Why Lie?

[Strokerswild]

The general public has NO idea what a mess this continues to be. We’re 8 + months out also on some equipment/parts and I’m in a different industry.

You're not kidding. I run our corporate machine shop (we build custom automation) and we've gotten to the point of stocking many common parts now because lead times would otherwise cripple projects.

Sponsored

 

[IPOGT]

Yep. IDK about you, but when we are late on a part...it's literally just "past due". Usually zero clue when it's coming once it's past due. Could be 5 days, could be 50. That's both with parts we manufacture, and also parts from other suppliers lol.

First time in my entire working life I had to tell clients I have no idea how long we’ll be waiting for this or that.

Yep. IDK about you, but when we are late on a part...it's literally just "past due". Usually zero clue when it's coming once it's past due. Could be 5 days, could be 50. That's both with parts we manufacture, and also parts from other suppliers lol.

I LOVE informing folks. It’s the highlight of my day.

 

[snakeyes]

This guy is generally a Goober but he’s making a point maybe we should all take note of. Although he’s talking about EVs it’s still the impact on the company that is concerning

 

[goodlettjr]

This guy is generally a Goober but he’s making a point maybe we should all take note of. Although he’s talking about EVs it’s still the impact on the company that is concerning

If you actually understand the loses and the percentage of total revenue of Ford, it is very misleading. A billion is a is a fart in the ocean.

 

[snakeyes]

A loss is a loss, and is also part of the reason the factory is closed because another “story” suggests that Ford has lost significant amounts of money on recalls therefore they do not want to release a goobered up car - with 1.5 inch panel gaps and failing engine parts. it’s ok to be a Ford fanboy but reality, is reality…

If you actually understand the loses and the percentage of total revenue of Ford, it is very misleading. A billion is a is a fart in the ocean.

 

[goodlettjr]

A loss is a loss, and is also part of the reason the factory is closed because another “story” suggests that Ford has lost significant amounts of money on recalls therefore they do not want to release a goobered up car - with 1.5 inch panel gaps and failing engine parts. it’s ok to be a Ford fanboy but reality, is reality…

I worked for both Ford corporate for 8 years as dealer facing rep and for a Ford dealer, parts manager, for 3 after that. I grew to really like Ford (wasn't a fan at all before that), but it was a job and I enjoyed the job / career move. Not really a fan boy, but made the most of it understanding how they operate. How a manufacturer breaks down losses would be different than a dealership. And those are both different models than how you or I break them down in a company or our personal finances. Ford looks at segments and manages income, losses, but manages cash burn as a total organizations. I currently work at6 a non Ford dealership and they manage different than the automotive sector. If I managed my expenses like Ford then everything should be tired to an income producing factor. Example it cost me $100 a week in gas and $80 a week in tolls. I make $500 a week in income. Then I would just report the loses of $180 a week. That doesn't count in shared resources such as if someone rode with me and it is was a shared resource. Even though it would reduce expenses, a cost is still incurred doing a specific thing. Corporate accounting is one part of it and reporting income, losses, and revenue are another. They slide money around on paper and take losses in different quarters, years, etc. for tax and shareholder reasons. Then they make (media) statements around that. So a loss is not a loss.

I agree I don't want a car with recalls, much less plagued with recalls. Reduction of expenses is just that. A reduction of expenses. Having better quality control is two fold, expense reduction and customer satisfaction. I spent my time at Ford (in Houston) during the launch of the 6.0L Power Stroke and the 6.4L Power Stroke. All I handled was diesel engines in the largest market in the US. I very much understand the frustration of Ford / International, the dealer body, and the fleet / customer when a new product is released and it has minor issues and major issues.

I think we are making the same /similar point, but in my mind, I just don't have a chicken little the sky is falling belief before a product is even hitting the street.

 

[dfwford]

its not really a lie though...

1. yeah they shut the factory down...thats a supply chain issue...because the factory supplies the cars that Ford sells...
2. based on your postings you ordered a convertible, which is on hold right now...due to not having the supplies needed.

Also its an automated emailing system. youre not going to get a response from it. if you want to complain youll need to use Fords customer support site: https://www.ford.com/help/contact/

As someone who works in Purchasing, who works in the Auto Industry and who's worked for Ford's CSD in the past, I can tell you that Ford voluntarily choosing to shut down their own factory has nothing to do with Supply Chain issues

Supply Chain issues implies Ford is having problems getting the required material / parts to build their products. And there may be truth to that on some level.

