What do you think of Ford taking over companys?

[HellrotCi]

Dosen't VW have Porsche too?

I used to think that too, but VW had some kind of relationship with Porsche rather than owning them. Porsche like BMW is a self-owned manufacturer.

BMW is owned by NO ONE. BMW actually is owner of MINI, and currently has stakes in Ferrari

I'm not too sure about BMW having any stakes in Ferrari since Ferrari is majority owned by Fiat and also owns Maserati. I did a web search on this and came up empty, although I didn't search too long. BMW is actually majority owned by the Quandts family.

 

[imported_capspackle]

I used to think that too, but VW had some kind of relationship with Porsche rather than owning them. Porsche like BMW is a self-owned manufacturer.



I'm not too sure about BMW having any stakes in Ferrari since Ferrari is majority owned by Fiat and also owns Maserati. I did a web search on this and came up empty, although I didn't search too long. BMW is actually majority owned by the Quandts family.

Hmm, although that MIGHT be true.. GM does have a 20% stake in Fiat. So if you are correct in saying that Ferrari is majority owned by Fiat, and Fiat is owned by GM, then would that make Ferrari owned by GM?

That's a scary thought right there.

 

[BradE]

VW owns Rolls-Royce right now, it won't be turned over to BMW until 2003. I am fully expecting BMW to totally "germanize" the cars. Meaning take out all the burl trim and chrome accents, Connolly hides....you know things that have made Rolls famous for the last 100 years, and replace them with more german style parts. BMW will try and say they are making the cars more "functional". I hope it does not happen, but I fear it will.



Don't know why some of you guys are so down on Ford, after their purchase of Jaguar their customer satisfaction ratings went from bottom of the barrel to top of the list. In terms of quality most agree that from 1994 to present model Jaguars are the best quality Jags ever built. I currenty own a Town Car and have not had one single problem with it. The Explorer has covered 75K miles and never a single problem with it either. Believe me, there are worse things than a Ford.

 

[Lenny]

Don't know why some of you guys are so down on Ford, after their purchase of Jaguar their customer satisfaction ratings went from bottom of the barrel to top of the list. In terms of quality most agree that from 1994 to present model Jaguars are the best quality Jags ever built. I currenty own a Town Car and have not had one single problem with it. The Explorer has covered 75K miles and never a single problem with it either. Believe me, there are worse things than a Ford.

Not to mention that under Ford's management, the Halewood Plant in England went from one of Ford's worst assembly plants to it's best. Story Link Here

 

[Detailing Technology]

Dosen't VW have Porsche too?

I used to think that too, but VW had some kind of relationship with Porsche rather than owning them. Porsche like BMW is a self-owned manufacturer.

VW was started by Adolf Hitler and Ferdinand Porsche (Ferdinand Piech's grandfather) when they made the Kraft durch Freude car. The two men also jointly developed a Grand Prix car with Auto Union, and that fostered the famous Silver Arrow Grand Prix wars.

 

[Malibu]

The Explorer has covered 75K miles and never a single problem with it either

You just wait.



Anyway, truthfully, Ford was the best thing to happen to Jaguar. Take a look at current Jaguar quality compared with just ten years ago. There have been quantum leaps forward. As for the styling, truthfully, I agree, although I think the S-Type is beautiful.



Some interesting notes on manufacturing relationships:



1) Honda/Isuzu: Honda contracted with Isuzu to supply them with a version of the Rodeo which became the Honda Passport. In return, Isuzu got a version of the first gen Odyssey called the Oasis.



2) GM/Isuzu: Isuzu got a version of the S10 called the Hombre. For MY2003, it will get a version of the Envoy/Trailblazer to replace the current Trooper. In addition, the old Geo Storm was a rebadged Isuzu Impulse (remember when Isuzu made cars too?)



3) GM/Toyota: The Geo/Chevrolet Prizm is a rebadged Toyota Corolla. GM and Toyota collaborated on the Vibe/Matrix project.



4) GM/Suzuki: The Geo Tracker was a version of the Suzuki Sidekick. The current Chevrolet Tracker is a version of the Suzuki Vitara.



5) Ford/Kia: Both the Festiva and the Aspire were rebadged Kias.



6) GM/Daewoo: Remember the God-awful Pontiac LeMans about ten years ago? That was actually a Daewoo.



Oh, and I don't know if it was mentioned, but GM now owns 100% of Saab too. Hopefully Mr. Lutz has some say in keeping the Saab character intact.



I know too much random stuff.



