Anyone else think BF resembles the Captain of the Titanic?
Ford Authority:
Last year wasn’t exactly a good one for Ford Motor Company in terms of quality, as it ranked as the most recalled manufacturer of 2022. However, the automaker has taken steps to right the ship in that regard, and it seems as if Ford executive chair Bill Ford is seemingly pleased with the direction the automaker is heading in terms of those quality fixes, according to Reuters.
“We probably had so much focus on the future that perhaps we took our eye off the ball a little bit on the present,” Bill Ford said of the automaker’s past actions. “Jim’s got a full court press on it, and we’re already starting to see results.” Farley is a “fantastic CEO,” he added, noting that “this is the best leadership team in my memory. We’ve got plenty of resources to get done what we need to get done. And now we have to execute.”
Ford’s quality woes have been well-documented to this point, and aren’t necessarily limited to one specific area or vehicle. Rather, a number of issues have popped up in recent months, with a number of models being dinged for various teething problems. That list includes the Ford F-150 PowerBoost, which ranked as the least reliable vehicle in Consumer Reports most recently reliability survey, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Ford Bronco Sport lost their recommended status, and the Ford Explorer ranked among the 10 least reliable vehicles, to boot.
As for Ford itself, the brand ranked well below average in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study and Consumer Reports‘ annual reliability study, suffering a substantial drop in both reports year-over-year. However, The Blue Oval has made several moves to rectify this ongoing issue over the past several months. Aside from simply taking actions to make quality a focus in its operations, Farley also brought in turnaround expert Josh Halliburton to be the company’s new executive director of quality. However, while Halliburton believes Ford’s quality woes will begin to subside this year, CEO Jim Farley isn’t quite as optimistic.