I will be honest with you; Ford has never been my favorite brand. I do place Ford on the top of my favorite list for domestic car makers and I believe they will stay at the top of that list. The past month has been different in Ford’s garage with shouts of Initial Quality being equal with Toyota and Honda for the first quarter of 2008. This may be blown out of proportion by Ford but can you blame them? At this point in the market, I would grasp onto any favorable news and scream it from the hilltops! With all domestic car makers loosing big time and crying relentlessly about it, the time has finally come that quality has gone up as production quotas drop.

The initial quality survey was conducted by an independent research firm. Bad news was that they were hired by Ford to conduct the survey. The real test is not initial quality but long term quality and the history of the vehicles over the preceding years. Lets think this through, what can the first three months of a cars life tell you? It’s hardly enough to even require an oil change.

Ford has improved in one area that is noticeable to all, design. Save the likes of the Focus, the sharper design of the fleet does impress me for a domestic line. When Ford publicized its new designs on the Mustang in 2005 and Edge in 2006, it began the turn around for Fords image. Now there are a few Fords I wouldn’t mind rollin’ in. 

I sincerely hope that Ford has improved their quality and that it lasts longer than the first three months of a cars life. If they can keep costs down and deliver a good vehicle, they could have a winning combination. I am rooting for U.S. cars and someday hope they will be another option for my garage.

I think this new coupe takes them a step backwards closer to the 1986 Ford Escort 2 door hatch that my mother owned. This new coupe is far from on par with the more attractive Edge and Fusion models as of late. Main issue lies around the fact that Ford is still using the original Focus platform from the launch of the Focus in 1999. This may not bother you if you already realize that many platforms that automakers use can last for years. The cost to develop a new platform is hefty so they keep the same design and make subtle changes through its life.

Now the bad news - Ford has had a newer and better platform for the Focus since 2005. Where is it? On nearly every continent other than North America. The international version of the Focus has been very popular since its inception; it’s arguably even more popular than here in the U.S. Unfortunately we are stuck with the U.S. platform for at least the next 3 – 4 years.

What does this means to you? Ford can’t even offer its best vehicles to the U.S. market where it began over a century ago, 1903. Come on Ford, treat us right and give us the Ford Kuga too!