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fmdog44

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Next Ford F-150 Will Get Rid of 2,400 Parts to Cut Costs, Improve Quality

The automaker’s CEO says it wants to streamline its manufacturing process to boost profitability.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/next-...id-of-2400-parts-to-cut-costs-improve-quality

Ford wants to improve its quality and streamline its manufacturing, CEO Jim Farley and other executives told investors Monday. That means using fewer parts per vehicle, capitalizing on lucrative segments, and streamlining its supply chain. Farley said soon the fruits of its labor will be more evident and encouraged investors to “make [their] own decision” about whether or not the company was undervalued.

Farley and the heads of the automaker's three recently reorganized business divisions—Ford Blue, Pro, and Model E—gave details on how it plans to do this in the coming years. One interesting example it provided was the number of parts reductions it plans to apply to new models, particularly the F-150. The automaker claims the revised pickup truck will have 2,400 fewer parts as soon as next year. That could be everything from fasteners to parts under the hood, although specifics were not provided.
And Ford will cut the prices on the new trucks with fewer parts by how much?!
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HammaMan

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Ah yes, the negative reduction, aka double negative, better known as +15% price increase. Their efficiencies are passed on into their pocket, not yours.
 

Snakebitten

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I don't have a truck purchase on radar for a few years unless I come across a fully depreciated low mileage Lightning. I'd love to add it to the barn fleet.

And although I agree Ford service sucks, I'm not sure anyone else's service is something I would want to experience either.

I haven't been to a Ford service department in the last 12 years except for the 6R80 transmission leadframe software update.
I have 3 Ford trucks currently and have parted ways with 3 others.
I don't think all Ford trucks necessarily need the dealership service department.

I'm not trying to rub salt into the wounds of those that do. I have the same disdain for the lousy state of factory service centers.

Edit for clarification: I currently own
2012 F150 3.7 NA 107,000 miles (original owner)
2017 Transit 15 passenger van (I have 3 children and 8 grandchildren) 185,000 miles. Purchased it with 37,000 from Ford dealership
2022 KingRanch Powerboost 14,000 miles
 
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Zengineer

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so...any chance it will cost less without have to source these 2400 parts?
It will definately cost Ford less in the long run...unless of course they screw it up. Rest assured it is not driven by a desire to reduce sticker prices, which is fine with me. I already have my truck and own their stock.
 

dolsen

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This could also be as easy as removing studs for wiring harnesses. The plant I work at puts over 800 studs on the car for wiring harnesses alone.
Along the same lines it could mean less variations of wiring harnesses too. Although I understand Ford has given lots of reasons for our pessimism, I’m sure there will be some good changes coming out of this as well. While I was the first in this thread to make a shitty remark, but I was trying to be funny, not angry
 

WhiteLightningnshitshadow

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Bottom line is releasing this statement as carelessly as has been done is bad for everyone.

Semi related, looks like there's some intense re-strategizing in the Chinese and EV markets. Maybe we should look at the moves being made there to see what's next as a leading indicator. Ford appears to be cutting lines and moving to not only lower costs, but provide niche diversifications with brand reliance in the Chinese market.

Kinda frustrating seeing so many mfgs enter the market knowing the competition on the basis of cost was always unrealistic, only to pull their losses and throw their hands up. Investment in China was never the right decision and using competition as an excuse to pull out of a place you never should have been is interesting. Same thing that happened with Russian investors is certainly going to be happening with Chinese investors.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/b...e-chinese-as-the-main-competitor/70256222007/
 

Calson

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I have worked with manufacturers for many years and most of them have new products designed first and then they have the bill of materials sent to the purchasing department that tries to buy them at the lowest possible cost. This always creates inefficiencies and has been a major problem for American car manufacturers.

One thing I quickly noticed on Mazda and Toyota trucks was how something like a cluth assembly had half as many parts as I had found on my American made trucks. The Japanese cut cost by smarter designs at the very start of the process.

In the 1970's quality control with electronics was a big problem in part because if the defect rate was 1% and there were 100 chips on the board and 300 solder connections then the liklihood of a board being defect free as nearly zero. The problem was addressed in part by developing new chips that would provide the functions of 3 of the old chips. Fewer chips and fewer solder connections greatly reduced the failure rates for the boards produced.

I did a project for Hewlett Packers instrumentation division and at that time they had more than 250 types of power supplies. Each new instrument had a new power supply and there was no process to force engineers to use one of the 250 existing designs already in production and maintained in inventory.

The same is obviously happening with the auto manufacturers which is in part why they have such fragile supply chains in place that cause massive production problems. In this regard Ford with its F-150 is the worst with all the hundreds of options and many dozens of package permutations.

The fix always has to come from the top and so it is good that new CEO's at Ford and GM are making large changes in how their vehicles are designed for manufacturer and maintenance.
 

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RT21KRH

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Nothing really wrong with the design, but what is infact wrong with the Gen 14s and the entire electric lineup is directly under Farleys purview. The design is actually quite good even later in the lifecycle. Farley is responsible for:
  • Supply chain issues
  • blatant quality issues
  • feature deletes
  • high profile warranty denials
  • lack of clarity to shareholders and customers
  • negative margins on a line he's pushing for as "the future"
  • approval of the mustang brand assassination
  • Rust on brand new vehicles
  • an out of control dealer network
  • over investment in risky Chinese supplychain and consumer markets
So what of that isn't falling directly at Farley's feet as the CEO and responsible steer? I have over a thousand shares and have watched this shit sink over the years. We're at 11.50ish a share right now, and that's proof enough this is a real issue. Get him out and give me a pitchfork.

fwiw I do love my f150s and mustangs. Fields was the one to bring Ford forward, not Farley.

/rant
I think it was 25 years ago I decided I’ll buy F-150’s but not F stock. For the most part it’s been a good decision.
 

Yielar

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I'm all for boosting quality and profitability, but how do you eliminate 2,400 parts from a vehicle?!?!?

https://www.thedrive.com/news/next-...id-of-2400-parts-to-cut-costs-improve-quality
Actually, very easily when you take into consideration fasteners along with everything else. They are tightening up their supply chain and bringing more in house like Tesla does for example. Part of the reason why companies like Tesla weren't as effected during the supply chain crunch as everyone else.
 

JJSnell

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Has a long-term stockholder I would like to see them go back to previous generations where doors grills bumpers interiors etc were all used across different platforms.
Same front end and other parts on an Expedition as an F150 and same front end and other parts on an Excursion and F250\F350.
Mass produce all wiring harnesses and use them on multiple autos. If you have open ended unused plugs then so be it.
Making 150 different wiring harnesses hurts long term profitability
 

dolsen

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Has a long-term stockholder I would like to see them go back to previous generations where doors grills bumpers interiors etc were all used across different platforms.
Same front end and other parts on an Expedition as an F150 and same front end and other parts on an Excursion and F250\F350.
Mass produce all wiring harnesses and use them on multiple autos. If you have open ended unused plugs then so be it.
Making 150 different wiring harnesses hurts long term profitability
They already do this to some extent. All of the sheet metal aside from class “A” surfaces are the same from the B-Pillar forward between all of those models. Also lots of dash and interior trim parts are shared too.
 

B-real

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They already do this to some extent. All of the sheet metal aside from class “A” surfaces are the same from the B-Pillar forward between all of those models. Also lots of dash and interior trim parts are shared too.
And considering F150 and SD cabs are the same I would say they do a lot of this
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