Dean Gamburd said:
As my friendly Sevice Mgr explained it to me "It's a new model, built by a new assembly company coming down a new production line, made in a union plant. If you want perfection buy a Toyota or Lexus. Ford never claimed it's built quality was ever near, let alone equal to any of the oversea's MFG's. If you can't live with that, don't buy a Ford."
That's a sad, pathetic excuse. A growing number of "Japanese" cars are assembled, manufactured, or both right here in the US. First year, all new model, new assembly plant, etc., but Ford can do better. Every year, more and more "foreign" cars are being built here in the US, which allows those manufacturers to lower their prices because they're paying less import taxes and shipping costs. What's more, those "foreign" cars are being produced at the same quality level as they had been overseas. Now, those companies are poised to outsell anything the big 3 produce if Ford, GM, and Chrysler (regardless of their Mercedes partnership) don't get their act together over the next decade or so.
bigaloz said:
What I find funny is the people who try to compare a 25,000 car to a corvette, or bmw.
If you love those other cars so much, don't buy a mustang.
If I'm taking what you're saying out of context, sorry, but from what you're saying I'm assuming that you think all these problems are totally acceptable. However, IMO, when people spend money on a new car, whether it's $15k, $25k, or $100k, they should have some level of expectation that it not spend a significant part of its life with the mechanic.
When it comes down to it, people will always buy what the American big 3 make and there will be niche vehicles like the Mustang that will always attract people, but the Japanese and Germans (more so the Japanese) are catching up.
Problems or not, though, I still want one
... it's just that if it's going to be in the shop all the time and I can't drive it on a daily basis as my only means of transportation, then it's not for me.