On Monday, Nov. 23, the Strategic Vision announced its 2009 Total Value Index™ (TVI) to help customers and automotive manufacturers understand what parts of the value equation are key motivators in the consumers’ new car shopping process.
According to Strategic Vision, Ford Motor Company is ranked as the most improved brand and corporation and led many segments with Focus Coupe, Mustang Convertible, Flex, Expedition and F-250.
Ford’s quality has been trending positive for some time now. Currently, 70% of vehicles are “Recommend Buys” by Consumer Reports and a continuing string of upbeat third-party quality reports has Ford pushing its way to the front of the pack.
“We’ve been employing the most disciplined processes around the world to improve the quality of all of our brands," said Bennie Fowler, Group Vice President Global Quality for Ford Motor Company. "The results show that the processes work.”
Ford has made significant and consistent strides to improve quality through a renewed commitment that touches every aspect of the vehicle process – from design to manufacturing to product launch.
Combining customer feedback with advanced technologies has allowed Ford to further boost initial quality and longer-term reliability, resulting in dramatically improved owner satisfaction.
According to Consumer Reports, Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan deliver BETTER reliability than either Honda Accord or Toyota Camry and Lincoln MKZ performs better than Acura TL and Lexus EX.
“It’s taken thousands of people continuously working together with laser-like focus every day to boost vehicle quality for our customers to the top of the pack," said Fowler. "But this is a never-ending journey. The goal now is to distance ourselves from our top competitors. We want to be the world’s quality leader.”
