In 1986 after graduating from college and getting my first professional position I bought a new Ford. It was a a car from hell! From driving it off from the Ford Dealer's lot having the radio failed on the drive home to having the transmission fail within the first three thousand miles, taking it back to the dealer numerous times to for virtually every problem and than eventually getting into a horrible accident (after which I went through 18 months of physical therapy) due to the brakes failing with less than 10,000 miles. Yes, the state I lived in even did an investigation into the accident I was in and found that it was the fault of FORD for putting on faulty mechanics for the brakes on my Ford. \
After my accident I took the information on the accident and went to the dealer, Ford and talked with the Ford Zone representative. The Ford Zone Representative laughed at me and said you can sue Ford, we will tie it up in court and you will get nothing because we have deeper pockets than you have.
I will never ever under any circumstances buy another FORD!!!!
I HOPE FORD GOES OUT OF BUSINESS!!!!!!!!!
Hey Ford you screwed me! I hope you go out of business!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO TELL EVERYONE WHAT GARBAGE YOU PRODUCE! I HOPE TO STOP EVERYONE WHO I KNOW IS CONSIDERING PURCHASING ONE OF YOUR PIECES OF GARBAGE!
What model of Ford was this?
I also had problems with Fords. Though not with the serious safety issues you describe.
My Ford company vehicles were junk that always flashed engine lights and blew transmissions out in the sticks. My company wouldn't allow me to expense rentals, and it took weeks for the dealers to get the repairs through Ford's warranty dept. Their warranty department and dealers also laughed at me.
Companies fail to understand that the internet now allows people to share their experiences instantly. Twenty years of bad Word of Mouth has doomed Ford, unless they address their quality and service issues in a big way. Unfortunately, I don't think that their union pension expense, their engineering or their staid collectively bargained culture will allow them to make the changes necessary.
Hey. Everybody's entitled to a bad day. Ford had one, and you were the recipient of it. Cheer up, you aren't dead.... yet. Give Ford another crack at it.