Ford CEO Jim Farley’s frustration builds as he vows to transform the automaker

[OFC Ranger]

You know what seems to kill companies in the long term - trying to be the biggest automaker in the world. Remember when Ford did it and QC and service went out the window, they may have been making more cars than anyone else, but many of them were shit cars.
Then Toyota, that rightly labeled bastion of quality and reliability definitely seemed to lose something after their time on top, Nissan tried, and it killed them, once they were considered equal or nearly equal in quality to Toyota, now stuck in bed with Renault and Mitsubishi. And Volkswagen - well the less said there the better.

Maybe Henry Ford was right when he (allegedly) said to one of his favourite staff - I don't want all of the market Charlie, 1/3 will be enough.

I suspect there is a direct correlation between decline in QC vs total options on a vehicle offered, as well as the amount of models/trim offered.

Adding a bunch of extra fluff means no capacity to manufacturer in house, this leads to out sourcing, this leads to QC problems. Don't have to look back very far to see this, aka bronco hard tops.

That and the old proverb on stretching ones self too thin in regards to how many different things one can man in-house instead of hyper focusing on a select few.

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[Cmar]

You are right I checked.

Maybe it was my explorer patrol suv, not sure where those are assembled.

If not that, there was something somewhere in one of these Ford vehicles with a big fat assembled or made in mexico sticker on it, thats about all I can remember.

My Ranger despite being assembeled in the Thailand plant has an electronic ontroller box under the dash, labeled "Made in Mexico" it also has a passenger airbag assembly labeled "Made in China" a 6R80 auto labeled "Made in the USA" the wiring harnesses have tags that say "Made the Philippines" the diesel injector system is Siemens "Made in Germany" and I'm pretty sure the diesel engines are all made in either SA or the UK plants. Mine has sticker on it that begins the the code "GB" so perhaps means "Great Britain" plant.
"Global" really is a good term for these cars.

 

[OFC Ranger]

My Ranger despite being assembeled in the Thailand plant has an electronic ontroller box under the dash, labeled "Made in Mecico" it also has a passenger airbag assembly labeled "Made in China" a 6R80 auto labeled "Made in the USA" the wiring harnesses have tags that say "Made the Philippines" the diesel injector system is Siemens "Made in Germany" and I'm pretty sure the diesel engines are all made in either SA or the UK plants. Mine has sticker on it that begins the the code "GB" so perhaps means "Great Britain" plant.
"Global" really is a good term for these cars.

Ah maybe that is where I recall seeing it during my extensive adventures of electrical wiring I've been under both sides of my dash more hours than I care to remember.

 

[D Fresh]

You are right I checked.

Maybe it was my explorer patrol suv, not sure where those are assembled.

If not that, there was something somewhere in one of these Ford vehicles with a big fat assembled or made in mexico sticker on it, thats about all I can remember.

My old Fiesta ST was made in Mexico. It likely had the best initial build quality of any new car I've ever bought, American, Japanese, whatever. Miles ahead of the initial build quality of my American made Ranger.

Mexican folks have a strong work ethic. I'd rather have a vehicle made by a hard working Mexican than a fat lazy American who wants $40/hr to work an automated torque wrench.

Maverick is made in Mexico as well as Bronco Sport and Escape IIRC. All are doing quite well in comparison to Ford's US made new products.

Like it or not as China declines, Mexico will be making more and more of our stuff.

 

[OFC Ranger]

My old Fiesta ST was made in Mexico. It likely had the best initial build quality of any new car I've ever bought, American, Japanese, whatever. Miles ahead of the initial build quality of my American made Ranger.

Mexican folks have a strong work ethic. I'd rather have a vehicle made by a hard working Mexican than a fat lazy American who wants $40/hr to work an automated torque wrench.

Maverick is made in Mexico as well as Bronco Sport and Escape IIRC. All are doing quite well in comparison to Ford's US made new products.

Like it or not as China declines, Mexico will be making more and more of our stuff.

I'll just be honest, I don't care where the hell my product is made as long as it works and doesn't give me radiation poisoning.

Hell I've had China items shipped directly to me from their factory that smelled like a fish boat for 3 days while I let it air out. The product however worked perfectly. lol

Edit: I'll also take it a step further, I'll gladly trade 1 illegal mexican for 1 lazy US citizen all day long. It is not like that US citizen is paying taxes any more than the 1 illegal mexican.

You are right, mexicans, at least in my area, are hard working and never cause problems for us at my job (police).

I'm pretty sure at least half the crew that assembled my metal garage where illegal. Probably the same for my actual house.

