FORD, didnt take our money and opening a new plant!!

[SKR8PN]

Well boys and girls, since I have been in the repair and service end of the auto business my entire life, let me give you my take on things............
Ford has a better idea......Chrysler has been using it for 20 years and General Motors is STILL trying to figure out what it is!!

Seriously though, the big three should have been getting their ducks in a row a loooong time ago. They are all 3 guilty of building products that are inferior to the others(for the most part) but where they really fall short is in their warranties and protection of their customers investment. Every single one of the big 3 has built engines and/or transmissions that are poorly designed and very VERY difficult(expensive!) to repair. On the Ford truck/SUV line, they make it impossible to get to the top of the engine unless you lift the body off the chassis! Chrysler's 2.7 liter v-6 engine is the biggest piece of sheist to ever roll off the assembly line. Think I am kidding? Do a Google on 2.7 Chrysler engine complaints sometime. Make sure your coffee cup is full! And GM? They are just as guilty with the 2.4 litre quad-4 and the water pump that is almost impossible to get to with out tearing half the car apart and it has a head gasket made out of tissue paper. GM even stopped putting a dipstick in their front wheel drive transmissions so now you can't even check the fluid level on most models! Can you say "planned obsolescence"?? They WANT them to break so you have to buy another new car,or at the very least replacement parts to fix what you have.
Now, lets talk about just one or two of the things that Toyota has done RIGHT. A few years back,they discovered that they may have a problem with some of their 4 cylinder engine, with the oil sludging up and killing the engine even with regular scheduled maintenance.They did a "silent recall" If one of those models came into a dealership, out of warranty,but with a bad engine, they replaced it free of charge. Try getting Ford,GM or Chrysler to do that!
The new Toyota trucks are prone to the frames rusting out, so guess what Toyota is doing.....they are buying them back and not just at replacement value, but at full market value! THAT is CUSTOMER SERVICE and is how it SHOULD be done!!!

Just so you guys know............DODGE is the ONLY truck or car ever built.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

OK, if we are going to get on the topic of cars, here's my take.....


Give me something old and rusty, really was American made, and I can replace everything on it, without it talking to back to me! (unless you've found KITT, original TransAm, and he really works! LOL)

For me, a car isn't a car unless it has some power too it. Give me a General Lee style Dodge Charger, a 1972 Ford Mustang, or a Camaro!

Trucks, Fords baby!! And not one of these new fancy Fords!

What happened to trucks that required I have a step stool to get into? All the parts could be replaced without a manual...meaning if you took it off, you most likely would know how to put it back on. I like big old Ford trucks from the '80's with 4 Huge tires and 8 foot beds....and if it breaks down the parts are cheap and can be repaired at home.

 

[lupinfarm]

We buy our meats locally

Anyway, We have a Ford F-150, always had Fords except for that brief stint with the Dodge Shadow when my mum first got her licence.

We love our truck and have no issues with it aside from something that was clearly overlooked in the after-build inspection and that is that the passenger door does not close properly, and leaks LOL but that's covered under warranty and is getting fixed soon.

 

[lupinfarm]

Well, Dacjons is right. I used to haul into Walmart back when Sam was alive. He tried very hard to buy and sell American products. He bought a yarn factory in the south that was aboutto go out of Buisness and sold the product in his store to keep it American. After he passed his kids sold out to foreighn products. One of there newest scams is you look on a box, it says made in U.S.A. (theymean the BOX!) the inside product came from overseas. Walmar is cutting back on selling guns and ammo and tryingto go more "modern". Well, there close suc% and the meat comes from Tyson and when you guys buy it its freakin way old!! Look at the meat section the next time your in there, its 85% TYSON meats. MAss produced with the cheapest quality! Shop around and get your meat from other sources. Dont follow the "in" crowd. Oh wait, you realy arent following the "in" crowd are you? Cuz if you were, you wouldnt be here in the first place. Walmart is not a bargain anymore! Sam is dead, the kids want profits. Life goes on.
Mazda pickups come off the same assembly line as the ford ranger. I dont know, I drive Ford trucks, F-350 and the ford Excursion. My kids drive Ford expeditions. Gas mileage sucks, but so do all the big 3. Its hard to "buy " American anymore. But I still try.

