Ford Quality On Par With Toyota

The quality of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles is virtually equal to that of Toyota and Nissan, according to the first quarter 2007 model-year Global Quality Research System (GQRS) report.

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand vehicles are at 1456 TGWs compared with Nissan at 1457 and Toyota at 1453 TGWs per 1,000 vehicles.

"Our latest performance continues a trend that has seen Ford Motor Company significantly improve its vehicles over the last few years," said Bennie Fowler, vice president, Ford Global Quality. "We have more work to do, but there is no question that Ford Motor Company builds world-class vehicles. We can compete with anybody."

Ford Motor Company reduced its corporate TGW rate by eight percent, bettering the overall industry improvement of two percent.

The Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion swept the first two spots for TGW leadership in the highly competitive mid-size car segment, which includes the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. At 910, Milan had the lowest TGW level of any Ford product. Fusion recorded 1066 TGW.

Two other company models achieved segment leadership in TGW: the Ford Shelby GT500 (Sports Car) and Ford Expedition EL (Large Traditional Utility). The Lincoln Navigator leads in both TGW and customer satisfaction for the Large Premium Utility category. The Navigator and Expedition EL have customer satisfaction scores of 85 percent, tops among all Ford Motor Company vehicles.

"Our new products are launching with excellent quality, which is the result of improvements in both manufacturing and product development processes," said Fowler. "That proves we're doing the right things."

Honda's 1313 TGW was best in the survey.

First quarter 2007 model-year GQRS data was gathered from customers who registered new vehicles from September 2006 through November 2006 and owned their cars and trucks for three months. The new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossover vehicles and F-Series Super Duty were not included in the research.

GQRS surveys have historically tracked J.D. Power studies.
Produced for Ford Motor Company