ford come back

I think they need something along the lines of a Corvette or Viper. A 2-seat "supercar" of sorts that costs $60-$80K. Something all those mid life crisis dudes can buy. The GT was overpriced in my opinion. Something like that, though, that can keep up on the turns! That's what I think they need.

BlackRod said:

I think they need something along the lines of a Corvette or Viper. A 2-seat "supercar" of sorts that costs $60-$80K. Something all those mid life crisis dudes can buy. The GT was overpriced in my opinion. Something like that, though, that can keep up on the turns! That's what I think they need.

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While that certainly may be something useful. I'm not sure one car is going to turn around the company.

Ford comeback

As long as the dealers continue to jack the prices of hot selling cars like the Mustang, Ford will continue to alienate one of their most loyal groups of buyers, Mustang fans. If GM does re-introduce the Camaro and Firebird, and Chrysler the Challenger, a lot of those that might want a Shelby or Boss might just migrate away from the Blue Oval. If GM and Chrysler are smart, they will sell these cars at no more than MSRP. Ford, quit hacking on the "Golden Goose".

GOLDENPONY said:

As long as the dealers continue to jack the prices of hot selling cars like the Mustang, Ford will continue to alienate one of their most loyal groups of buyers, Mustang fans. If GM does re-introduce the Camaro and Firebird, and Chrysler the Challenger, a lot of those that might want a Shelby or Boss might just migrate away from the Blue Oval. If GM and Chrysler are smart, they will sell these cars at no more than MSRP. Ford, quit hacking on the "Golden Goose".

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Cause we all know Ford controls every dealer.

FORD

SVTdriver said:

Cause we all know Ford controls every dealer.

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No, Ford doesn't control every dealer, but they CAN put pressure on them.

anthony05gt said:

The union has screwed the whole situation. Ford has obligations to retired workers that it just can't maintain. GM is in the same boat. This is a fact, not my opinion. They are putting out billion$ that the private sector would never even consider because it doesn't have the unions to deal with.

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That is a totally ignorant, uneducated comment. Do your homework junior, if it wasn't for the unions in this country alot of people wouldn't be where they are today.
Part of the problem is the people in this country are brainwashed into thinking the asian products are better.

My father was a union man for many years and I agree that unions at one time were necessary. It has gotten out of hand though. You can't pay union car makers what they make and the rest of the public be able to afford their products. The deals for union workers have gotten so sweet that the companies very existence is at stake.
There has to be reasonable compromise on all sides. And Ford needs some designers with good ideas and who have some idea as to what people really want to buy.
Their products are stale. With the exception, perhaps of the Mustang, which I dearly love but also recognize is a bit behind the times even with the latest models.
I had to go aftermarket to get a stereo in my 2005 that would handle an ipod. Ford should have aware of the consumer's needs more than it was.

It's simple...

Look at FORD's from Australia or Europe; They're well made, nice looking, great performers, AND they sell well.

The folks in Dearborn apparently seem to think that we North Americans want and need "dumbed down" Fords with "cushy" rides. Geez look at the 500. What crap!! Compare that to the Chrysler 300C. The 500 has a weezy 200HP V6, compared to the 340HP 300C (HEMI).

Today's modern family car should be more Ford Falcon (Australia) and less Crown Vic.

It's all about the product.....

t.o.

I am probably more qualified than anyone on this thread to give an opinion. I have just parted ways with FoMoCo after many years of service because I see no hope in the future for Ford. As far as pay, I think that is a wash. Is has been reported that the new Kia plant in Georgia will have a starting salary of 50k. That's what I made at Ford. My cousin works at Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky plant and makes$27/hr. It was reported recently that the Alabama Mercedes Benz assembly workers did not want to join the UAW because they were happy with their $26.XX (I think $26.60) per hr.

I can't count the number of times I have seen a quality issue and tried for 3 hours or more to get someone to come talk to me. When they get there they get a call on their radio when I got 1/2 a sentence out. Then they say they will be right back. 90% of the time I won't see them until the next day. In the meantime, there may have been 500 cars with a defect.

Every morning there are 3 picnic tables and a standing area with roughly 40 people that are "injured" and can't do anything. They are in plain sight of the workers that are busting hump on the line. 90% of these people have had the same injury for 10 years or more so it's the same people that repeatedly do nada. Sometimes they sweep the floor, sometimes they sit there all day.

Ford's unofficial policy is get it out the door and fix it in the storage/shipping yard or let the warranty take care of it. Some of the "injured" are sent to the yard to make repairs. They are dropped off and told they will be picked up many hours later. The keys are in the cars so these people generally go in the cars and listen to the radio and sleep all day. That is the #1 reason I saw defects getting out the door because these people said they fixed things they didn't.

The Union repeatedly protects these people in plain sight of hard workers. It is just a matter of time before a honest hard worker gets tired of seeing the same thing day after day while they are constantly being given additional work to do.

I chose to leave rather than milk the system.

Do you know how many college graduates, college professors and other professionals do not make $50,000 a year? They also work hard.

1meanZ said:

Ford's unofficial policy is get it out the door and fix it in the storage/shipping yard or let the warranty take care of it.

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Fortunately Mulally appears to be hell bent on changing this.

stanmckinney said:

Do you know how many college graduates, college professors and other professionals do not make $50,000 a year? They also work hard.

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So are you saying if you didn't graduate college. You should not be making $50k?

No. Not at all. But those who do this kind of work and make $50,000 should realize how darn lucky they are. They could just as easily be making minimum wage at a fast food joint. They should also realize that many, many people do not make what they do. As I said earlier, you can't pay people this kind of money to build something and then expect the masses to be able to afford it.
That's just common sense.

I would argue that apparently you can pay people that kind of money and have the masses afford it. Since apparently toyota is paying that much. And people seem to be buying their cars.