YONKERS, N.Y., October 26, 2011 | Auto Remarketing Staff Writer Joe Overby and @autoremarketing
Dealer Tammy Darvish was quite surprised to see the news.
On Tuesday, Consumer Reports had just panned three of Ford's new models for “blemishing” the brand’s reputation as “a model of American reliability.”
The publication ranked the Ford brand 20th in its overall reliability rankings released Tuesday, and it said the 10-spot decline was driven by below-average reliability for the new Explorer, Fiesta and Ford models in their first years.
“We have often found that new or revamped models have more problems in their first year than in subsequent model years,” explained David Champions, senior director of Consumer Reports' Automotive Test Center.
“Ford's problems illustrate why we recommend to our subscribers to hold off buying a first-year model," he added.
But Darvish — whose DARCARS dealership group owns a Ford dealership in Lanham, Md., and a Lincoln store in Temple Hills, Md., among other franchises — sees it differently.
“To be honest with you, this was a pretty big surprise,” Darvish told Auto Remarketing late Tuesday afternoon. “We can’t get enough Fiestas or Focus (models) to sell. And it’s pretty much the same for the Explorer.
“We’ve not experienced any great conversations from our customers about these kinds of problems,” she added. “I think the only thing that does come up is all these little technology features in the vehicles: the SYNC, MyFord Touch.
“They’re pretty complex, there’s a lot of programming involved, there’s lots of sites you need to register on. You can get a lot out of them — reports, information and things like that — but I think maybe we need to find a better way to get our customers trained on how to use these neat (technologies),” Darvish continued.
In fact, technological issues were listed as the other reason for the reliability decline for Ford. Consumer Reports indicates there have been “problems” with the new MyFord Touch infotainment system and the automated-manual transmission for the Fiesta and Focus models.
Additionally, although Lincoln placed ahead of Ford, the new MKX model’s score fell because of issues with the MyLincoln Touch system, the publication argued.
Rob Henry, the general manager at Mike Davidson Ford at Regency in Jacksonville, Fla., shared his perspective in this arena.
“The quality of Ford’s vehicles is second to none. The complexity of the SYNC and MyFord Touch systems are the cause of Ford’s poor quality scores,” Henry said.
“Both of these systems need to be ‘dumbed-down’ for the general public,” Henry suggested. “The systems are awesome and with a little practice, most slightly tech-savvy customers will not have any problems, but the percentage of tech-savvy customers is still very low.
“At our monthly 'SYNC My Ride' sessions, one of our most frequently asked questions is, 'How do I add a contact in my new smartphone?’” he continued. “The fact that Ford has a highly sophisticated product that crushes the competition should not be a reflection of their quality.”
Regarding the three models panned by the publication, Henry added: "Sales are faring well for all three models. Our service director says we have had a few molding issues with the Explorer. The Focus and Fiesta have an automatic transmission that has a tendency to feel like a manual transmission when shifting, which is not a quality issue, but rather a design trait. SYNC and MyFord Touch are by far our main issues, especially when our customers buy the latest smartphones available."
It wasn’t all bad news for Ford.
The Ford Fusion Hybrid was called “outstanding” by Consumer Reports, which noted other Fusion models being “above average.”
“We are pleased that a number of Ford vehicles — including the Ford Fusion — earned top quality ratings this week. As we said when J.D. Power issued similar results this past summer, we take all customer feedback seriously and will use it to continuously improve our vehicles,” Bennie Fowler, Ford group vice president of global quality and new model launch, said in a statement.
“Continuous improvement ensures that we are providing our customers with the highest-quality vehicles,” he continued. “Our internal surveys now show that we are largely back on track after addressing these near-term quality issues. We remain absolutely committed to serving our customers with cars and trucks that have the highest quality, reliability, fuel efficiency, safety, smart design and value.”
Looking at other brands, Consumer Reports indicated that spots one through nine were comprised of Japanese brands, with Scion topping the list once again. It was followed by Lexus, Acura, Mazda, Honda and Toyota.
The publication noted that 87 of the 91 Japanese vehicles included in the survey had reliability rankings of “average” or better. What’s more, the publication said the highest rating was bestowed upon 24 Japanese vehicles.
Interestingly enough, though, Scion’s xB and xD were the only vehicles in its three-model lineup that had enough reliability data for consideration in the survey.
Another Big 3 automaker – Chrysler — saw some good news. Jeep placed 13th, up seven spots from a year ago, and Chrysler and Dodge saw some improvements as well. The Chrysler brand climbed three positions and Dodge was up 12.
“Chrysler had better results with its new models, including the freshened Chrysler 200 (formerly Sebring) sedan and the redesigned Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs. The Chrysler brand moved up in Consumer Reports survey, but its rank is based on just two models: the 200, which was well above average, and the freshened Town & Country minivan, which tanked,” the publication noted. “The remaining model, the 300, is too new for Consumer Reports to have sufficient data.”
As for General Motors, the publication had this to say: “General Motors has stumbled after edging up last year. The Buick and Cadillac brands, in particular, appear to have taken a step backward; Chevrolet held steady, and GMC dropped one spot.”
Officials added: “General Motors' bright spots include the above-average Chevrolet Avalanche and the Cadillac CTS, which has improved to average. The gas/electric Chevrolet Volt, with much better than average predicted reliability, ranks as GM's most reliable car but with a caveat: The sample size was just a little more than Consumer Reports' minimum threshold of 100 cars, and most respondents had owned theirs for only a few months.”
Read more: Auto Remarketing | Consumer Reports Shocks Dealers by Saying New Models Are Tarnishing Ford's Rep
