the reason people are blaming union labour is because it has crippled gm and ford. their costs are through the roof and their health care costs as a result of union labour have completed killed these companies... they cant compete against companies with mostly non union labour forces..... just look at what walmart is doing to the rest of the retail landscape. why do you think walmart spends so much money on fighting unions? Unions are business killers in todays society.
"Maybe a better question would be how well has the service dept taken care of the problems?"
This will vary with each dealership. Some dealerships will do a better job in this area while others are totally indifferent. Plus there are certain well documented problems, ie the gas tanks, that the replacement gas tanks are just now being shipped out to cover those needed. The service department can order it for you first and then you should only need your car to be in the shop for the day. DO make sure they also order the new replacement drive shaft bolts at the same time so there is no delay with your install.
While other repairs, ala the popping noise from the front end and the no floor heat, that the dealers just can't do anything about at this point. As of yesterday Ford has still not come up with a fix for either of these and in fact according to my discussion with the Service(hate to use that word in context with my dealer) Manager and the owner of the dealership last night, Ford has instructed them NOT to replace the strut bearings as that will not fix the problem. So nothing the dealer can do until Ford issues them further notice on the noise and heat, or lack thereof, issues.
But it is important that you report these problems and get them documented NOW even if there is not a fix in today. This way when a fix does come down the pipeline, you will get notified and if there are any side consequences of these problems you are also covered.......
12/15/04 build date, delivered on 1/7/05, 4500 miles to date and no problems worth taking to the dealer. A few CD skips (I have the 'A' series Shaker500), and filling up is hit or miss (just turn the nozzle to the 1 o'clock position). I love the car and Ford did a fantastic job with it.