Even the Detroit Free Ford Press cannot ignore our constant parade of failures. He has been here for over a decade, CEO for almost a year, but has made zero improvements. How much longer can this continue?
“Ford CEO Jim Farley has said again and again that reducing how much the company spends on recall and warranty work is vital for the iconic automaker, which has a long history of what industry analysts call self-inflicted wounds.
Yet costs to fix problems continue to grow with Ford's latest high-profile safety recalls.
Back-to-back-to-back recalls in recent weeks for issues ranging from spontaneous combustion to loss of power while driving at highway speeds puts Ford at a competitive disadvantage during a time when automakers are fighting to define themselves as market leaders, analysts say.
It is essential that Ford, like all automakers, focus its dollars on developing new products to compete in a rapidly-evolving industry that requires massive new investment, versus fixing mistakes.
"They are the No. 1 problem at Ford right now. And it's the worst in the industry when it comes to recalls and warranty work," said John McElroy, a longtime industry observer and host of "Autoline After Hours" webcast and podcast. "It’s been going on for years and they haven’t solved it yet."”