This post is one in a series on prominent company nicknames. See all 25, and share your thoughts and memories about Ford below in the comments.
I didn't grow up in one of those families that placed a high premium on American-made goods. If the Japanese can make it better, we'll buy it from them! was the general consensus. And those foreign autos served the Harrows well. My parents bought their 1984 Toyota Tercel when it was new, and that unattractive but reliable compact was part of the family through the beginning of my college career -- even surviving my first, hilarious attempts to operate a manual transmission. So, it wasn't until I moved in with my friend Debbie, as an adult, that I learned the details behind a particularly unflattering nickname for the Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F).
There are those who would joke that the letters in "FORD" stand for "Fix Or Repair Daily." I know from experience that if you make that particular wisecrack within Debbie's earshot, she probably won't crack a smile. Instead, you can almost see her wheels churning, as though she's trying to calculate the thousands she's already poured into her Ford Focus -- or maybe she's just trying to predict which part will break down next.
During the time we shared a mailbox, it was a not-out-of-the-ordinary occurrence for Debbie to receive recall notices bearing the familiar Ford logo. These repair-o-grams arrived with such frequency that the exact number now escapes my memory; when I questioned her via text message, she replied, "I have had six. Stupid car."
Of course, some would argue that this speaks more to the peril of buying a new model the first year it's released (which she did). Others might suggest that her car is simply cursed. While parked outside our apartment, which faced a busy thoroughfare, she lost at least two rear-view mirrors to drive-by sideswipers, while I lost none. Her Focus was also the victim of a break-in, wherein she was robbed of a half-used Diet Pepsi and less than a dollar's worth of change.
My ex-roomie's jinx aside, Ford has been endlessly chagrined by the old "fix or repair daily" chestnut. As proof of its widespread acceptance and usage, even among the upper echelons of the financial media, the nickname was used by Forbes as the headline of a critical 2001 story about the automaker. (On the plus side, the magazine politely side-stepped the car company's more offensive nickname: "found on road dead.")
In fact, Ford itself has admitted to quality issues -- albeit obliquely. Perhaps you caught the company's recent advertising campaign, which boasted that a recent survey (sponsored by Ford) found Ford's quality to be on par with that of Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM). I'm no marketing exec, and so I'm not sure what reaction the ads were meant to elicit. For the record, my own take was something along the lines of: Really? Wow, and it's only 2008. Good hustle, gang! That is to say, the campaign may have done more to underscore Ford's years of underperformance, rather than highlighting its current achievements.
And, despite the promise of improved quality, there are still millions of blue oval-bearing automobiles on the road that suffer from those familiar old quality issues. A recall was issued on more than 12 million Ford cars in August 2007 after it was found that the cruise control system was -- how to put this delicately? -- highly likely to catch fire. Parts to repair the faulty system were made available just a few weeks ago, as if to drive home the brand-newness of Ford's dedication to quality.
While Ford execs may not be fond of motorists' cheeky nickname for its autos, it's hard to argue that the company's explosion-prone fleet doesn't deserve a wee bit of flak. And, hey, things could always be worse -- Fiat has been slapped with a moniker that's similarly insulting to its cars, but ups the ante by adding an ethnic slur to the mix. Ahhh ... American ingenuity at its finest!
Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the weekly video series Option Basics on SchaeffersResearch.com.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-11-2008 @ 2:30PM
Michael Goldstein said...
Congratulations on your family's 'economic patriotism'; "If the Japanese can make it better, we'll buy it from them!" Even when Ford matches the Japanese in quality, you have to bash them.
It's attitudes like yours that ensure "China will overtake US as largest manufacturer four years earlier than expected, as a result of the rapidly weakening US economy," according to the Financial Times. Not to mention the loss of good-paying jobs in America and our ever-ballooning trade deficit.
I own two Fords and would buy another one. So who's the stupid one?
8-11-2008 @ 2:56PM
jpdr1100 said...
Hey Michael, please tell us who is the largest automaker in China. Who is leading the charge to move all that manufacturing technology into that communist country? Come on, tell us.
Here's a hint: it's initials are G and M.
Now you can go back to lecturing consumers about how they are wrecking your little fantasy world.
8-11-2008 @ 4:16PM
Stan said...
Ford actually stands for First On Race Day
8-11-2008 @ 4:30PM
roudy11z said...
