7th Feb 2007, 05:15
19:21 none of my full size pick ups have ever rolled over. Maybe if they were narrow top heavy pickups I might have that concern however.
7th Feb 2007, 10:05
22:11 wrong answer... plants may drop shifts or idle a specific plant. Not do away with quality control. That's a pretty uninformed comment. There is no way you will not find parts or service for a Ford.
There is the possibility however you will pay too much for a foreign truck lacking comparable features.
7th Feb 2007, 16:20
Yeah, you keep believing that. Because, after all, a company in deep financial trouble, the WORST in its 100+ year existence, will ALWAYS make quality a top priority.
8th Feb 2007, 23:33
In the (unlikely) event that Ford should go under, I'll just keep driving my current Ford truck until I die. I'm not REMOTELY worried about warranty problems, as NOT ONE of the 10 new Fords we've bought since 1976 has EVER required a repair...EVER, whether during the warranty period or well after it ran out. As for not being able to get parts...YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!! I was travelling with a friend a couple of years ago when he had a problem with the distributor cap on his '67 Triumph GT-6 in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi. We walked into a local AutoZone, asked about the part and the guy reached on a shelf and handed us one!!! Now, if you can walk into an AutoZone in Podunk, Mississippi and get a distributor cap for a BRITISH car that hasn't even been made in over 30-something years, I hardly think finding parts for the most popular truck ever made on Earth will ever be a problem.
9th Feb 2007, 09:19
I see you haven't been on the Lincoln boards (Ford owns Lincoln in case you missed that) where owners of even 1990's cars are saying parts are becoming rare.
And please explain to us all how AutoZone is going to carry hybrid powertrains and other advanced electronics 20 years hence.
9th Feb 2007, 19:59
The F-150 is garbage, as are all Fords. It ties for dead last place with any Chevy truck. Any Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, hell, even Dodge is a little better than Ford. Anyone with the common sense God gave a six year old can clearly see that if Ford made the best, or even AVERAGE quality trucks, then they would not be in the worst financial shape in their whole history. That's dumb$#@ logic to say that they must be making good trucks because their profit margin demands it. Making junk is what got them to this point, and the added pressure of losing billions is only going to make a bad company even worse. Simple, common sense.
10th Feb 2007, 09:47
Having test driven a V-8 Tundra extended cab and a Ford F-150 extended cab V-8, I'd take the Ford hands down. It was smoother, quieter in the cab, handled bumps better and had much more power. In addition, the F-150's luxurious and well-appointed interior makes the Tundras look incredibly cheap by comparison. In all fairness, the Tundra I drove was an '06. I hear the '07's have taken some cues from Ford and beefed up a little.
10th Feb 2007, 10:52
Toyota is just starting to find out what a pain in the ass it is to assemble trucks over here. I read some recent report on it, and soon Toyota will get owned by the labor union over here.
10th Feb 2007, 23:03
For the last time: The reason Ford and GM are in such trouble is mainly because of gas prices and pension for retired workers. Why can't you people get this? Just because you hate Ford and think that they make junk does not automatically connect that to their financial situation.
Say it with me, GAS PRICES, GAS PRICES, GAS PRICES.
Neither company was having this many problems until gas went up to three dollars a gallon. If the F-150 is such garbage, the sales numbers would keep dropping each year, not going up and breaking new records. That is just plain and simple logic. The Ford F-150 is what is saving Ford during this time. It's their mediocre cars and mini-vans that might be "junk". The F-150 is not causing them their problems, if anything, it's what's keeping them alive.
Ford managed to still set a new record with F-150 sales even after gas shot up to 3.00$ a gallon. That should really say something about the vehicle. 912,000 F-150's were sold around the world last year, are you saying that all 912,000 of those people are just stupid for buying it and you're a genius for buying a futile (original) Tundra?
Maybe the contrary is simple logic to you because you are so blinded by hatred towards Ford and GM. I'd imagine you're foaming at the mouth just thinking about them. How many times can I say it? You don't make your preference of vehicle look better by calling the alternatives garbage and constantly bashing them. I guess that's all you've got to offer. You can't explain how the Tundra is better, so you just keep calling the Ford's and Chevy's junk. Very compelling.
Oh wait a minute, that's right, the Tundra is better because the (lighter) doors and the (un-used) tailgate shut smoother than those junky Ford's. Wow.
11th Feb 2007, 06:24
Wrong. The reason they're in trouble is because people are buying from other, better manufacturers (Toyota, Nissan, Honda). Why do you think GM's new add says "everyone at GM is concerned with quality", and Ford's says "more trucks on the road with over 250,000 miles..."? They know they are losing more and more buyers every day to better makers. This will continue. Listen up, Ford and GM; just SAYING you're concerned about quality isn't enough. You actually have to BUILD them properly. Toyota has made quality vehicles since day one, their massive growth reflects it. The Big 3 could once afford to make them crappy because there were no other manufacturers to compete with them. Now there are better choice available, (Tundra) and people are buying them. Hence Ford and GM's well deserved and self-inflicted poor situations. Believe what you like, that's the REAL reason for their plight. Maybe if they actually do get their acts together and learn to build something properly, they might begin to lift their reputations out of the mud, but it will take awhile. There'll be no catching Toyota though.
11th Feb 2007, 09:06
The big three were slipping in market share BEFORE gas prices went up. GM used to have a 50% market share, and Ford was very strong as well. That was over 30 years ago.
Speaking of 30 years ago, the big three went through an oil crisis before, but instead of doing what Toyota and Honda did they simply went on building gas guzzlers.
And anyone could see that making all your profits on gas guzzling SUVs was NOT a long term strategy. But the big three can never see beyond the next quarter, so just look for profits profits profits without PLANNING.
It's the classic case of the ant and the grasshopper.
The F-150 has always been a popular truck, but is NOT indicative of the auto industry as a whole. Big SUV/Truck sales are down 13% and continue their slide. This is NO surprise, and a three year old could point out the folly of betting your company on an unstable fuel source.
The ONLY thing remotely interesting the big three have done is GM's Chevy Volt. If this comes to fruition (with its combined 150 mpg) GM will once again be on top. But the other two still aren't learning the lessons, with Ford showing a concept car of the gas guzzling Ford Interceptor and Chrysler launching its failure Aspen, another gas guzzling SUV no one wants.
6th Feb 2007, 23:33
Ford's "financial woes" resulted in my getting a loaded V-6 Ranger Sport for less than a "stripper" Tacoma. Since the Ranger is more reliable, I'm 7 grand better off AND have a better truck.