Fords are horrible!
Ford stands for two things - Fix Or Repair Daily or Found On Road Dead
Personally, I would never ever touch a ford, even with a 20 foot pole
I purchase a 2007 Toyota Tacoma Pick-up Truck for $25,915 and a friend of mine bought a 2007 Ford F-250 for $35,525 on the same day. We both keep our trucks in immaculate condition, repairs and everything a done regularly. We both keep a file with every single file and receipt that has to do with our trucks.
Two years later we both decide to sell our trucks and purchase sports cars, on the exact same day.
I will be able to sell my Japanese brand Toyota for example $15,000, losing $10,915, where as my friend will only get for example $20,000 for his Ford, losing $15,525.
So what does this show you? this shows you that American autos, are a waste of money and the return you get on them after selling them is horrible, they depreciate in value so much faster than an import
So,your Toyota lost ~42% of its price,and and your friends Ford lost ~44% of its price.
I don`t quite get it,what`s your point?That Ford is more expensive to buy?
Why do you think Toyota can sell its products so much cheaper than Ford -and make profit- while Ford sells many of its vehicles with prices too low to be profitable,yet the price tag is still way above what the japanese competitors ask for their products?
They are both American made vehicles you know,China or Japan and their labor costs etc.has nothing to do with it.
The reason is UAW*and the healthcare costs,huge salaries,pensions and other benefits compared to other similar jobs
in America "big three" has to pay for their workers.
When a Japanese -or European- car manufacturer builds plants to US,they never go to northern states,where UAW is strong,but build their plants to south and make very sure they don`t hire UAW workers.This way labor costs are only a fraction compared to American companies and aggressive prices and big profits go hand in hand.
Yes,part of their problem is that GM and Ford leaned on SUVs and pick ups too long and neglected passenger cars.
Thats because
1.pick ups and later SUVs have always been one of their specialty,where they`ve really been good at,and
2.because these light trucks are much more profitable than modern passenger cars(development and manufacturing costs are a lot lower,yet people are ready to pay more for them than smaller passenger cars).
Car manufacturers(even Japanese) don`t make good -if any- profit from the smallest passenger cars because of high development costs and lower retail prices,unless they are made in some country with very low labor costs.
Thats the reason why they like to make big cars in Detroit;
1.they know how to do them and
2.small cars would struggle to be profitable anyway as long as UAW workers would build them.The smallest cars aren`t profitable no matter who would build them in the US.
China does not play part in this - at least yet.They are trying with cars too,but being comepetitive in car busines in the western countries is not as easy as making some cheaper and more simple bulk products.Some day they will come,but as for now,Chinese car companies have plenty of problems themselfs.
*(for those who don`t know,UAW=United Auto Workers,by far the strongest labor union in the world,which keeps GM,Ford and Chrysler on their knees)
