Some 2002 Explorers Repaired up to 5 Times

[Stephen]

Published: February 26, 2001
By: Robert Lane



"People started to question Ford's commitment to quality, Ford's capability in quality, Ford's competence in quality." Bedi Gurminder, Ford vice president.

  Ford started to manufacture the 2002 Explorer last year and planned to introduce them in late 2000 as well; however, after manufacturing more than 15,000 of them, they sat at the St. Louis and Louisville assembly plant's storage areas. Last week, Ford issued a ship order for certain 2002 Explorers. Michael Ward of Salomon Smith Barney said that Ford has lost "hundreds of millions" of dollars because of the 2002 Explorer's delayed launch.  

Ford insists that the delayed launch of the 2002 Explorer shouldn't sound an alarm bell for consumers - but the fact the media was denied access to both Explorer assembly plants should. Ford wouldn't want the media snooping around now, would they?

Ford has been mum on explaining why thousands of Explorers couldn't be shipped to dealers, but the people who assemble the Explorer told BlueOvalNews that some 2002 models have already been repaired up to five times to correct various defects - some so serious that Ford couldn't possibly ship them even if they wanted to. An employee at an Explorer plant told BlueOvalNews that they have been working massive overtime and weekends to
repair the 2002 Explorers so Ford can start shipping them. An estimated 75,000 are already presold. Here's a brief list of what's alleged to have been repaired before Ford issued the ship order on CERTAIN models:

1) Defective rear axle spindle nuts on first 8,000+ units were coming loose during test drives (see above photo).
2) The accelerator cables on some models were too long causing accelerator pedals to stick.
3) Ignition switches were popping out of the steering column when in the ACC position.
4) Luggage racks coming loose due to defective securing screws.

The above four issues are said to be vender/supplier issues and should not reflect on the engineering or build quality of the 2002 Explorer. Maybe. On the same token, Ford should take a cue and learn how to stop squeezing the life out of their suppliers to begin with, to insure quality products.

  Ford's P.R. department, who is unarguably the best in the business, are releasing the usual "We want to make sure it's perfect," Blah Blah Blah rhetoric to insure the public that NO 2002 Explorer will ship before it's absolutely ripe. Sure, whatever. It's hard to ship a vehicle when the rear wheels allegedly fall off, isn't it? After all, these are production vehicles, the ones that consumers actually purchase.  

What does Jac Jacques Nasser have to say about all of this? "If you look at our launch performance, I am totally (ticked) off with it." That's a great quote coming from the man who is single handedly purging Ford's best engineers and returning Ford back to the darkest days of product quality.

 

[2001ExpSport]

That's a great article. Too bad for Ford.

 

[Rick]

test

test

 

[Rick]

At "Ultimate Explorations" quality is job #1!

 

[RFR2212]

Gee, Rick (or Pete) always keeping things cheery! I wonder why quality is number 1 here.....Only cause it's the best damn explorer site on the web!
Pete

 

[Stephen]

Best damn site on the web period!

 

[LazyDay]

Be careful, getting news from BlueOvalNews about Ford is like wanting to know about a certain girl and asking the last guy she dumped what he thought about her. Sure you'll get some truth but you'll also get some exaggerations.

 

[jalawso]

Ford "Doing Right" with launch of new 2002 Explorer

Published: February 26, 2001
By: Steve Blake

Very few individuals truly know what transpires behind the scenes of BlueOvalNews. At certain times, Robert Lane, founder and publisher of BlueOvalNews, and I will debate for hours regarding topics that each of see in a different light. The 2002 Explorer launch just happens to be one of those times and we are at such an impasse, we thought it best that we take each of our cases to you, the readers of BlueOvalNews.

The launch of the 2002 Explorer is being closely watched by the media and the public. Many are debating, and even predicting, what type of launch the Explorer will be subject to. As for me, I know how important this vehicle is to Ford Division and more specifically, how important it is that once the new 2002 Explorers reach the lots of dealers all over North America, they are as near to perfection as a vehicle can be in a mass-production operation.

It has became apparent that some glitches have arisen during its initial production run and Ford has addressed these issues in an expeditious manner to resolve them prior to any of these units reaching dealers. For consumers, this means they can have great confidence in knowing that their 2002 Explorer will not be subject to recalls, like the Escape and Focus had to endure during their initial launch phase.

Some of the problems detected are because of supplier issues and not those of a Ford Motor Co. engineering or manufacturing origin. These supplier issues prompted top Ford executives to get directly involved with the suppliers, to resolve these issues promptly and effectively.

I asked Ford Motor Company spokesperson Becky Bach how the production of the Explorer/Mountaineer was proceeding and she said, "Everybody at Ford Motor Company is trying to make sure that we doing everything in our power to ensure a quality launch."

No other person at Ford Motor Company is more affected by the launch of this vehicle than James O'Connor, President of Ford Division. This is not solely because of his position at Ford Motor Co., but even more importantly because he is a true Ford enthusiast at heart.

"The new Explorer is a wonderful example of the best getting even better," said O'Connor in a company press release that was issued late on Friday, following Robert Lane's exclusive report, "2002 Explorer fuel tank ruptures - halt shipments to dealers" that appeared on BlueOvalNews late Thursday. O'Connor went on to say, "Last year the Explorer set an all-time sales record, and we believe that the all-new vehicle will help us to maintain our leadership and strengthen our lineup."

Last year, the Explorer brand was challenged by the nightmare of the Firestone tire recall. It sent ripples throughout Ford Motor Co.'s entire corporate structure. Yet, Ford consumers continued to purchase the Explorer in record numbers, propelling the Explorer to an all time sales record. Last year was a lesson learned by Ford Motor Co. and all automakers, just how important brand loyalty plays in a consumer driven market.

In my not-so-humble opinion, the new 2002 Explorer will bring back pride of ownership to a group of consumers that were forced to stick their heads in the sand for a short period of time. I predict, Ford's loyal consumers will continue to drive the Ford Explorer to another record sales year.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you would like to contribute or comment about this article, please contact Steve Blake, or post it on our global message board.

BlueOvalNews.com



I just wanted to let you know that blueoval doesn't always dog ford.

 

[LazyDay]

Honestly, I didn't mean to imply that BlueOvalNews is out to bash Ford. I simply meant that some of their commentaries can be biased. If you look at the history of the web site and Ford Motor Company you'll see that it is unlikely you'll see Jac Nasser and Robert Lane(BlueOval's publisher) hanging out together in a bar on Friday nights. That's all.