But in large part, the delays now are being driven by Ford's own shitty quality/engineering (in the Automotive community, Ford is known notoriously for having extremely complex designs/specifications for their non-CCC parts) as well as their shitty supplier relations (turns out bullying your supply base and squeezing them for every nickel you can means you don't get all the parts you need on time), which is why the vague email blaming "Supply Chain Issues" is a massive stretch of the truth at best.

 

[dfwford]

I work in a dealership. Back ordered part and assembly line parts shortages are real things. I have 5 stores and run approx. 1850 back ordered lines at any given time right now. Reread that. 1850+ back ordered lines with multiple quantities on most. I have a wire harnesses that 8+ months out with no ETA. I have EGR valves that finally made it stateside only to fail inspection and be scrapped with no ETA. I had fuel filters on back order and they were at sea so long they rusted. the manufacturer had to scrap 7 containers. This above is much better than it was during the height of Covid. It is a mess out there.

The general public has NO idea what a mess this continues to be. We’re 8 + months out also on some equipment/parts and I’m in a different industry. This is actually a downplayed disaster.

The part shortages are real to an extent, that's true.

That said, without revealing too much information, I work for another OEM (direct competitor to Ford) and our plants / dealers aren't experiencing the work stoppages that Ford continues to deal with. The vast majority of COVID-related logjams have cleared up.

A lot of this is self-inflicted by Ford. They're universally terrible to work with from a supplier perspective (and yes, this feeling flows down to the delaership level as well), and I don't blame suppliers for prioritizing the orders from other OEMs before Ford's.

 

[dfwford]

And to be clear, the intention with my posts isn't to bash Ford or be a Debbie Downer.

I have family who currently works for Ford, was born/raised in a UAW family in Detroit and all the vehicles I owned have been Fords.

That said, while I love them and they will always have a special place in my heart, Ford is a bit of a circus (things did get a bit better under Alan Mulally, but he was only 1 CEO and fixing the firmly entrenched cultural/institutional problems that exist wasn't going to happen overnight) and there's nothing wrong with calling them out about it or establishing realistic expectations about their products, especially given the certain someone who has been a common denominator there the last 25 years at the C-Level / Chairman level.

 

[IPOGT]

It seems from your posts, Ford’s top design and engineering teams and the products that result make up for their operational shortcomings as a company. It must be frustrating. I always wondered what it’s like to be successful despite yourself.

 

[dfwford]

It seems from your posts, Ford’s top design and engineering teams and the products that result make up for their operational shortcomings as a company. It must be frustrating. I always wondered what it’s like to be successful despite yourself.

Ford has a very impressive product lineup, and they do benefit heavily from what I would call "Buy American" privilege, as many people (myself included) purchase their cars for the simple fact that they're a US-based automaker and have a massive uniom workforce in spite of their known operational shortcomings.

That said, Ford has gome from something like 40% market share in the 70s to barely in the 10% area today, because they've burned so many customers & suppliers with the same shortcomings. Now that so many other better run competitors have entered the market (and even their major crosstown rival has improved a fair bit from an operational standpoint), Ford's operational shortcoming are now starting to negatively impact its bottom line at a time where they have to tread carefully with the industry-wide transition from ICE to EVs.

 

[Gogoggansgo]

Just received an email from Ford. I was thrilled, I thought it was a production date. It was a lie blaming the supply chain for delays. I replied and asked why the lie when the FR plant is closed to address QC issues and got a reply.....this mailbox is not accepting replies!

I'd rather wait than deal with recalls. Anyone else get this BS email?

Honestly this isn’t all that bad the poor bronco guys got shafted and i mean shafted. I knew of a few builds that took the better part of two years to show up. They got a lot ford points and extra little goodies but let’s cut the crap, it’s unacceptable

 

[Mgmginnetti]

Honestly this isn’t all that bad the poor bronco guys got shafted and i mean shafted. I knew of a few builds that took the better part of two years to show up. They got a lot ford points and extra little goodies but let’s cut the crap, it’s unacceptable

It’s not over until the Mustang is in my driveway. I had a 2 year bronco order and belive me we all had just a much hope around this time. It’s going to get exponentially worse. Mustangs won’t get built, dealers are going to start slapping adm. We are lucky if we see our cars by December.

Sponsored