[golf strom]

Transport lines damaged & quality issues. Ford should look to importing from Germany

If it is true that shipping points are severely compromised between the US and Mexico Ford needs to consider importing some Fiestas from Europe, hopefully this is the Plan B that they needed to have from the get go when deciding to sell the Fiesta in the USA....

Note to Alan Mulally....you need to contact the execs managing the US Fiesta project to see what they plan on doing if transportation and quality issues hinder the Mexican plant...

 

[Casca]

I think you have a better chance of getting them to have Ken Block personally drive a Fiesta from Mexico through all the hazards to your driveway.

 

[golf strom]

I hope you're wrong because there ALWAYS need to be contingency plans to account for just such a scenario .

To reiterate, I am ONLY suggesting this for a short time until issues can be corrected in Mexico...not as a permenant situation.

 

[MegEtc]

I think you have a better chance of getting them to have Ken Block personally drive a Fiesta from Mexico through all the hazards to your driveway.

That would make for such a great advertisement.

 

[tikipriest]

If it is true that shipping points are severely compromised between the US and Mexico Ford needs to consider importing some Fiestas from Europe, hopefully this is the Plan B that they needed to have from the get go when deciding to sell the Fiesta in the USA....

Note to Alan Mulally....you need to contact the execs managing the US Fiesta project to see what they plan on doing if transportation and quality issues hinder the Mexican plant...

i hate to be a wet blanket on this thread but i do think there are more ways to get a car out of mexico other then the tracks that are out of commission! They could deliver them all by boat to the east and coast and west coast by another crossing... but ford will get them out as quickly as they can, they don't make money sitting on their product!

 

[golf strom]

It's going to be very interesting to see what ensues if the troubles continue.

If I was the Fiesta project manager I would have automatically planned on sourcing some of the initial product from Germany...EVEN IF it cost a bit more initially because this launch of the Fiesta was SO important that a lack of product could be devestating.

tiki...sure you can use ships BUT....there are complicated logistics involved and the extra costs which could be very steep prohibitively so.. You have to go through all the logistical proceedures to contract with those shipping lines and hopefully they will be available to Ford. Stuff like this doesn't happen overnight as most of you here know. And this still doesn't address the quality glitches that are possibly causing Ford to put a "stop" on many cars for further inspection. Don 't get me wrong I applaud Ford for looking out for the well being of the customer on this, in the long run the delays assure that the consumer will get a quality product.

 

[Marc]

If Ford would be able to get a shipment from Germany, then a shipment out of Mexico would be equally simple. Also, since the Mexican plant is producing for South America, my guess is that they would use boats for shipment to, say, Brazil. Simply because there's no straight road from NA (the I5 from Washington state) to SA, let alone a railroad track. Somewhere in Colombia or so there's a bit of impenetrable jungle...

Secondly: remember the 40%! Euro Fiestas aren't fit for US consumption. Retooling the German plant would take longer than fixing the rail roads.

 

[golf strom]

If Ford would be able to get a shipment from Germany, then a shipment out of Mexico would be equally simple.

That MAY be true in a very few limited locations around Mexico...BUT overall the infrastructure is not anywhere near as advanced as in Germany ( an exporting leader) not to mention the USA... The Germans just blow most all other nations out of the water when it comes to manufacturing efficiency, and shipping logistics.

You could even argue that because the Germans, and US have such a huge lead in productivity that if you factor in all elements it may have been no more expensive to produce the Fiesta in the USA.

Things in Mexico just don't work as efficiently overall as they do in Germany or the USA, not to mention China...Mexico has a long way to go before their logistical infracture is as good as say, China.

Also, since the Mexican plant is producing for South America, my guess is that they would use boats for shipment to, say, Brazil.

That is true but like I mentioned before there are a lot of protocol to go through before you arrange alternative transport for expensive products like cars...it is not that quick to arrange.

Secondly: remember the 40%! Euro Fiestas aren't fit for US consumption. Retooling the German plant would take longer than fixing the rail roads.

Modules my friend...they are your friend.

But like I said if I was the US Fiesta project manager I would have arranged to have some of the first US Fiesta runs built in Germany so the product would be of the highest quality and arriving on time.

 

[FiestaFaction-1]

@golf strom

You portray using Germany as a 'backup plan' as a LOT easier than it is IRL.

 

[golf strom]

@golf strom

You portray using Germany as a 'backup plan' as a LOT easier than it is IRL.

If it was PLANNED for it wouldn't be too hard.

I'm not saying it IS a "snap" to achieve BUT if you've followed the history of another certain auto maker also German, that also has a major plant in Mexico, I can tell you that it is never too wise to put all your eggs in one basket...especially in a third world basket. Not to say that Mexico can't produce a good product....but there are many variables and differences from a truly developed nation in how consistantly that uniformity can be achieved.

If you want to know specifically which history I am talking about pm me.

