MotorAuthority

Ford vows to beat Toyota in compact car build quality

Posted Mon Aug 11 2008 10:06 AM by Ralph Hanson

Ford is already touting its segment leading fuel-economy for vehicles such as the 2009 Flex crossover and North American Focus, but now the carmaker is also boasting that it will be the leader in quality for compact vehicles when its all-new Fiesta range goes on sale later this year. In a direct challenge to traditional quality-leader Toyota, Ford’s production and quality chief Bennie Fowler vowed that the Blue Oval’s new line of compact cars will launch with the best quality in the industry.

Fowler explained that Ford’s current European small car fleet, which includes models such as the previous-generation Fiesta and Focus, has on average a defect rate of 800 problems per 1,000 vehicles. While this may appear high, the rate is better than Toyota’s numbers for the same class of vehicles and more than 500 fewer problems per 1,000 vehicles than the predicted industry average.

"The vehicles we deliver in 2010 will be the highest quality ever," Fowler told reporters from The Detroit News. "We're playing to win."

Part of Ford’s new quality program is to enrol small groups of hourly workers from each of its U.S. plants into quality management courses at Wayne State University in Michigan. The carmaker is already starting to see significant results. In April Ford topped a J.D. Power initial quality survey and in a more recent dependability study the Blue Oval was also among the top scorers.



Ford Fiesta EcoNetic

New Ford Fiesta S

2009 Ford Fiesta five-door

2009 Ford Fiesta three-door

story Tags:

• Ford
• Hatchbacks

Reader Comments

• Mon Aug 11 2008 10:31 AM

  Dane says

  Watch Ford in the next 4 years.... Only company that has some interesting products in their line-up....
  
  The 2000-2007 Ford Focus is miles ahead of the Corolla in quality and design......

• Mon Aug 11 2008 10:40 AM

  Gus says

  So far my 2008 Mustang GT convertible and 2004 Expedition have not had a single issue.
  Not as high quality as the Germans or the high end Japanese, but definitely just as good as your average Toyota.

• Mon Aug 11 2008 11:44 AM

  CK says

  If Ford can solve their rust issues on the european models they will definitely offer top cars.

• Mon Aug 11 2008 11:53 AM

  Andrew says

  I don't doubt they can do this. But please fix the Focus, now.

• Mon Aug 11 2008 2:16 PM

  Chris says

  andrew, they arent going to "fix" a car that is already in the process of being replaced. i own one and the only complaint that i have about the car is that they didnt offer the 2.3L engine.. or any "hot" model.
  
  if you're talking about styling, it's all in the eye of the beholder, and aparently it looks good enough for 130k to be sold every year

• Mon Aug 11 2008 6:27 PM

  HECTOR says

  *Ford vows to beat Toyota in compact car build quality*
  *Hector vows to give Eva Green a love child*
  
  Let's see who gets there first.

• Mon Aug 11 2008 11:30 PM

  Gus says

  Me and Eva are already an item, so you're out of luck, dude.

• Tue Aug 12 2008 2:38 PM

  TaeKwonDonkey says

  I just lol'd at what Gus said and the report's title

• Sat Aug 16 2008 4:26 PM

  worker bee says

  a few dollars to jd power & a few auto mag editors and they could do it....

• Sat Aug 16 2008 4:30 PM

  worker bee says

  just kidding