Photo: Ford
The Ford Motor Company is notorious for being arrogant with direct competitors. A prime example comes courtesy of Jim Farley, who said during his tenure as chief operating officer that the Bronco is “much superior” to the Jeep Wrangler. More recently, the Blue Oval has thrown shade at Tesla over build quality and EV buyers who accept certain flaws.
Speaking to Autoblog, Ford's global head of development for electric vehicles Darren Palmer said about the Mustang Mach-E that “the doors fit properly, the plastic and other materials color-match, the bumpers don’t fall off, the roof doesn’t come off when you wash it, and the door handles don’t get stuck in cold weather.” The thing is, he's right and wrong at the same time.
First of all, the Ford Motor Company has only three EVs to its name in the guise of the Ranger EV, Focus Electric, and Mustang Mach-E. The latter is too new to exhibit any problems, and lest we forget, deliveries haven’t even started in the United States. In other words, customers have yet to report any issues to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
That said, I urge you to fire up the NHTSA website and search for the Focus Electric. For the 2013 model year – which is the first for the all-electric hatchback – the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lists 13 recalls, two investigations, 1,809 consumer complaints, and no fewer than 146 manufacturer communications. For reference, the 2013 Tesla Model S has six recalls, five investigations, 305 complaints, and 46 communications.
In theory, the Mustang Mach-E should be the best EV the Ford Motor Company has ever offered. But in practice, we should wait for five years or thereabouts before throwing hubris in the competition’s face. Speaking of which, did you know that all four Teslas in the lineup are manufactured in the U.S. of A. while the Blue Oval chose Mexico for the Mustang Mach-E?
Adding insult to injury, Elon Musk praised the Blue Oval for the electric crossover with Escape-based underpinnings. “Excited to see this announcement from Ford,” said the chief executive of Tesla in a Tweet from November 2019, “as it will encourage other carmakers to go electric too.”
First of all, the Ford Motor Company has only three EVs to its name in the guise of the Ranger EV, Focus Electric, and Mustang Mach-E. The latter is too new to exhibit any problems, and lest we forget, deliveries haven’t even started in the United States. In other words, customers have yet to report any issues to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
That said, I urge you to fire up the NHTSA website and search for the Focus Electric. For the 2013 model year – which is the first for the all-electric hatchback – the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lists 13 recalls, two investigations, 1,809 consumer complaints, and no fewer than 146 manufacturer communications. For reference, the 2013 Tesla Model S has six recalls, five investigations, 305 complaints, and 46 communications.
In theory, the Mustang Mach-E should be the best EV the Ford Motor Company has ever offered. But in practice, we should wait for five years or thereabouts before throwing hubris in the competition’s face. Speaking of which, did you know that all four Teslas in the lineup are manufactured in the U.S. of A. while the Blue Oval chose Mexico for the Mustang Mach-E?
Adding insult to injury, Elon Musk praised the Blue Oval for the electric crossover with Escape-based underpinnings. “Excited to see this announcement from Ford,” said the chief executive of Tesla in a Tweet from November 2019, “as it will encourage other carmakers to go electric too.”
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