 

[celestevah]

My car is coming by boat. I was told that all east coast ones are coming by boat.

 

[golf strom]

My car is coming by boat. I was told that all east coast ones are coming by boat.

That's great to hear. I hope the rail head to the coast is ok. I guess they could truck some as well.

 

[FiestaFaction-1]

If it was PLANNED for it wouldn't be too hard.

Once again, your oversimplification belies rational thought.

 

[mress]

If it is true that shipping points are severely compromised between the US and Mexico Ford needs to consider importing some Fiestas from Europe, hopefully this is the Plan B that they needed to have from the get go when deciding to sell the Fiesta in the USA....

Note to Alan Mulally....you need to contact the execs managing the US Fiesta project to see what they plan on doing if transportation and quality issues hinder the Mexican plant...

You should get some help with this "fixation" you seem to have about German build quality. I hope you never find out about the "hillbillies" that build bimmers down south! My god what magic they must do to achieve that german quality!The reality is that ANY vehicle that is built, sourced and shipped from distant places to distant places is going to have this problem. It is a big world. S**T happens.

 

[ibinubu12]

quality issues hinder the Mexican plant...

Do you honestly, really think that Cologne had not a fault with their Fiesta launch? Honestly? Cause they did. Saarlouis did with the Focus. It happens everywhere. Perhaps this is exacerbated by the distance from the engineers to the plant, but it will be overcome.

And quality? Show me a Ford of Europe plant that won a JDPower Plant Quality Award. You can't. The Silver Award (2nd Place, behind Toyota in Cambridge, Ontario) was...

Ford Hermosillo (33 problems per 100 cars, average was over 100).

There is no reason to say that quality issues will remain. None at all.

 

[FiestaFan]

Once again, your oversimplification belies rational thought.

One of the reasons why he was banned, I think, was the soapbox-preaching "they should have done this" attitude when in fact he doesn't know what he's talking about.

I trust the Mexican plant just as much as the European one for reasons ibinubu12 mentioned (backed up with actual facts and numbers not baseless speculation)

 

[Marc]

I hope you never find out about the "hillbillies" that build bimmers down south! My god what magic they must do to achieve that german quality!

Let's not forget Mercedes, with their M/GL/R plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for worldwide consumption.

(or the CLS/S/E and GL assembly in Santiago Tianguistenco, MX!)

 

[BRGT350]

I am on my 3rd Mexican built Ford and I have not found any quality issues that are related to where it is built. There were a few issues with my 2000 ZX3, but none were from the plant. Surely premature wheel bearing failure due to salt contamination in winter is caused by the plant being located in Mexico! Yeah, I don't think so. My Fiesta is put together very well, and the interior quality exceeds what the German Fiesta had. All of the plastic parts fit better on the US car, there is no mold flash on the peices, and the seats are thousand times better. As you can see from somebody who has driven both the US and EU Fiesta's, there is no quality issue from the cars being built in Mexico. Besides the gearbox ratio's and throttle response, the US Fiesta is better in just about every way. I prefer the exterior style of the EU car, but the actual quality, feel of materials, fit/finish, NVH, and stereo are much better on the US Fiesta.

Simply suggesting that Ford should move production to Germany to fix the washed out rail roads is stupid and proves there is a massive lack of understanding.

 

[MegEtc]

My Fiesta is put together very well, and the interior quality exceeds what the German Fiesta had. All of the plastic parts fit better on the US car, there is no mold flash on the peices, and the seats are thousand times better. As you can see from somebody who has driven both the US and EU Fiesta's, there is no quality issue from the cars being built in Mexico. Besides the gearbox ratio's and throttle response, the US Fiesta is better in just about every way. I prefer the exterior style of the EU car, but the actual quality, feel of materials, fit/finish, NVH, and stereo are much better on the US Fiesta.

As needlessly provocative as Golf Strom's posts about Mexico are, it's really nice to read messages like this, no matter what the occasion. It's just great to hear from an actual owner how great the cars are.

After listening to This American Life's riveting hour-long broadcast about the birth and death of the Corolla/Nova NUMMI plant in california, I have a lot of trouble sterotyping any country's labor force. Because we'd have to conclude that the United States was a "third world country" up until about 1992.

 

[FeistyFordFiesta]

Factory locations and quality

I don't understand how anyone could think that factory location has any effect on quality.

Ford has been making cars a long time, and specs and quality requirements are the same regardless of where a factory is located.

There is no way that different production procedures or quality control processes are used in different factories. All factories and all cars are built to the same specific identical specifications.

I've had cars built in several different countries. My Nissan was built in the U.S. I don't know (or care) where my Focus was built. When I buy a Ford, I expect (and have always received) Ford quality. If I bought a Rolls Royce, I'd expect Rolls Royce Quality. If I wanted a something like a Yugo, I'd expect that level of quality.