Ford Quality--More or Less
One thing that car companies don't seem to understand is that individuals buy cars or trucks. This would be you. Or me. Not a statistical sample of us. Because the statistical sample is a fiction. If your car doesn't work, then you are not happy, especially when it has been foisted as some sort of "quality leader." Which brings up a sounding of trumpets from Ford. For reasons that are not clear, the company is really excited that it has a whole bunch of cars and trucks that come in second or third in the categories of "things gone wrong" (TGW) or "customer satisfaction," according to a study conducted for Ford (for Ford) by RDA Group.
According to the study, Ford vehicles have an average of 1,427 TGWs, which is 159 fewer than last year and better than the overall average of 1,447 by a whopping 20. The overall customer satisfaction rating for Ford is 75%, which is three points less than the survey average of 78%. Figure that one out.
The ostensible good news for Ford is that the Mustang Shelby GT500, Ford Explorer and Lincoln Mark LT came in first place in TGW performance. The not-so-good news is that through June, Mustang sales are down 11.4%, Explorer sales are off 21.9%, and the Mark LT is down 33.9%.
Oh, just blame it on those people who think that 75% customer satisfaction is 20% or so too low. But then again, those are real people, not statistical ones.
