Ford vs. Chevrolet war. What is fact and fiction?

Discussion in 'Car & Truck Talk' started by Poison_Ivy, Nov 20, 2018.

?

Ford's better than Chevy

  1. Chevy's better

  2. GM is better than both Ford and Chrysler

  3. Chrysler is best

  4. Ford is best

  5. AMC is best

  6. Ford's better than Chevy

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  1. Grizz

    Grizz Are we there yet???

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    What about Pontiac?! [insert photo of my pulled apart Pontiac under the car port ]
     
  2. Krash Kadillak

    Krash Kadillak Well-Known Member

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    I don't think there's a 'right' answer to this question....

    There have been good, and bad coming from both manufacturers. A lot also, depends on the time period you are talking about. I'm generally not brand-loyal, but I have to say that virtually ALL of the new or newish Ford Motor Company vehicles I have bought since 2003 have been very good vehicles - not a single difficult issue with any of them. On the other side, the one Chevy (a 2006 HHR) I had during this same period was also a good vehicle.

    When you hear stories about guys complaining about how bad their (insert make name here) was, ask them what year it was. Chances are pretty good they are complaining about a vehicle from the smog equipment-choked 70's. And you will hear complaints about ALL makes. There wasn't a single manufacturer that had great-running vehicles then.
     
  3. 60Mercman

    60Mercman Well-Known Member

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    Its interesting I bought a ‘72 LTD Convertible recently, and was fortunate that it was a one owner car. The owner kept every scrap of paper that he had from dealer servicing, as well as correspondence he got from Ford Motor. I could not get over the number of letters he got from Ford in the “Quality is Job One” initiative that the company had undertaken around that time. There were almost quarterly questionnaires and invitations to contact Dearborn directly with any questions or issues. Certainly by the mid ‘70’s car companies were on notice by consumers, and foreign competition that they had issues. If you run across it on YouTube there is a great collaborative video put out by the UAW and GM on this very issue (circa 1972). It covers the labor dispute at the Lordstown, Ohio plant when GM wanted to ramp up production to 100 units an hour. After a 3 week shutdown GM prevailed. The video is call “loose bolts”. It is almost a plea to the employees to be cognizant of what they’re doing on the line, and to ramp up pride and performance, as well as imploring their dedication to their jobs. I certainly think by the mid ‘80’s the car companies across the board figured out what they needed to do.
     
    Last edited: Apr 8, 2019
  4. Poison_Ivy

    Poison_Ivy Dogzilla Fan

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    Yeah, they stepped up automation. However, that in itself was troublesome, during the first years of trying to figure out how to get it together
    For our Canadian viewers, it might just as well be a Chevy :bananaman:
     
  5. Poison_Ivy

    Poison_Ivy Dogzilla Fan

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    In 1956, the Park Lane outsold both Nomad and Safari combined:

     
  6. Grizz

    Grizz Are we there yet???

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  7. OrthmannJ

    OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

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    Just saw that preview yesterday. Looks like it could be an awesome movie. I'm looking forward to it.
     
  8. Grizz

    Grizz Are we there yet???

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    I haven’t been to the movies in a while but I might for that. Or just wait for the tv version
     
  9. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    I'd go to the (not-so) local drive-in to see that. However, I find it laughable that a Beantown actor like Matt Damon can be allowed to play a literally larger-than-life tall, lanky Texan. The producers should've not allowed him but found someone more closely resembling Shelby. Even Christian Bale would've been preferable to Damon.
     
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  10. ModelT1

    ModelT1 Still Lost in the 50's

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    It seems that the guy in the pink shirt is confused.
     
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  11. ModelT1

    ModelT1 Still Lost in the 50's

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    Run Forrest run!
     
