Does anybody believe this explanation?
14 replies (most recent on top)
Said Deep it the best name for a spokesman I have heard since Apollo Creed retired.
They raised their hand because it gives them time to fix issues without having to make more trucks that sit or pay wages to workers building poorly designed trucks. Oh, I forgot, the seat reclines.
Freep.com reported 2/16: "At Kansas City Assembly, Ford responded to a public plea from natural gas companies urging consumers to cut back use of heat. Bitter cold has sent gas demand and prices soaring, while companies manage supply challenges. Spire Missouri, the St. Louis-based natural gas utility, on Tuesday praised Ford. Scott Carter, president of Spire Missouri, said in a statement to the Free Press:
"Spire employees across five states are working hard to make sure homes and businesses stay safe and warm during these extreme weather conditions. We’re constantly monitoring the changing conditions and, while our systems remain strong, we’re proactively working with large natural gas users like Ford to plan for emergencies when there’s not enough supply to meet the energy needs of the larger community. The leaders at Ford raised their hand early to offer curtailed usage, in the spirit of doing what’s right for the community. Ford and Spire share a commitment to take good care of people and communities, especially during a polar vortex."
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2021/02/16/ford-weather-production-closures-flat-rock/6761733002/
Imagine that our Ford customers expect a battery that won’t drain spontaneously for our brand new F-150. Taking customer satisfaction to a new level (so sad).
"A population of vehicles built before we began shipping to dealers require a software update to prevent batteries from losing their charge," said Ford spokesman Said Deep told the Free Press. "Our dealers were notified last week and customer letters will go out next week as part of a customer satisfaction program for this matter."
Its True its frigid cold and to costly to heat up the plant.
The dead battery is caused by a bogus software written by poor software engineers.
Can confirm, frigid in KC. Rolling power outages right now to manage the power consumption and keep residents safe.
We all have been in one meeting or another where we discuss the "right" way to game communications both internal and external at Ford. It is such a problem that no real issue can be properly raised in time to make a difference. This has been drilled into the company by OGC. They are more interested in papertrails. Thus we go about our jobs and then upper management is surprised when our launches fail and our Quality is horrible.
Not saying there won't be another botched launch at KC but there is a massive storm with deep cold in a huge area of the US that doesn't usually get that bad ..... so yes I do buy that they are closing the plant for weather/safety/energy reasons.
@hbk,
The dead battery issue is not likely for a Plant shut down. Dead batteries are a common problem for OEMs. Maybe more so with Ford. Also, worst case, Ford would just continue to build the trucks and store them before releasing them to the dealerships. From I got from the article, the software can be sent to the dealerships and the software update will be completed under warranty. If Ford could recover all of their warranty losses, they could buy NASA a new space station. LOL
How sad that people don’t believe what Ford PR team emits. That is what comes from not being truthful in the past.
It's somewhat reasonable. These are historic low temps for that region and south, thus more natural gas is being burned for residential usage. The demand is stressing production.
Only the beginning of the largest botched launch in history. Predicting a fall to #2 or #3 in truck segment.
This could be the real explanation:
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2021/02/15/2021-ford-f-150-pickups-battery-drain/6753464002/