Ford – still shafting the veterans

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Received the following comment from Bobcat on my June 17th blog. (2008).

“Going throught the same problem. Short was happening after rain. My only hope was to be able to park on a down slope, seemed to help some. Already had to replace the trany, hoping the fuse box and Gem module isn’t damaged beyond repair. Thought I could fix the problem with some window caulk, but have decided to take it to Glass Master and have window repaired. I have not had good luck with the dealerships in the past and don’t even want to go through the hastle. What makes me the maddest is that this was my Retirement truck. I bought it after my last tour in Iraq which lead to my retirement. Now my dream truck is a my nightmare.”

I know what he is going through.  Mine was my retirement truck as well and I had hoped it would last awhile without any major faults.  Normal wear and tear, I think Bobcat and I can accept as life but, when they build the fault into the truck and then don’t tell anyone, then you know the low ethics Ford has. 

As you know, I have pointed out how Ford help Germany in WW II in building trucks etc used against the allies.  I guess they are still shafting the military and veterans with these built-in problems.  So much for the “All American” company and our patriotic unions.  Guess it all comes down to personal greed, unwarranted bonuses and looking after Number 1.  Unfortunately, Number 1 isn’t the customer as so many think the ads allude to.

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Ethics – unknown to Ford executives.

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Well, Toyota is showing its true colours again – and I mean high ethics. Unlike our friends at Ford, Toyota has done another recall on their rust problem. According to the autoblog site: “Toyota has extended that recall to include the 2002-03 model years, saying that a small number of trucks could suffer from frame corrosion that could cause the spare tire to detach from its underbody housing.”

You’ll notice that it states “a small number”.  Meanwhile, back at Ford, they remain silent on the leaky front window issue, along with the blowing spark plug and leaking rear window problem.  No, they haven’t the guts to stand up and say they have a problem.  No, they don’t tell you to go out and fix it before the damage to other components is done and you would save money.  No, they don’t tell you a thing.

But then, what would you expect from a company that used slave labour in WW II to build vehicles in Germany to fight the British, Canadians and Americas.  True patriots!!!!

Ethics is a non-entity in Ford land.

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Ford vs Toyota – who has the best ethics?

Recently, Lexus and Toyota ordered a recall on 55,000 floor mats.  Seems that if the owner of the vehicle does not properly hook up the supplied door mats or, adds another floor mat to the driver’s side, there is a possibility they will slide forward and lodge under the accelerator, thus causing the vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably.

Now, two points here are important.  One is that Toyota is doing this recall at no cost to the public, and the problem was not caused by Toyota but by owners who either took the mats off the provided safety hooks or, added a second mat which was not properly hooked.

And we should note the following from Consumer’s Report:

“Although this recall affected Toyota and Lexus vehicles, improper mat usage can pose risks in any vehicle. When installing factory or aftermarket mats, follow the directions. If your vehicle has them, utilize the mat anchors; they provide a real safety benefit of keeping the mats secure and out of the way of the pedals. And do not stack a new mat on the old one. The combined height of the two mats or a loose upper mat may interfere with pedal operation.”

Yes folks, Toyota realises there is a POTENTIAL problem caused by the owners and is making alterations to minimize this owner initiated problem.  A problem that can occur in any vehicle.

Now Ford, on the other hand, builds F150 trucks with a leaky front window that can fry the electronics and potentially cause a vehicle to go out of control.  Do they say anything?  No, they keep repairing the electronics and don’t even notify the owners of this problem, let alone have a recall.

ETHICS!!!

Toyota takes the high road and minimizes the risk to the owner while Ford hides the problem and doesn’t even come clean with the owners and repair the damage – window, electronics, nada.

But then, what do you expect from a company that not only built machinery for the Allies but also helped out the Nazis in Germany with Ford plants and then sued the American government for bomb damage to their Nazi plants.

And we still support Ford by buying a product that could be built wrong but Ford won’t do anything about it.  Maybe if there was a death or two that results in law suits.  Seems their ethic level only responds to lawyers.  Both at the same low level.

At least someone has ethics – Ford not

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In the Toronto Star (the one who won’t print the truth about the F150) today, there was a small article titled: GM to accept ‘lemon’ claims”. Seems that our ailing GM will accept future product liability claims, which will allow it to move on with its financial packages.

Now, I know there was some pressure for them to do so but, here we have an auto manufacturer on the ropes and they are going to protect the consumer from lemons. Unlike Ford, who won’t do a thing about the leaky windows (except not notify owners and make them pay for repairs to burnt out electronics). Myself, I am tending towards a Toyota truck (at least they are honest on recalls) but I have to give GM kudos for doing this. At least one manufacturer is seeing the downside to shafting the consumer. At some point in time, those in support of Ford will see how bigoted Ford is towards those of us stuck with a Ford lemon. Thank god old Henry isn’t around, otherwise he’d have me picked up and shoved into one of his forced labour mills, like in WW II Germany.

But I must admit I had my chuckle last week when Ford put out an ad in the the less than ethical Toronto Star. The ad shows a lot of 0 percent items for the latest Ford and states: “THIS SPRING, KEEP YOUR MONEY”. Based on mine and the experience of others, yes you might save money up front but you can expect to pay through the nose on fixing things like leaky windows and burnt out electronics, as well as blown spark plugs and leaky rear windows. Thank god they will let you save money this spring so you can support them in the fall with the bills.

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Ford and the Nazis – working for a better tomorrow?

I recently read an article written by Michael Dobbs for the Washington Post. In it, there is a picture of German diplomats awarding Henry Ford with their nation’s highest decoration for foreigners, the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, in July 1938. In the article is the following: “Hitler was an admirer of American mass production techniques and an avid reader of the anti-semitic tracts penned by Henry Ford.”I regard Henry Ford as my inspiration,” Hitler told a Detroit News reporter two years before becoming the German chancellor in 1933, explaining why he kept a life-size portrait of the American automaker next to his desk.” They even mention that Ford plants in Germany, along with GM plants made vehicles that were used against American troops. To top it off, Ford wanted compensation for the plants bombed by the Allies in Germany.

Now, I don’t know about you but, I guess this would be the same as Ford helping out the Taliban in today’s world. I mean, here we have a company that won’t back up those vehicles it manufactured with built-in flaws (leaky front window, blowing spark plugs) but has a history of helping anti-semitic regimes to fight against our own country and the USA. Talk about globalization!!!!!!! While Canada was fighting the Nazis, Ford was helping build vehicles to assist Germany fight against the British and Canadians. And, once the U.S. got into the war, they still helped Germany, according to the article.

Now, I know this isn’t pretty news, especially for those saying we should support our local economy and buy American/Canadian but how about Ford supporting its Canadian consumers or, are we just cannon-fodder in Ford’s goal to make money at any cost.

During WWII they used forced labour to build their vehicles in Cologne- here in Canada they shaft consumers with shoddy workmanship. By the way, GM, who is begging for a handout, received $32 million from the US government for damage to their bombed German plants.

Seems that the auto industry likes to cover all the bases. I just hope Ford isn’t still continuing forced labour camps like Cologne. Maybe if you complain too much about your vehicle, they’ll ship you out.