Benefit of Long Wait Times for Build : Reliability and Quality (Theoretically)

[PNWMaverick]

To prove your point, I have never heard of a car called the Juke. I have heard of and seen in concert many times, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes.

The Juke is a Nissan vehicle (if we are generous) that no one purchased because it was a complete pile of trash and "Pontiac Aztec Pretty."

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[Mymaverick2021]

I was at a car plant a few months ago and the work was being done at a VERY slow pace. And this plant was building high margin trucks and getting chips from other plants which build low margin cars. So the slow production at all assembly plants these days means line workers have more time than usual to get their job done right. If there are vehicle defects, it's more likely to be in the parts themselves or the assembly process which Ford can fix as they find out about the problems. The leaky gas tanks for instance should be an easy"process issue" to fix.

Yea Only took 5400 + trucks run through the process to figure that one out

 

[Speed2000]

Last time I checked, my ordered and price locked 35K Lariat msrp is now over 37K. The longer it takes, the more it costs Ford. Thats a better return in the last six months than my 401k.

 

[rupzuk]

Theoretically Ford should be using the delays to tweak quality control issues and we should end up with more reliable and sturdier trucks with the later builds.

Highly unlikely, cluster f@%$’s usually compound.
If they can’t get the machine that makes the machine run right it is likely the output will be less than optimal.
Personally, I find I make more mistakes when dogging it than when I’m busy.

Yeah, that's sorta my take on it. Save up, make a bigger down payment, and then have a way smaller monthly.

This is a very true reality, and will cost Ford profits.
Good for us, not so much for them.

My favorite is mint chocolate chip.

As respectfully as I can say sir, you are broken.
Mint on chocolate…insanity.

 

[Mike]

Well we know for sure there’s a couple issues that were fixed from early runs…..

 

[Lone Star Proud]

Yeah, that's sorta my take on it. Save up, make a bigger down payment, and then have a way smaller monthly.

It also gives you more time to pay repair builds on aging cars and way more for gasoline on less efficient vehicles.

 

[TacoHolder]

It takes a huge effort to implement process improvement changes. You're not likely to see anything different between current production compared to the beginning of the run. If anything, these changes might occur when they switch over from MY22 to MY23 production.

 

[JBL14]

I was at a car plant a few months ago and the work was being done at a VERY slow pace. And this plant was building high margin trucks and getting chips from other plants which build low margin cars. So the slow production at all assembly plants these days means line workers have more time than usual to get their job done right. If there are vehicle defects, it's more likely to be in the parts themselves or the assembly process which Ford can fix as they find out about the problems. The leaky gas tanks for instance should be an easy"process issue" to fix.

To prove your point, I have never heard of a car called the Juke. I have heard of and seen in concert many times, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes.

You did not miss the Juke, those ugly bullfrogs hoping in the road, those were it.

 

[NJ Pinelands]

Whew, those are pretty bad, although still not as bad as the Tesla Cybertruck, Scion Box, or AMC Pacer.

https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/discontinued/juke.html

 

[Old Hickory Trojan]

I don't think that's accurate. The Bronco Sport and the Maverick which are both produced on the same line at the Hermosillo plant are both selling in greater numbers than Ford anticipated. On top of that, Ford is making the trucks and leaving out the modules that are short in supply and parking them in a lot. They've added shifts and are producing both vehicles round the clock and on weekends as well so clearly they're making more than they anticipated. Just because they're short control modules doesn't mean they're not producing vehicles, they're just not producing the vehicles that require those specific modules which is why there are so many Hybrid lux package people upset but they're still building more mavericks and bronco sports than they anticipated selling.

I'm not so sure about what you claim. First of all, why would they add more shifts and work night and day to put vehicles in a field waiting for chips? They add expense to the build that destroys their bottom line. They possibly add more repairs and rework to the vehicles letting them sit and using less trained workers. From a business standpoint running your line full speed ahead only to dump vehicles in a parking lot seems stupid. Not only that but they would be adding potentially more quality issues to their builds. It would make more sense to me to only build what lthe chip and constraint supply allows. If that means stopping overtime and reducing shifts so be it especially since they have already admitted that they may have to roll MY22 into MY23. The approach that Ford would be taking would conserve the spending and as pointed out possibly provide more training and better quality control.

 

[Old Hickory Trojan]

Last time I checked, my ordered and price locked 35K Lariat msrp is now over 37K. The longer it takes, the more it costs Ford. Thats a better return in the last six months than my 401k.

The more labor and material used to build a truck that cannot be delivered is an expense for Ford and the price hike is more related to inflation and is an expense for the customer. if youy were Ford which way would you go....build only the trucks you can as completed units and reduce overtime, multiple shifts which reduce your expense or soend more to build trucks you cannot sell regardless of inflation.

 

[FakeCowboy]

I'm not so sure about what you claim. First of all, why would they add more shifts and work night and day to put vehicles in a field waiting for chips? They add expense to the build that destroys their bottom line. They possibly add more repairs and rework to the vehicles letting them sit and using less trained workers. From a business standpoint running your line full speed ahead only to dump vehicles in a parking lot seems stupid. Not only that but they would be adding potentially more quality issues to their builds. It would make more sense to me to only build what lthe chip and constraint supply allows. If that means stopping overtime and reducing shifts so be it especially since they have already admitted that they may have to roll MY22 into MY23. The approach that Ford would be taking would conserve the spending and as pointed out possibly provide more training and better quality control.

Because once production planning is in place there's a point of no return. With lean production suppliers are shipping parts in an on time basis, this saves companies like Ford money as opposed to having parts on hand in abundance. American manufacturers learned this from Toyota with their Kaizen manufacturing approach. If Ford schedules production with an impending part delivery from a supplier and at the last minute the supplier is not able to deliver, they can't just change their production schedule, everything else is already in place, they would lose so much time and money to reschedule everything. Instead, they send the vehicles down the line leaving out the modules that they didn't receive and park them in a lot until they get the modules (or whatever part) and have time to finish "production". What you think is "stupid" is actually more efficient from a production point of view. What's better, partially finishing vehicles or leaving your production line idle producing nothing.

I read a book about the American auto industry in the 90s and it talked in depth about what mostly at the time GM learned from their joint venture with Toyota and lean manufacturing.

 

[teh603]

Whew, those are pretty bad, although still not as bad as the Tesla Cybertruck, Scion Box, or AMC Pacer.

https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/discontinued/juke.html

They were pretty good driving. Put it in sport mode and stomp it on a freeway ramp, and you could feel it push you back into your seat.

 

[teh603]

They were pretty good driving. Put it in sport mode and stomp it on a freeway ramp, and you could feel it push you back into your seat.

Because once production planning is in place there's a point of no return. With lean production suppliers are shipping parts in an on time basis, this saves companies like Ford money as opposed to having parts on hand in abundance.

It's efficient until you have a hiccup in the supply chain, like we do now. And pretty much every US sector was using "just in time" delivery instead of keeping inventory, which is why everything is so maximally disrupted. It's not just Ford that can't get its stuff "just in time"- it's everyone going up the supply chain as well.

At risk of getting accused of being a Luddite, I'd rather we had less efficiency and more availability. And maybe a way for everyone to pocket the difference, instead of just the CEOs and boards.

 

[Pizzacat_69420]

Theoretically Ford should be using the delays to tweak quality control issues and we should end up with more reliable and sturdier trucks with the later builds.

Absolutely not.

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