Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
Big Ideas and Smart Solutions Lead to Outstanding Results
Innovation is the driving force behind Ford’s soaring quality performance. Virtual tools help improve ergonomics and ensure every part fits properly in a vehicle long before it is ever built. And, by improving our assembly process and taking durability testing to the extreme, Ford ensures its vehicles are built to last. In fact, Ford has more trucks on the road with 250,000 miles than any other brand.(1)
Some quality highlights include:
- Ford has more Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s “Top Safety Pick” awards and government five-star safety-rated vehicles than any other automaker.
- In June, the Ford Focus was recognized as the most improved vehicle in the industry’s top study measuring customer-pleasing design, driving experience and vehicle performance. (J.D. Power and Associates’ 2008 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study)
- Ford Motor Company’s surging domestic quality is now equal to the best in the industry for the 2008 model year, according to the latest U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS) study.
1. Based on vehicle registration data and latest odometer readings available to R. L. Polk & co. for 1192 and newer model year full-size pickups still on the road in the U.S. as of 4/1/08.
Tags: durability, Ford Quality, GQRS, JD Power
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Friday, July 11th, 2008
Mold-in-Color Technology Improves Appearance, Durability of Plastic Vehicle Parts
Scratch or chip the wheel lip modeling on a 2008 Ford Super Duty and don’t expect to see the ugly yellow, black or gray paint primer found on most competitive trucks. That’s because Ford is the first automaker to implement a technology called High-Gloss Mold-in-Color. With this technique, the Super Duty’s wheel lip molding is injection molded with the high-gloss metallic color built right in. No primer, no paint required.
In addition to improving long-term appearance and durability (say goodbye to paint peeling, chipping or fading), mold-in-color technology also reduces volatile organic compounds or VOCs released into the environment since priming and painting of the parts are eliminated. From a manufacturing standpoint, deleting these steps makes mold-in-color more cost-effective, energy-efficient and faster too.
Ford continues to perfect the technology – conquering flow line and color-match challenges that are associated with mold-in color applications for plastic parts. For the 2009 model year, the all-new Ford F-150 will have a mold-in-color top cap front fascia available in five different colors. And next year, the technology will make its interior debut on the instrument cluster of the 2010 Ford Mustang – tested and proved ready to handle substances such as hand lotions, perfumes, coffee and your favorite burger’s special sauce.
Quote:
“When you paint any part, there is a potential for defects from dirt and handling. Then, you have to rework those parts and put them back into the system. With the mold-in-color, essentially every part that comes out of the process is ready to go the first time through,” said LaRon Brown, a Ford quality engineer.
Tags: durability, moldings, paint quality, Super-Duty
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Monday, February 25th, 2008
Ford’s Commitment to Quality Results in 102 Accolades in 2007
Ford’s 102 quality accolades in 2007 are the result of everything that Ford is doing right. A focused "quality first" effort has put Ford at the forefront of numerous consumer and industry surveys and reports.
Some of the quality achievement highlights include:
- Ford Motor Company earned five initial quality model segment awards – more than any other automaker – from J.D. Power and Associates’ Initial Quality Study.
- Ford quality leapt 11 percent, soaring above the industry’s two percent improvement according to a U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS) study by RDA Group released in October 2007.
- A GQRS study named six Ford vehicles that ranked best in their segment: Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Ford E-Series, Mercury Milan, Ford Crown Victoria, Lincoln Mark LT, Mazda MX-5 Miata.
- Twenty Ford vehicles lead their segment in quality.
- Ford received quality accolades from 12 important customer surveys in 2007, including three from J.D. Power and Associates: Initial Quality Study (IQS), the Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study and the Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS).
- Ford has quality winners in virtually every major vehicle segment including:
- Mid-size sporty car - Ford Mustang
- Mid-size car - Ford Fusion
- Large car - Ford Five Hundred
- Van - Ford Econoline
- Large pickup - Ford F-150 LD
- Eleven of 15 Ford vehicles received quality awards in 2007, and 4 of 5 Lincoln vehicles received quality awards.
- Ford Edge, Ford Explorer Sport Trac and Lincoln MKX were named as top performers in AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Award (VSA), an industry benchmark for objectively measuring new-car or light-truck owner satisfaction.
- Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan &Lincoln MKZ have maintained their high quality levels since launching late 2004. And, in 2007 all three models achieved their best quality showing of any first-year vehicle in Ford’s history.
Tags: automotive quality, durability, Ford Crown Victoria, Ford E-Series, Ford Econoline, Ford Edge, Ford F-150 LD, Ford Five Hundred, Ford Fusion, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Ford Quality Links, GQRS, initial quality, J.D. Power and Associates, Lincoln Mark LT, Lincoln MKZ, Lincoln Navigator L, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Mercury Milan, quality vehicles, reliability
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