Which is the greatest PR disaster from Ford?

[thatspecialbeat]

Th greatest PR success for Ford will be when they announce 60,000 Broncos were sold by dealers in 21 and they only had to waste 10,000 units on reservation holders.

what happened to the promise months back they were going to tell everyone approximately when each of us would get our bronco? that fell on the floor. that would have made everyones lives easier. with some here having there lease up on there current vehicle, others with older vehicles needing repairs. if they would have told some here to wait 1-2 more years before you see your bronco you could better prepare to wait that long or drop your order.

Only thing that makes sense is that they wanted the news about building '21 dealer stock to settle before they start letting reservation holders know it is going to be a while.

Or the tops are so bad there is no reasonable expectation of getting the top production up to speed this year to even provide an estimate.

Or production is going so well there is no reason to even waste time on quarter build estimates since everyone will get actual build dates shortly.

Again, I only think one makes sense.

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[rugbysecondrow]

So all cars can be designed not to cause a death of one of its occupants? Lol.

Reality check. Really, you think driving around in a roofless, doorless, MY 2021 4x4 is more safe than riding in a Pinto in 1973?

c'mon man.

don't be "that" guy.

From PR perspective, this isn't even a real question.

 

[swooshdave]

LOL now that’s a tagline for their next vehicle: “Ford: No more explody than the competition.”

The Pinto was bad but the early Mustangs weren't much better. There was a piece of cardboard between the trunk (gas tank) and the back seat. We didn't see PR disasters back then because you could easily pay off the media. It's harder to pay them off today because the sensationalism is worth more than the payoffs.

 

[swooshdave]

Oh and Jim Farley is on CNBC like it's his part-time gig. It's almost as if Ford's trying to inflate their stock price and make shareholders smile.

And what exactly do you think a CEO's job is because you already described it perfectly.

 

[indio22]

And? That was a regular redesign (i.e. not a ground up from nothing design) in "regular" times with no outside global factors affecting launch. Apples and oranges.
Covid doesn't give a complete pass - they probably should've just pushed the launch back to '22 MY altogether - but I just don't understand why people keep comparing this launch to a regular one pre-covid - or worse yet, to ordering a Jeep right now, a model that's been out 2-3 years now as if they'd have equivalent production issues to make it a valid comparison.

I was comparing reservation marketing scheme, to no reservation marketing scheme. Which is a perfectly valid comparison. No one forced Ford to start issuing far out reservations, that was Ford's choice. Ford wanted early buy-in and to keep customers on the hook and all - and they are having to deal with the consequences.

 

[JTsGarage]

And what exactly do you think a CEO's job is because you already described it perfectly.

Prioritizing making sure those reservations become actual (happy) buyers which will translate to sales and profits for the company which, in turn, will raise the stock price and make shareholders happy. Farley's big on puffing his chest. It's time to execute for the customer.

 

[swooshdave]

Prioritizing making sure those reservations become actual (happy) buyers which will translate to sales and profits for the company which, in turn, will raise the stock price and make shareholders happy. Farley's big on puffing his chest. It's time to execute for the customer.

Sorry, but that's not how it works. A few disgruntled early adopters on some forum won't do anything to the stock price. Selling every Bronco they make for next couple years will. Touting the demand for your product will.

 

[jxc]

Mmm "First Edition" not meaning "First Production" -- granted they never said they would be produced first - but a TON of people read it that way. It was a poor choice of a name. Not sure I'd classify that as a 'disaster', but it is one of the things that they had 100% control over. ( Assuming they weren't actually intending on delivering the First Editions first ).

 

[the poacher]

All of these are petty or just flat out wrong. Ford rolled out the bronco in the middle of a global pandemic and began delivering Broncos only a few months off their original projections while other models/makes are being held up by chip shortages. The Off-roadeo is awesome and the vehicle is meeting or exceeding expectations. None of this is a PR "disaster" for anyone outside of the whiners on this forum. In a year no one is going to remember these "disasters."

Nicely stated. I agree with your opinion 100%.

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

Pick up to 3.

For me, it's the dealers getting units to sell, however they got them, while many of you sit and watch and wonder what year you'll have one.

And as I recall, we were initially told that this would not happen...that reservation holders would have orders filled before ANY Dealer stock was available.

 

[JTsGarage]

Sorry, but that's not how it works. A few disgruntled early adopters on some forum won't do anything to the stock price. Selling every Bronco they make for next couple years will. Touting the demand for your product will.

My point is actual sales are a better indicator of demand than a $100 reservation.

 

[Efthreeoh]

c'mon man.

don't be "that" guy.

From PR perspective, this isn't even a real question.

You called the Pinto issue a "cover up that could cause the death of people", which isn't true. Ford didn't coverup anything. Nader "discovered" an internal engineering/financial analysis of the trade off between the cost to redesign the fuel system vs. the potential for lawsuits and plaintiff payouts. It was a statistical analysis, which all companies that manufacture products do. Ford eventually added a plastic guard onto the differential to prevent the cover bolts from possibly shearing the gas tank.

Not to relitigate the nearly 50 year old issue, but the point is how much cost do you add to a car to make it more safe. It's a law of diminishing returns situation.

You are making the mistake that most young people do, which is take the issue out of the context of the era of when it took place. I was merely trying to make you think how unsafe the Bronco is with removable doors and roof panels to bring safety vs cost into the modern day as context.

 

[Lord Bronco]

The hardtop production issues in general arguably can’t be blamed on Ford, but to me the biggest bag of shit Ford laid on us was telling us that said shortage might delay our Bronco, and that if we switch to soft top we could get it earlier. I like the soft top better and switched to four-door (which I now also prefer) to get it, but I truly would have preferred the MUCH lower cost of my original build. However, based on Ford telling us this, I changed my order only to see MANY 2- and 4-door MIC tops built, starring on day one of production!

I’m a day-one res with no other “sins” besides the MIC top, so how do they decide who magically gets one? And I still don’t have mine with soft top yet.

 

[MDPensfan]

I don't think it's an age issue so much as it is an entitlement and perspective issue.

Obviously exploding cars is a bigger nightmare for an auto manufacturer. Not "I haven't gotten my toy that I put a refundable $100 deposit on yet."

Haha. Yeah, people dying > "I can't get my tow package!!!" I'd say the Mustang II was a bigger PR disaster than a flawed rollout, mostly due to things outside of Ford's control.

 

[ReimundKrohn]

Why does Ford have any fans? I’m loving all these stories I’ve never heard.

This one gets my #1 vote: Ford engineers throw Ford under the bus “We told them the design was bad. They said sell it anyway!”

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/ford-bronco-ii-history-epic-disaster/

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