This problem was front page, in big bold letters, in all the newspapers this weekend. I bolded certain words in the paragraph below, all with negative connotations. Ford should be getting cudo's for finding the problem and acting on it.
This is the favoritism that I was talking about here, the Michigan media look for ways to bring down the American Auto Companies but when the Asian Auto Companies make mistakes nobody ever hears about them.
Yet, when Toyota recalled their brand new, highly toted, Camry it wasn't even in the newspaper.
Ford Motor Co. insists it will have seven assembly plants back in operation this week after suffering embarrassing production problems that temporarily idled some 15,000 workers last week. Ford spokesman Anne Marie Gattari said the automaker had identified a problem with an automatic-transmission mechanism that makes the vehicles shift smoothly between first and second gears. The part was out of spec and thus couldn't pass Ford's quality tests, Gattari said.
The problem has now been fixed, she said. In addition, none of the parts had actually been used in vehicles delivered to customers, she said.
The part was used in rear-wheel-drive transmissions sold on a wide range of vehicles including F-150 pickups, Expedition sport-utility vehicles, E-Series vans and buses, and the Lincoln Town Car, Gattari said. The problem forced Ford to idle the Dearborn Truck, Michigan Truck, and Wixom Assembly plants in Michigan along with plants in Norfolk, Va.; Avon Lake, Ohio; and Cuautitlan, Mexico. The truck side of Kansas City Assembly plant in Claycomo, Mo., also was shut down, she said.
The shutdown cost Ford the production of more than 4000 vehicles but Gattari said Ford has more than enough capacity to make up the production relatively quickly. In addition, Ford is sitting on large inventories of many of the vehicles impacted by the problem, including the F-150 pickup truck.
Ford is the midst of a major turnaround effort. The world's third-largest automaker lost $1.2 billion in the first quarter; the loss came primarily from the company's North American operations.
Hattip: The Car Connection