Last year wasn’t exactly a good one for Ford Motor Company in terms of quality, as it ranked as the most recalled manufacturer of 2022. However, the automaker has taken steps to right the ship in that regard, and it seems as if Ford executive chair Bill Ford is seemingly pleased with the direction the automaker is heading in terms of those quality fixes, according to Reuters.
“We probably had so much focus on the future that perhaps we took our eye off the ball a little bit on the present,” Bill Ford said of the automaker’s past actions. “Jim’s got a full court press on it, and we’re already starting to see results.” Farley is a “fantastic CEO,” he added, noting that “this is the best leadership team in my memory. We’ve got plenty of resources to get done what we need to get done. And now we have to execute.”
Ford’s quality woes have been well-documented to this point, and aren’t necessarily limited to one specific area or vehicle. Rather, a number of issues have popped up in recent months, with a number of models being dinged for various teething problems. That list includes the Ford F-150 PowerBoost, which ranked as the least reliable vehicle in Consumer Reports most recently reliability survey, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Ford Bronco Sport lost their recommended status, and the Ford Explorer ranked among the 10 least reliable vehicles, to boot.
As for Ford itself, the brand ranked well below average in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study and Consumer Reports‘ annual reliability study, suffering a substantial drop in both reports year-over-year. However, The Blue Oval has made several moves to rectify this ongoing issue over the past several months. Aside from simply taking actions to make quality a focus in its operations, Farley also brought in turnaround expert Josh Halliburton to be the company’s new executive director of quality. However, while Halliburton believes Ford’s quality woes will begin to subside this year, CEO Jim Farley isn’t quite as optimistic.
We’ll have more on Ford’s quality woes soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Comments
Bill Ford is also part of the problem, since he’s not resigning, the problems will continue. Henry Ford would fire “executives” like this guy.
Henry Ford bankrupt his first car company.
Was kicked out of the second.
Nearly bankrupt this current version of Ford twice (in late 20’s and mid 1940’s).
At the end, Henry’s key player was a thug, Roosevelt released HF2 from navy service because it was feared Ford would go illiquid, Henry 1, had to be forced to resign by Clara under threat of divorce, and the management of the company and culture had to be rebuilt by HF2, Ernie Breech, and the Wiz Kids.
I don’t think you know what you are talking about.
All I can say is WOW. He’s pleased with the direction the company’s headed! WOW!
I’m sure he’d smile knowing you are so excited by this.
As the owner of my 6th Ford product I have to say I’m honestly done with the quality issues of the product. For example, if you look at the fit and finish of a 2023 KIA vs a 2023 Ford the KIA unfortunately kills it in every metric. $60,000 now for a 2023 Explorer with numerous feature deletes due to supplier issues. The body panels don’t line up, there is wind noise at highway speeds, the SYNC3 system is the most poorly designed and executed multimedia software in the automotive business. It’s time to look elsewhere for my next vehicle.
The Korean’s fit and finish may be better, but ask most professional mechanics what they thinks of their powertrains and you will get an earfull. Many will tell you that any significant engine work is just a waste of money.
So Nob what are you driving now?
How has it been?
Or are you just engaging in performative fulmination for a K-street patron?
Remember on Ford commercials it was said: Quality is Job One. I guess not anymore. I have a 2012 Focus with a 140,000 miles and have all the original parts except normal wear. That’s when they had some quality. Another mistake they made is that they stopped making cars. Look at the foreign car makers. They still make cars.
Ok sweet K-street Larry, that summer wine you were conned into drinking is cool aid.
Your problem free Focus was literally recalled 10 times.
If Ford was serious, they would combat the current issues by offering 20 year/ 200K mile warranty on all new vehicles without any loopholes to get out of paying.
The 20/200 might be a bit extreme but they could go with a stronger warranty.
Perhaps they will on model E, as a warranty costs you nothing if nothing goes wrong in the warranty period.
I’m a die hard Ford fan but recently I bought a 2022 explorer and the damn thing leaks water in the back somewhere and ford can’t find it. Total horse $h1t. I think I’ll be looking else where for another vehicle. Ford definitely lost my trust in making a great vehicle.
What are you talking about?
Water leaks are nearly the easiest thing to find.
You should try a different dealer.
Ford’s recent quality problems started with J Hackett, as he distracted leadership and squandered billions on things like Argo. Farley made things worse by denying senior management’s role in the quality issues… he simply blamed the engineers. Yet Jim Part 2 also has distracted leadership. Why? To appease WCF2 with an EV-centric reorganization that branded the traditional side of the business as baby sitters (and 3rd class citizens with no career future) until Ford E and Ford Pro can carry the company.
It’s called facing reality head on and acting on it.
As for the guys with run out career paths, this is inevitable and universal for every industry, or technique, all ford can do is be up front about it and treat those guys decently until giving them a decent severance.
I don’t think any team can ever top the group Alan Mulally led.
Alan brought a lot of common sense optimization to the organization but he wasn’t flawless, it was on his watch that we had the transmission debacle in the Fiesta and Focus.
And even though he retired in 2014 the seeds were already laid for some of the issues we’ve seen since then.
I bought a new Ford 150 two years ago it had the coyote V8 it used oil from day one about 1 quart for every 2000 miles they told me at the dealership that’s why they put a 7 quart capacity had a few electrical problems like speed control quit working as soon as warranty was up never got fixed. Otherwise it was a decent truck. This fall I was looking for another new truck I went out and price of Ford they had one on the lot I went online at night and I found a Chevy it had more features like leather seats but it didn’t have the moonroof or the large mirrors I bought it for 8000 cheaper than a Ford.The Chevy I have about 7000miles on now There’s no oil consumption I love the truck Ford has a big problem
Did you like use voice to text to compose this stream of consciousness, or did somebody hide your box of punctuation?