Ford will import Focus from China instead

[Torch10th]

Based on what the average individual purchases, most of the china made products are crap. What sane person would spend tens of thousands of dollars for Chinese junk when so many smaller products end up as landfill swill?

Sure, I agree with that, but it doesn't automatically mean it's all bad stuff, or that the Focus will have quality issues that it doesn't already have being made in Mexico.

Molnar is a good example. They're quality reputation is pretty good for supplying well made parts at a good price. All of their foundry work for forgings and castings is done in China, then shipped state-side where they finish machine their rods, cranks etc.

I follow a decent amount of higher end machinists on insta and the Molnar stuff is near universally liked. It's just one example of China stuff not being crap.

Now, if Ford doesn't pay for good work in China, then it will be crap. Just like if they didn't pay for good work here or in Mexico, it would still be crap. We'll have to wait and see when that gen focus arrives if it's any good or not.

 

[DHG1078]

It depends on how tightly Ford controls the manufacturing. iPhones are made at foxconn in China. No one has an issue with iphone QC.

 

[ON D BIT]

And here goes build quality.

It's a shame that I have to buy a Japanese product to own an American made vehicle. If I buy American, I buy a Mexican or a Chinese made vehicle.

It's a shame but Ford probably won't get much of my business anymore. Tacoma here I come.

Or you could buy and American made Ranger truck that is direct competitor of the Tacoma.

 

[Dirks9901]

I hope Ford gets financially raped by a boarder tax.


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[DHG1078]

I hope Ford gets financially raped by a boarder tax.


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Not sure what you mean there.

board·er
ˈbôrdər/
noun
noun: boarder; plural noun: boarders

1. 1.
   a person who receives regular meals when staying somewhere, in return for payment or services.
   • a student who lives at school during the semester in return for payment.
2. 2.
   a person who boards a ship during or after an attack.
3. 3.
   a person who takes part in a sport using a board, such as surfing or snowboarding.

 

[SolarYellow]

It depends on how tightly Ford controls the manufacturing. iPhones are made at foxconn in China. No one has an issue with iphone QC.

No one? Not one owner? People are somewhat lenient because certain cell phone companies toss in a new smart phone or offer monthly installments rather than dropping hundreds of dollars on a Chinese produced smart phone.

Remember the says of beer bottles behind the door panels of American cars? What now? Chopsticks and cans of lead paint? Obviously that is in jest but you get the idea. If I am dropping good coin, I prefer it not assembled by a chinaman.

 

[SID297]

I prefer my Focus to be made in Germany.

 

[DHG1078]

No one? Not one owner? People are somewhat lenient because certain cell phone companies toss in a new smart phone or offer monthly installments rather than dropping hundreds of dollars on a Chinese produced smart phone.

Remember the says of beer bottles behind the door panels of American cars? What now? Chopsticks and cans of lead paint? Obviously that is in jest but you get the idea. If I am dropping good coin, I prefer it not assembled by a chinaman.

Outside of a recent battery recall, I don't recall hearing about any widespread issues on the iphones. "bendgate" just sounded like people paid the price for sitting on their phones, with a functional but bent phone. Thats a pretty good track record for a product line that has been out for 10 years and is constantly updated.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

You have to keep in mind that the Focus is also the best selling nameplate in the world, or now second to the Corolla. It's not the F150 or Mustang that has primary ties to the US. The Focus needs to be shipped everywhere so it may make more sense financially in the global scheme to have it in China.

It's not like Ford is leaving it to the Chinese government to develop and produce it. I imagine they will have their hand picked managers in place overseeing a Chinese workforce while maintaining the QC standards Ford has in place. If it doesn't pass, it doesn't ship.

I would have a different opinion if we were talking US only vehicles here, but the Focus is probably Ford's most important global vehicle.

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[nxhappy]

honestly i dont think china will be any different than mexico builds ....

