MFT Killed Fords Quality... Ford ranks #23 in JD Powers

[LONO100]

are YOU kidding me!? of course cars have come a long way in terms of technology and durability, the point im trying to make is that i could do without all of the little new features and gadgets inside cars and trucks that dont really seem necessary. if someday in a dream world, someone came to me and said "i could sell you two cars" one has all these cool new features and back up cameras and it parks itself and it can wipe your butt for you and sing you to sleep at night, and i have this other car that doesnt have any features, you gotta roll the windows up yourself and there isnt even cruise control, but the car is headache free for a million miles" i take the headache free car. i just wish car manufacturers would concentrate on things that really matter to daily drivers like me such as not putting timing chain tensioners that are designed to fail in a certain amount of miles. you mean to tell me they can make a car that can read your text messages, but they cant make a oil pan gasket that can last A LITTLE longer than they already do? we have a mini cooper S, fully loaded with all the bells and whistles, and while we love that car, every other week it seems something on that rig malfunctions or needed to be serviced and nobody knew how to fix it, not even BMW. i bought and commuted in a 2003 ford focus that didnt have any cool features and that thing went over 220k miles on regular maintainence and the only thing i ever replaced on it other than things like belts and pads was a thermostat at 190k miles.

moral of the story is you gotta think like the buhddists sometimes. if you want to to get rid of all your problems in life, get rid of all your wants. sometimes a car that parks itself just isnt worth it.

 

[luvmyfords]

Maybe, just maybe GM, Ford, and Chrysler will hire on an all Amish core engineering dept. I hear they do wonderful things with wood and horse manure.

 

[StunnedMonkey]

Maybe, just maybe GM, Ford, and Chrysler will hire on an all Amish core engineering dept. I hear they do wonderful things with wood and horse manure.

Not sure what the Amish are like in Buffalo, MN, but the Amish around here are all packing cell phones. Buggy-based MFT?

 

[JStellato]

http://www.freep.com/article/20110622/BUSINESS01/106220339/1014/rss13

I had to link to that article, because the quote is priceless:

"We're going to continue to improve the system. Consumers really like it," Fields said. "The good news for us is, as we see issues in our internal reporting, we jump all over them and quickly address them."

LOL At "we jump all over them and quickly address them"

It's funny, but not, you know, at the same time.

 

[LONO100]

i guess you are not getting it, you seem to be debating with yourself that cars are made better today than back in the 60's because thats not what im saying. i own cars with all kinds of bells and whistles and most of those bells and whistles i can either do without or just end up becoming headaches later. of all the cars that i have owned, my favorite ones are the ones that gave me the least problems. does that make sense to you yet?

 

[RandyH2]

"It picks up words like traffic and says 'there's traffic information available. Is that what you want?' " said David Sullivan, an analyst with AutoPacific. "We're moving closer to having a conversation with the car."

I don't want a conversation with my car- I want it to do what I say, the first time. I REALLY don't want to listen to two or three sentences from my car looking for clarification- that annoys the heck out of me.

"While safety advocates have criticized the screen's design as distracting, Ford officials have said drivers should be able to access the controls by voice command, while keeping their eyes on the road."

Coice controls require me to push a button, wait, give a verbal command, wait for it to possibly be implemented or issue additional voice commands for sub-menus. Example: "Sirius" pause "Station Name"- there are probably many better examples. I'll save my rant about the touchscreen with high hopes for the new software- I just hope the "buttons" are large enough to hit easily and the system ALWAYS monitors the screen for input.

"Also Tuesday, Ford said it will expand its Sync AppLink service, a $395 option that allows drivers to download smartphone applications, from one model, the Fiesta subcompact, to the 2012 Fusion, F-Series pickup, Expedition, E-Series and Mustang."

I wonder why the Explorer is excluded from this list. Is it an oversight or is our system unique?

And finally:
""We're going to continue to improve the system. Consumers really like it," Fields said. "The good news for us is, as we see issues in our internal reporting, we jump all over them and quickly address them.""
Have they considered Beta-testing? Keeping software development internal can lead to some problems. While not software, the Pontiac Aztec/Buick Rendezvous are a stand-out example of having the wrong development group...

 

[chucksc]

i guess you are not getting it, you seem to be debating with yourself that cars are made better today than back in the 60's because thats not what im saying. i own cars with all kinds of bells and whistles and most of those bells and whistles i can either do without or just end up becoming headaches later. of all the cars that i have owned, my favorite ones are the ones that gave me the least problems. does that make sense to you yet?

OK - I'm guessing you are a sitting member of Congress? After all you seem to posit that your preference/option trumps all of us who like the technology and are willing to work with it while it debugs!

However I believe your minimalistic car exists - It is called a Lada and is manufactured by those fine craftsmen from the former soviet union who think it is ok to drive screws with sledge hammers. I believe the only option on those is the leak rate of the seals on the crankcase....

 

[luvmyfords]

OK - I'm guessing you are a sitting member of Congress? After all you seem to posit that your preference/option trumps all of us who like the technology and are willing to work with it while it debugs!

However I believe your minimalistic car exists - It is called a Lada and is manufactured by those fine craftsmen from the former soviet union who think it is ok to drive screws with sledge hammers. I believe the only option on those is the leak rate of the seals on the crankcase....

 

[broadway]

I'm confused. Your avatar shows that you actually own a 2011 Explorer.

I need to update the avatar. I had put that in there when I had the 2011 Ex on order.

I waited 3 months while the vehicle was built, sent back to factory, re-released, sent back to factory, yadda yadda.

I canceled the order with my dealer... it finally arrived 3 weeks later. Almost 4 months to the day I ordered it.

Either way.. the poor reviews, customer complaints, and inability to deliver the vehicle in a timely manner were deal breakers for me. Ford Customer service called me after it was delivered to the dealer to find out how I was enjoying driving my new vehicle... I said it was great, except it wasnt a Ford.

I see more and more of them on the road every day and I thought it would cause a lot of buyers remorse after having waited for so long and then walked away, but it really has not at all.

I just hope they get all the bugs out and then I will look at buying again when my lease is up. I'm still checking out the reviews and forums to stay on top of the progress in dealing with the issues.

 

[Sgt1411]

Interesting article that captures SYNC/MFT owner issues

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/columnists/124693273.html

 

[vfral1]

Interesting article that captures SYNC/MFT owner issues

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/columnists/124693273.html

Only problem is the article assumes that things are getting better since Ford issued a fix, but we all know that it hasn't fixed it at all.