 

[BS67]

My Ranger despite being assembeled in the Thailand plant has an electronic ontroller box under the dash, labeled "Made in Mexico" it also has a passenger airbag assembly labeled "Made in China" a 6R80 auto labeled "Made in the USA" the wiring harnesses have tags that say "Made the Philippines" the diesel injector system is Siemens "Made in Germany" and I'm pretty sure the diesel engines are all made in either SA or the UK plants. Mine has sticker on it that begins the the code "GB" so perhaps means "Great Britain" plant.
"Global" really is a good term for these cars.

I read your post and immediately thought of this song.......had to post it!

 

[RedlandRanger]

I mean really? I think mine was assembled in Mexico if I recall looking at the stickers in the door.

Just saying.

Rangers in NA are all built at MAP in Wayne, Michigan.

Bronco Sports and Mavericks are built somewhere in Mexico.

 

[MrBirdman330]

My old Fiesta ST was made in Mexico. It likely had the best initial build quality of any new car I've ever bought, American, Japanese, whatever. Miles ahead of the initial build quality of my American made Ranger.

Mexican folks have a strong work ethic. I'd rather have a vehicle made by a hard working Mexican than a fat lazy American who wants $40/hr to work an automated torque wrench.

Maverick is made in Mexico as well as Bronco Sport and Escape IIRC. All are doing quite well in comparison to Ford's US made new products.

Like it or not as China declines, Mexico will be making more and more of our stuff.

The Escape is assembled in Kentucky, it was previously assembled in Claycomo just outside Kansas City.

 

[D Fresh]

The Escape is assembled in Kentucky, it was previously assembled in Claycomo just outside Kansas City.

Eerps. Thanks for the correction.

 

[dtech]

My old Fiesta ST was made in Mexico. It likely had the best initial build quality of any new car I've ever bought, American, Japanese, whatever. Miles ahead of the initial build quality of my American made Ranger.

Mexican folks have a strong work ethic. I'd rather have a vehicle made by a hard working Mexican than a fat lazy American who wants $40/hr to work an automated torque wrench.

Maverick is made in Mexico as well as Bronco Sport and Escape IIRC. All are doing quite well in comparison to Ford's US made new products.

Like it or not as China declines, Mexico will be making more and more of our stuff.

Agree regards Mexicans work ethic, way back when used to work with Maquiladora in Juarez and the workers were a pleasure to deal with (much better than those of our PR territory) , but a good many of those plants were closed and work sent to China, NAFTA put a lot of Mexican farms out of business as they aren't subsidized to the extent US agriculture is, but the new trade agreement USMCA has provisions to promote auto and auto related biz in Mexico and Canada.

 

[seanellaz]

Great points. Unfortunately, it seems these days that the "message" (saying it) is more important than the actual execution (actually doing it). I have a feeling it starts with the "perception is reality", which is very true, but at some point you actually have to DO what you SAY you are going to do. It's called integrity, and it is sorely lacking in so many areas these days. IMO, it is how you build trust, which is the foundation for so many things.

I hope Farley can bring some of that back to Ford. I subscribe to the "if you treat your employees well, they will take care of the customer" mantra - maybe if they funnelled some of that exhorbitant executive pay down to the people who actually do the work, and then actually LISTENED to them, things would improve. Just my armchair quarterbacking opinion....

Yes, if they shifted revenue to pay their workforce more and listened to their feedback they'd have way less trouble staffing their plants and keeping quality up.

 

[Cmar]

Yes, if they shifted revenue to pay their workforce more and listened to their feedback they'd have way less trouble staffing their plants and keeping quality up.

Yes sadly the mantra today is do it faster, do it cheaper, and almost good enough. W Edwards Deming must be turning in his grave.

 

[D Fresh]

Yes, if they shifted revenue to pay their workforce more and listened to their feedback they'd have way less trouble staffing their plants and keeping quality up.

Yes sadly the mantra today is do it faster, do it cheaper, and almost good enough. W Edwards Deming must be turning in his grave.

What on earth are you talking about?

Their UAW workers are getting almost $10k in profit sharing from Ford this year. Ford pays their assembly line workers 20% more than the US average.

 

[MrBirdman330]

I suspect there is a direct correlation between decline in QC vs total options on a vehicle offered, as well as the amount of models/trim offered.

Adding a bunch of extra fluff means no capacity to manufacturer in house, this leads to out sourcing, this leads to QC problems. Don't have to look back very far to see this, aka bronco hard tops.

That and the old proverb on stretching ones self too thin in regards to how many different things one can man in-house instead of hyper focusing on a select few.

Set the bar too high and you will never reach it or always fall short.

 

[seanellaz]

What on earth are you talking about?

Their UAW workers are getting almost $10k in profit sharing from Ford this year. Ford pays their assembly line workers 20% more than the US average.

point well taken. Time was a person could work fulltime @ Ford, afford a house and a boat. Put the kids thru college. Not sure if it is that way of late.

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