Mike

 

[thevolvoguy]

In responce to a few of your replys, I am NOT, in any way saying that Ford is a bad company, or will hurt the companies it is taking over. I have owned many Fords, and been very satisfied. I belive they make very dependable, nice looking cars and trucks. I would never buy any other truck... but a Ford. I was merely saying that it seems some of these companies that are known for selling $50,000+ cars (Aston, Jag, Volvo, Land Rover) are coming down in quality by having Ford parts in them, and taking Ford designs.



Like I previously said, Ford makes a great car, but the quality of a Taurus should not be the same as a Jaguar. Put an S-type and a Taurus next to each other and their lines are nearly identical.



I don't really know what I want them to do, but what does it matter what I want anyway... it matters what the general public wants. It seems most people (not car enthusiasts) love the new designs Volvo and Jaguar have come out with.



But wait.. lets recap some of the new prices:



Land Rover Freelander (aka: a Ford Escape w/ 4wd and leather) -- $27,000



Volvo S40 (aka: a really souped up Ford escort w/ leather and wood) -- $25,000



Jaguar X-type (a pudy Taurus) -- $27,000



Whats going on here??



Ill shut up... This thread turned out good though. Thanks guys! :xyxthumbs

 

[Steve @ Guru]

Let's not forget that the Ford Probe was also primarily made from Mazda parts, pieces and design.



:switching on nostalgia mode:



Back when I was a tech at the Ford dealership, I remember working on the 93-95 Probes. Oxygen sensor problems galore, especially on the 2.5L V6, which had 4 of them.



So, we'd order O2 sensors for the 'Probe'. We'd get a rectangular Ford box, with a Ford P/N on the outside. Open up the box, and there's a sliver foil/anti-static wrapper with a Ford Sticker on it.



Carefully peel off the sticker, and there's a Mazda logo & P/N sticker on the bag. Carefully peel off the Mazda sticker and there's a NGK logo & P/N dyed onto the bag.



Now, here's the real catch - in 1995, an O2 sensor for a 2.5L V6 Probe was about $440...times 4...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! (mark-up anyone??)



And then there's the time that I PDI'd a brand new 96 Aspire that didn't have any wiring harness in it....but that's another story...



:/nostalgia:

 

[Malibu]

Volvo S40 (aka: a really souped up Ford escort w/ leather and wood) -- $25,000

Did you know that the S40 and V40 are actually based on a Mitsubishi platform? I forget where I heard that from though.



Steve, yeah, I forgot about the Probe. It's the same as a Mazda MX6. And $440 for an O2 sensor??? Jeebus, I think mine was like 60 bucks and I thought that was kinda high.



Mike

 

[tkr128]

I'm going to have to say that Ford was a good thing that happened to Jaguar. The reliability of Jaguars are now much better thanks to Ford. This was one reason my uncle bought an XJ.



My dad has an 87 Aerostar with almost 200k miles on it. Not many problems, but lately the transmission has been rebuilt about 4 times (within one month). First it didn't backup, then it wouldn't change gears, then it wouldn't backup again, and now it's in the shop again because it won't change gears again.



I also heard that Hyundai will be supplying some 4-cylinder engines for DaimlerChrysler, nothing for the Mercedes line though.

 

[BradE]

Volvoguy,



I agree about the S-type and X-type, I am not a big fan of those cars. IMO the X-type was rushed to market and the build quality is not great. The S-type is O.K, but IMO still unimpressive to wear the Jaguar nameplate. I prefer the big XJ sedans.



Ford's purchace of Jaguar saved them. Jaguar was going downhill fast. The 88 & 89 model year Jaguars (last to be produced by Jag) are probably the worst Jaguars ever built. They were riddled with problems, the electricial system was a total disaster not to mention tons of engine problems. Talk to a Jag Tech and ask what the worst Jag made was, I bet they say an 88 or 89. The 1990-1993 model years were a growing time. Basically it took Ford that long to work all the realiblity problems out of the Jaguar line. By 1995 Jaguar went from bottom of the list in terms of customer satisfication to top of the list. If anyone out there wants to buy a Jag, make sure it a 1995 or newer. Otherwise you are asking for trouble.

 

[imported_capid1]

Being a Mazda Rx fan I think it has good and bad points to it. The good being Mazda needed Fords $ to stay viable but bad cuz of the Mazda Rx8 is a compromise of Fords family car ideas and Mazdas sports car theme. Maybe without Ford no Rotarys would be made again....or maybe they would of made the Rx01 (2 door sports car prototype of the mid 90s) a production car without Ford telling them not too and that would of pleased alot more of the people I know than a 4 door 4 seater (WTF!) 200kw little rotary sports car.