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  12. Darcane

    Darcane Well-Known Member

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    I'm not a big fan of Ford, I feel they have a tendency to overestimate both power and fuel economy. Whenever I work on them I find a lot of, IMO, questionable engineering decisions, ranging from the doubled up, spot-welded sheetmetal chassis of my classic mustang. to the double I beam front suspension, to the spark plugs of the 5.4L. I find issues on other makes too, Ford just seems to have more than the rest.

    That said, I'll just leave this here:
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/finance-companies/gm-merger-with-ford-looks-more-likely/ar-AAC1TSR
     
  13. OrthmannJ

    OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

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    It really all comes down to preference.
    I am a FORD guy. I can counter every one of a "Non-ford" guys argument of why fords are crappy with one for which his preferred marque is crappy. I could sit here all day reeling off reasons why FORD is the greatest and why your brand of choice is sub-par.
    It's all part of being brand loyal.

    I was a John Deere guy growing up because, hey whats more 'Merica than John Deere right? Then I married a gal who's Dad owns a Kubota franchise.
    Guess what? I'm no longer a John Deere Guy.

    I don't like Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, etc... why? Cuz them are forin cars!
    Don't tell me we live in a world economy and there's no such thing as a "Domestic car" anymore! (Some of my reasoning makes my wife shake her head.) She calls me a hypocrite. She'll say "you work for a Kubota dealership!" and I'll say "that's different!" Then she'll ask "How is that different?!?" and I'll say "It just is! OK?"
    I'll take a mopar over a GM but I'd drive a GM any day over a car from a foreign marque.
    Of course, if my life depended on it and a Toyota was the only vehicle I had available to escape impending doom, hell yes I'd drive it! I may be dumb, but I ain't stupid.

    Of course when it comes to classics, all bets are off. I'd take a car from pretty much any make of American car and even a few foreign cars.
    My favorite car of all time and the one I still hope to have someday if it works out is (gasp!) a Chevy.

    I like what I like and I don't like what I don't like. The reasons why I like what I like and don't like what I don't like don't always make much sense. Well, it makes sense to me...
     
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  14. Poison_Ivy

    Poison_Ivy Dogzilla Fan

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    On performance issues, I can agree. The ones which could compete with the other two major brands were unfortunately few and far between. This was less to do with Ford's ability than it was with management decisions.
    The only Ford I ever had and drove which wasn't a parts car was a '60 Comet which I bought from an elderly lady, back in highschool, for $75. We didn't negotiate. That was the price that I came up with out of the blue and she went for it. Working after school as an apprentice attendant, I was exposed to plenty of cars. But somehow was enchanted by this one. I liked it for what it was. It was supposed to be my winter car, so that my '56 Chevy didn't have to drive through salt. It had plenty of charachter and was enjoyable to drive. Even as a six-banger. The only thing I did on it, besides routine maintenance, was to change a ball joint on the driver's side. Other than that, I never had trouble with it whatsoever.
    I don't remember what ever happened to it. But, it's certainly up there with the top ten cars I wouldn't mind having back again
     
  15. Darcane

    Darcane Well-Known Member

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    I guess I don't understand being brand loyal...

    I like cars. Pretty much all of 'em. There's darn few I can't find some way to enjoy driving. My preferences really lie in whether a car is well built and/or fun to drive. I like a lot of Chevys, because Chevy has designed a few great engine families (LS, Ecotec, Atlas) and were wise enough to put them in some decent cars and trucks. They also made some duds (most 60° V6s). If I were loyal to GM, I'd happily buy the duds. I'm not, so I don't.

    (Except for when I do, like the V6 Camaro I just bought. But, that will get swapped out...)

    I don't really care for Mitsubishi either. Not because they are Japanese (Honda makes a lot of superb cars!) but because most of them are rather poorly designed. I don't like Nissan either. Nissan makes nice reliable cars that are terribly boring to drive. Whether they are "forin" doesn't matter to me.

    As for being a hypocrite… I think most Muscle-era Fords are particularly poorly designed... and yet, what do I own: a '68 Mustang.:tiphat:
     

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