Set your TiVos: Ford Motor Co. can say in advertising again this year that its quality is on par with the world’s best.
The Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands combined to score nearly as well on a Ford-funded study of new-car quality as Toyota Motor Corp.’s three brands and Honda Motor Co.’s two brands.
Honda led the way with 1,241 defects per 1,000 vehicles. Toyota was second at 1,265 and Ford’s traditional domestic brands combined for a score of 1,273. The industry average was 1,347.
Ford declined to release additional results.
The gap was small enough that Ford can say with 95% statistical certainty that its quality is essentially equal to those Japanese rivals.
That is the threshold Ford must meet under federal regulations to advertise its claim of quality parity, said Mike Hardie, director of global quality and productivity.
Ford has commissioned its own study of new-car quality — called the U.S. Global Quality Research System study, conducted by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills — for years, but has only made the results public in recent years since they have been so positive.
Ford is “pretty excited that now we do have the numbers” to show quality is first-rate, said Hardie.
The results have generally been replicated in the closely watched J.D. Power and Associates study of new-car quality.
Quality is a key dimension in which American auto brands suffer in the eyes of consumers, so it has been a consistent focus for Ford and its rivals.
This summer, for instance, Bennie Fowler, Ford’s group vice president in charge of quality, said he expects the 2010 Ford Focus to launch with no more than no more than 800 things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership.
The Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands combined to score nearly as well on a Ford-funded study of new-car quality as Toyota Motor Corp.’s three brands and Honda Motor Co.’s two brands.
Honda led the way with 1,241 defects per 1,000 vehicles. Toyota was second at 1,265 and Ford’s traditional domestic brands combined for a score of 1,273. The industry average was 1,347.
Ford declined to release additional results.
The gap was small enough that Ford can say with 95% statistical certainty that its quality is essentially equal to those Japanese rivals.
That is the threshold Ford must meet under federal regulations to advertise its claim of quality parity, said Mike Hardie, director of global quality and productivity.
Ford has commissioned its own study of new-car quality — called the U.S. Global Quality Research System study, conducted by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills — for years, but has only made the results public in recent years since they have been so positive.
Ford is “pretty excited that now we do have the numbers” to show quality is first-rate, said Hardie.
The results have generally been replicated in the closely watched J.D. Power and Associates study of new-car quality.
Quality is a key dimension in which American auto brands suffer in the eyes of consumers, so it has been a consistent focus for Ford and its rivals.
This summer, for instance, Bennie Fowler, Ford’s group vice president in charge of quality, said he expects the 2010 Ford Focus to launch with no more than no more than 800 things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership.
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