Ford to slash 350 jobs

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by ESP

I think he means "exciting " for the majority of the buyer demographic...........not the absolute minority who buy the cars you have mentioned.

An FPV buyer will never be a MAZDA buyer and vice versa.

Exciting means different things to different people.
An FPV may very well be a HOON car to the majority of the buying public and not necessarily an exciting car..........

Umm I traded in an FPV BA GT for a Mazda 6 MPS. Miss the V8 sound for sure and in a straight line the GT would be marginally ahead, but thats where the good news ends. The Mazda is much better screwed together, handles way beyond the GT in anything approaching a bend (thanks to AWD on demand) and has had zero warranty claims. Its been the most trouble free car I have owned.

It delivers great driver engagement and enjoyment, nearly 50% better fuel economy and I don't need to see a Ford service department for yet another warranty claim ever again.

To be fair the GT would still be in the garage if Ford knew how to build a car and service it, but in far too many instances they don't.

So yeah, as I reflect on the second motor for the Territory's hatch thay I have had to replace this week and the numerous faults of the GT, I can't help thinking that Ford and some dealers are a winning team for selling.... Mazdas.

Now I will sit back and wait for the "every brand has issues and Ford are no worse", followed by the "I've done a million miles in my Falcon and it has never had an oll change, much less a warranty claim" comments. Sorry in advance if I didn't own your car or have that experience.

Dan

[Swordsman88]

I completely understand your situtuation Dan. Myself and my family have been relatively loyal Ford people....not because we actively dislike other brands (did/do have nissan, holden, toyota etc.) but because we have found them to be good cars at a good price, both up front and ongoing. Oh and the falcon in particular has served us well (from X series on).

But i agree Ford aftersales service leaves alot to be desired. Up front sales are not that great either (salespeople often don't know much about the cars), but other brands are often not much better. We generally have avoided Ford's own servicing (too expensive and generally not that good) and there have been some warranty related claims on the falcons (not major but a pain.....all fully covered).

I think other brands do have these issues, but they are often much better handled/picked up before delivery. This creates a much better outcome for all involved. I also think in your case Mazda is one of the best out there for general customer satisfaction....in words of Mazda australia boss....when they didn't have many customers (think mid 90s) they had to look after those they did.

As i said my family has bought fords because of their general practicality for our needs....and have put up with shoddy dealers etc. where necessary because we know the car is fundamentally good (witness the new FG). For us this is enough, for others it isn't.

Oh and i am a big fan of the mazda 6 mps generally, but wonder what your thoughts are on the Mondeo XR5T. Not really a competitor with FWD and less power etc. but much cheaper....did you not consider this car because of your GT experience?? I for one think the mondeos are very well screwed together based on my limited experience.....

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

Umm I traded in an FPV BA GT for a Mazda 6 MPS. Miss the V8 sound for sure and in a straight line the GT would be marginally ahead, but thats where the good news ends. The Mazda is much better screwed together, handles way beyond the GT in anything approaching a bend (thanks to AWD on demand) and has had zero warranty claims. Its been the most trouble free car I have owned.

The 6MPS looked and felt like a really good car, and although just about every review you read complains about how bland it looks, I think it looks great on the road. I was tossing up between it and the R32 but the Mazda dealer was convinced he could sell 2nd hand for sticker price. I paid only a few thou more for a brand new R32.

Had he budged on the price...

How much did they offer as trade?

[maccamom]

It’s the employees of suppliers that I tend to feel sorry for in this case. (Not discounting Ford and Holden and others)

To date with redundancies from PBR, Unidrive amongst others this will be a sad time for the industry. Many of these staff will have trouble finding further employment, now having to compete with Ford staff, Holden staff and the large contingent from South Pacific in a clearly shrinking industry.

What a contrast to the 1990’s where these suppliers had a massive presence in Australia and had large scale employment. Now the are forced to find alternative work for no direct fault of their own.

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by Rodp

The 6MPS looked and felt like a really good car, and although just about every review you read complains about how bland it looks, I think it looks great on the road. I was tossing up between it and the R32 but the Mazda dealer was convinced he could sell 2nd hand for sticker price. I paid only a few thou more for a brand new R32.

Had he budged on the price...

How much did they offer as trade?

I got 47 for the GT, which was pretty good, given what the prices are like now. Still hurt though and I did have mixed feelings. The GT was a car I had wanted for twenty years, so it stung when the car didn't come up to scratch. Probably made worse by the fact my previous BA XR8 had been a pretty good car and made the GT's problems more apparent. Really should have kept the XR8 with hindsight.

Anyway two years later I know I made the right choice for me. The MPS is a car that you learn to appreciate the more you drive it. Just came back from a week of driving around the west of NSW and it was a ripper. There are little things in the engineering that show the people behind it cared.

Will get a second hand GT or similar in the future, but will wait until petrol prices kill the second hand market and will use it as a weekender only. That way I won't mind so much if it has problems and can resell it if its very bad.

Dan