May 28, 2002
Plagued by plunging profits and embarrassing quality problems, Ford is getting tough with its suppliers, demanding they cut defects by 25 percent or lose Ford's business. At the same time, Ford is preparing another round of reductions in the prices it pays for parts.

Ford's warranty costs increased 16 percent last year to $2.2 billion and the company endured a humiliating round of recalls, callbacks and disastrous publicity surrounding the Explorer rollover problems.

In recent years, Ford has ranked behind both General Motors and DaimlerChrysler in internal reports that measure consumers' satisfaction with overall vehicle quality. The three automakers all rank well behind Honda and Toyota.

Whether Ford's demanding more for less from its suppliers is a realistic solution to its problems is open to question.

"Ford has deep-seated and very significant structural problems that will take many years for them to address," one auto industry analyst told Automotive News. Ford officials say that 76 percent of the company's quality problems are caused by its largest suppliers, the so-called "Tier 1" suppliers who provide 87 percent of Ford's outside parts.

Whatever the cause, quality problems played a major role in Ford's dismal financial performance last year, when the company lost $5.45 billion.




Ford Motor Co.



Ford doesn't seem to be as eager to resolve quality issues as it once was. Not Job 1 anymore? This is nowhere more evident than in Ford's handling of an epidemic of head gasket failures in its widely-used 3.8L V-6 engine. Although Ford has extended the warranty on some models, many questions remain. This type of behavior has turned a lot of longtime Ford owners into bigtime Ford haters, like Preston, who daily tows the hulk of his Ford out to the road where everyone can see it. On the other hand, Automan says some Ford owners have brought some of their misery on themselves.

Airbag problems
Brake problems, Taurus and Sable
Spark plug blow-out, Expedition, F150, et al
Engine problems in the F-350 pickup
Flaming Fords
Fires in the F150
Ford Explorer
Ford Ranger
Ford Taurus
Ford Windstar
Ford Expedition
Lincoln Mercury Villager
Mercury Sable
Paint Problems, Newer Fords
Paint Problems, Older Fords
Transmission Problems