Could some of Ford's problems of quality be attributed to the union's ? Maybe their motto(union's) has been " Job security is job one at Ford" for to many years. RoudMan
8-11-2008 @ 8:33PM
Kenny said...
First off if you are going to do an article on Ford please research it first. Found on road dead, fix or repair daily, F***ed over rebuilt Dodge but always First on race day. I've heard them all. Its the price you pay for being loyal. As for Quality it might have been informative to your readers to point to the recent JD power survey on vehicle Quality. In that survey Ford's Mercury division beat Toyota on Quality. granted that Lexus beat Mercury and Toyota beat Ford, but it does show just how equal they are in terms of Quality. Especially since their is really no difference between a Ford and a Merc. If you research recall data you will find that Ford is upfront and honest with vehicle problems. Toyota rarely issues public recalls in an attempt to hide their quality issues. Toyota had a run of bad engines and transmissions in the last few years. Most people have never heard of those issues, but everyone knows about the Ford cruise control thing. I have to ask "have you driven a Ford lately?" I have and they are very nice vehicles. I had a 06 Mustang GT. I rolled it last December. Let me tell you a little bit about Ford safety systems. They are awesome. My only complaint with Ford is that they make to many front wheel drive cars.
8-11-2008 @ 9:46PM
Dave said...
Wow an 84 Tercel, a great thrill ride.It probably was a dependable way to get from point a to point b just like modern Asian cars of today. I like cars that are FUN to drive, Toyota buyers of today( except the late MR2) are like the Buick buyers of the 60's, it starts let's go to work on a straight highway.
There was a lot of crap from the US as well as other countries from about 1970 till the late 90's.
Things have changed a lot since 1984, some minds are stuck in the past. Almost any current vehicle will give many years of great service where ever it was built.
My wife and I are open minded and enjoy driving fun, as well as purpose built auto's, they include
2007 Mini Cooper
1999 GMS Sierra
1995 Ford Tbird
1995 Mazada Miata
1987 Chevy Corvette
Some take a little more service than others but have virtues that a Tercel can only dream of.
8-12-2008 @ 11:04AM
Kate Harrow said...
Michael -- Toyota has more plants in the US than any other non-domestic car manufacturer. So to buy a Toyota is in fact, to support American jobs.
8-12-2008 @ 1:31PM
Robert said...
It may be true that Toyota has the most plants of any non-domestic manufacturer, but its numbers still don't compare to, say, Ford's nine assembly, three transmission, three engine and three stamping facilities. Even with Ford expanding in Mexico and Canada, they only have two more plants left to close (previously disclosed, although one is in doubt and may stay open) in the U.S. Beyond that, even with Ford's new "One Ford" strategy, Ford employs more engineering, finance and management resources in the U.S. than any non-domestic manufacturer by a wide margin. And Ford isn't nearly the size of GM, which is a full step up in size.
As for the RDA survey - it is a marketing survey conducted by RDA for the various manufacturers to track their quality. They all pay for it. It wasn't "sponsored" by Ford any more than GM or Toyota, but it was data that Ford bought for their research purposes. If this were the only data point, I might forgive the skepticism, but recent data from JD Power, PIN, Strategic Vision and the vaunted Consumer Reports suggests that Ford's quality is, in fact, where they claim it is.
Your use of the recent cruise control switch recall is also disingenuous. This applies to a set of vehicles that went out of production over 4 years ago and whose components' designs were finalized before 2000. It's like using Toyota's engine sludge issue (an issue that, I must point out, Toyota only admitted after being dragged to court in three different countries and fined heavily for covering up) as a way to cast Toyota's current fleet as unreliable.
If you are going to post a blog article, I would suggest that you find facts - your spurious conclusion seems more driven by emotional bias than actual research. A fair article might have stated that Ford's initial quality is, in actuality, up to industry standards; it's long-term quality is still to be seen, although there are signs that it is improving drastically as well. And this, along with missteps by Toyota (you can find numerous recent examples in Consumer Reports) make Ford a more compelling case than in the not-too-distant past.
But I suppose it is easier to be driven by emotion and rely on other blogs (TTAC) that also have suspect claims and rather strong anti-Detroit rhetoric that is often not backed up by fact.
8-13-2008 @ 12:48PM
Allen Smith said...
My 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis (FORD) has over 334,000 miles on at present and everything works just fine. I drive it every day. I'll buy another FORD when this one finally goes - if it ever does.