$$$frumnuttin'

just forget it...

TTRotary

Ford has really gone off the rails quality-wise since 2007. They were ranked 4th at one point, now they are nearly dead last, just a couple spots ahead of the very worst of all - Jaguar. A big part of this is a move by suppliers to go cheap on materials in the face of cost pressure - and that affects everyone in the industry. The other major issue the domestics face is legacy costs of pensions - as much as $1,500 per vehicle by some estimates. The "big 3" are essentially pension companies that make cars.

I did not support the Obama GM bailout, but it may have actually helped GM maintain some better quality standards than Ford and Chrysler...

BlueOx

They all share parts suppliers. Ford only survived because if Bush/Obama hadn't bailed GM and Chrysler, Ford wouldn't have had enough suppliers left to work with and they'd have gone under.

Quality standards are dictated by each carmaker and the parts suppliers only build to those standards.

craig04c5

They have been rated so poorly because of the My SYNC Nav system issues which is unfair because the rest of the vehicle is great. In addition Ford/Lincoln has issued upgrades and even included new maps with the upgrades. The system works just fine now but when I first got our Lincoln the system would crash. They were very good about sending new software or telling you to go to the dealer for free upgrades. That is the difference between Ford and GM. GM will ignore the issues and fix them the next year or in the Corvette's case next generation. I have owned many GM and Ford automobiles and can tell you Ford quality is much, much better than GM.

You also still get more for your money buying a Ford, GM or Chrysler product than European or Japanese. When we were looking for SUV's a Mercedes, BMW or Lexus with the same equipment as our Lincoln cost $10,000 to $15,000 more and at the time I could not even get some of the options our Lincoln MKX has.

$$$frumnuttin'

Guys, don't miss the point of this article. This is not a Ford vs. GM contest...it is about what happened in the supply base that is responsible for the poor vehicle launch at Bowling Green and other factories in the car industry....includes GM and it's competitors and is an industry-wide gremlin that we discussed here in several threads attempting to explain the Nashville thing as well as particular vehicle problems. This could just as easily have been a GM Honcho making identical statements from his side of town.