Ford Zucks

I've never liked Ford, maybe with the exception of the pretty "sturdy" ones we could find in Europe back in the late 70ies (Granada, Orion, etc) - before they all rusted away...

Once on U.S. soil, I've kept the Fords at bay. Hundred of times I've rented from Hertz (then owned by Ford) for the sole reason they also provided Toyotas, Mazdas, Subarus, Volvos, and in rare cases Hondas. When renting a car, you really do not have to worry about the quality of the vehicle, but you do have to worry about driving it. Most Fords were more like "riding", while all the other cars allowed themselves to be "driven".

One trip from Lynchburg, VA, down to RTP was the nail in the coffin for Fords in my life. A brand new Taurus (or maybe it was a Taurus under the Mercury moniker, the Sable) was to be driven down the parkway down to the RTP airport. Never has a drive been so scary since not even this BRAND new car could provide illumination of the road, less any other form of "control" normally associated with "driving" a car.

So, when I stumbled over this story on Consumerist.com today, it sort of just reminded me how bad Fords are in my mind, and how crooked many car dealerships are (not only Fords, but it does not help if the dealership has to make up for poor product design). I've had Nissans, Audis, Toyotas, Hondas, even Saabs, and not one can even come close to what this poor fellow experiences with his Ford truck. On the contrary, these "import" vehicles run perfectly fine even when they pass the 100K mile marker. We should ask that from any car these days!