God Bless The U.S.A.

Our 08 F-150 is close in mileage to what our 05 Focus Wagon was LOL

 

[SKR8PN]

Don't get me started on another rant about the junk they are shoving down our throats now....and I agree 1000% that the trucks built 20 years ago were darn near bullet proof and EASY-PEASY to work on!!

Lupin......wait until your nice shiny new Ford truck needs it's first tune up at 100,000 miles(if it is a gas powered truck)..........The spark plugs grow into the heads so tight that most of them break off in the head when you try to remove them. Ford has developed not one, not two, but THREE tools designed to help you get the pieces out! And the Ford Diesels? The Powerjoke? Built by Navistar International (which USED to be International Harvester) to Ford specs,which means as cheaply as possible,and that makes them prone to breakage. That is why Ford and IH have been suing each other over the 6.0 diesel. THAT one was a real joke, but even the 6.4 that replaced it has had it's share of trouble......like the potential for diesel fuel or oil in the DPF(diesel particulate filter) causing a higher than normal exhaust gas temperature. In other words, FIRE in the exhaust!!!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

And I want a real 4WD in my truck...none of this push button crap.

 

[Homesteadmom]

I have always been a buy American if at all possible in my lifetime & you are right Opie, Sam did have the right concept & when he died his kids became very greedy.
I have always liked Ford products they have always been my fav when it comes to vehicles. My dream a 65 1/2 mustang convertible, I saw one once at a car show & just drooled over it. I had a 74 mustang II for a lot of yrs & it was a good car(no a/c though). Dh is a dodge man & has a 98 ram 2500 4x4 deisel with almost 200k miles on it & it is still going strong. I had a 96 dodge ram 1500 pickup too, till we got the van(long story). Only problem we really had with either of them is they go thru the brakes like crazy, we replace them every yr & it does not mater if we get the most expensive or the cheapest they go out in a yr & my plymouth voyager van is the same way.
I had a ford explorer until a semi slammed into me on the interstate & totaled it out, but because of its sturdiness I am able to be having this thread conversation with you. My saying is between the good Lord & a good Ford I am alive today. Can't wait till I can afford to get rid of the van & buy me another Ford. And dh said as long as it is going to be my vehicle I can get what I want.

 

[Wifezilla]

Mazda pickups come off the same assembly line as the ford ranger

And a Ford Probe is basically a Mazda 626 inside.

I loved my little turbo Probe. Too bad some moron smashed in to it.

 

[patandchickens]

It is unfathomable to me why Toyota and Honda (and Subaru for the past couple decades, although now at a vastly inflated price, grrr) can build cars that can be counted on to last quite a long time without major organ transplants or gradual replacement of every darn part, whereas none of the Big Three seem to have any *interest* in the subject.

I buy Ford when a reliable import is not feasible -- am driving a Ford Taurus right now, because we needed something with enough cargo capacity to take 2 kids and 4 cats to PA twice a year , and a few years ago had a Ford Escort for a while -- but in all honesty when we can afford Toyota we buy Toyota. They last much longer for much cheaper overall, for us.

Given the number of Toyota plants in North America, including one just about a 45 minutes from our house, I am with dacjohns in not understanding how the whole 'buy American' concept can map out onto brand names anymore these days.

Pat

 

[opiemaster]

MAN SKR8PN thats one sweet little cruzer ya got there. I have an 05 powerstroke, knock on wood I havent had any problems yet, well I take that back, I think I have a bad battery. sometimes when your drivin down the road the radio will start cutting out and when you shut it off, it wont start, like the batteries are dead. Put it on a charger for awhile and then it runs fine for a week or so then does it again. The altinator idiot light doesnt come on so like I said, I think its a battery. Anyway. I have a '66 Ford F-600, I use it on the farm and I like driving it all around, pop the hood and there sits the original 330HD. last summer I put a new exhaust manifold gasket on it. Had to drill and tap everyone of those darn bolts. Not fun, but I was able to do it. As stated before, they have made these darn vehicles now where no one can work on them. I think Toyota has always had a problem with rust issues. Atleast there doing the right thing and standing with there customers.