 

[Dirks9901]

Not sure what you mean there.

board·er
ˈbôrdər/
noun
noun: boarder; plural noun: boarders

1. 1.
   a person who receives regular meals when staying somewhere, in return for payment or services.
   • a student who lives at school during the semester in return for payment.
2. 2.
   a person who boards a ship during or after an attack.
3. 3.
   a person who takes part in a sport using a board, such as surfing or snowboarding.

Cute.

I guess my talk to text picked the wrong "border"

So lets try this again. I hope Ford gets financially raped by a border tax.

Better?


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[03cobra#694]

Cute.

I guess my talk to text picked the wrong "border"

So lets try this again. I hope Ford gets financially raped by a border tax.

Better?


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Tell us how you really feel?

 

[VRYALT3R3D]

I prefer my Focus to be made in Germany.

I wonder if the ST will be sourced from Europe....

Ford quietly got rid of the manual option on the Focus other than the ST/RS

 

[Crazycarl]

I do not care where anything is made. If it is a good quality product, I'll pay for it. Simple as that.

 

[SolarYellow]

Outside of a recent battery recall, I don't recall hearing about any widespread issues on the iphones. "bendgate" just sounded like people paid the price for sitting on their phones, with a functional but bent phone. Thats a pretty good track record for a product line that has been out for 10 years and is constantly updated.

An actual recall is not needed in order for people to have QC issues. Bending, catching fire, etc.., even these pieces of tech have issues. Of course that doesn't mean anything of the sort would not happen if M-I-A but it is a bit more reassuring when purchasing made/assembled here.

All I can do is look back over the past ten years (no need to go further) and see some items such as craftsman tools, xbox 360, power tools, etc.., made in Chinaland. Business wants to make money and the only reason to move manufacturing overseas is to increase profit and unfortunately that usually comes at the expense of quality but at least in this case we have a ruler in which to gauge the quality.

 

[DHG1078]

An actual recall is not needed in order for people to have QC issues. Bending, catching fire, etc.., even these pieces of tech have issues. Of course that doesn't mean anything of the sort would not happen if M-I-A but it is a bit more reassuring when purchasing made/assembled here.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but these things you listed are more design faults than poor QC in manufacturing when it comes to the iphone. The structural metal in the phone was designed to be too thin for the alloy they used. The battery could be design or manufacturing issues.

Just because a product is bad, doesn't mean the manufacturer was bad, sometimes its just a crap design.

 

[DHG1078]

Business wants to make money and the only reason to move manufacturing overseas is to increase profit

Its not the only reason to. Obviously, businesses are out to make profits and every decision they make has that in mind. But in the case of cars like the Focus that are really aimed at the "lower" middle class in a very specific price range, they move production overseas (or mexico) to help prevent price hikes that push the car out of a certain price range for their target audience. Its a balancing act between how much you charge vs what it costs to make.

Some countries are notorious for producing bad quality products compared to others though.

 

[SolarYellow]

Its not the only reason to. Obviously, businesses are out to make profits and every decision they make has that in mind. But in the case of cars like the Focus that are really aimed at the "lower" middle class in a very specific price range, they move production overseas (or mexico) to help prevent price hikes that push the car out of a certain price range for their target audience. Its a balancing act between how much you charge vs what it costs to make.

Some countries are notorious for producing bad quality products compared to others though.

If the target audience does not purchase a car, profits go down. Directly in the article it is stated how the company will save $500 million by moving manufacturing from Mexico to China. Making money is wonderful and companies want as much as possible.

What I underlined shows ford does not want to cut into those profits.

 

[GTSpartan]

Outside of Toyota, Honda and few select foreign OEM's, there's no money to be made selling economy cars in the U.S.

Produce them wherever it's cheapest, dump them in fleet sales, and make your CAFE numbers. Try to lose the least amount of money as possible.

Smart move by Ford.

 

[DHG1078]

If the target audience does not purchase a car, profits go down. Directly in the article it is stated how the company will save $500 million by moving manufacturing from Mexico to China. Making money is wonderful and companies want as much as possible.

What I underlined shows ford does not want to cut into those profits.

I meant the strategy likely maintains profit levels rather than increasing them.