed bag, depending on the model.

I see the same thing with my VW; you probably shouldn't buy a VW unless you can do some extra maintenance yourself, or if you don't mind it being in the shop a few times a year. But what other company makes a fuel-efficient vehicle with heated wiper fluid nozzles, side mirrors and seats?

[cenutrio]

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
International model Fords > American model Fords > GM.