In 2010, Ford came within 9 points of tying with Honda in the industry-standard JD Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study. Both companies enjoyed a healthy 10 point lead above the industry average, at least. A year later, Ford was only one point behind its Japanese rival, and finally in 2012, Ford finally triumphed over formerly unassailable Honda, beating it by 7 points.
Yet in that same period, Ford’s sales climbed slowly behind Honda’s. The year Ford beat Honda, it sold 8.3 percent more vehicles than the year before; by contrast, Honda’s sales climbed 16.3 percent. A good swath of Honda’s mainstream lineup is in dire need of updating; yet, even the unloved Civic, lambasted by the media like a whipped mule, outsold the media-darling Focus last month by 21,883 to 14,400 cars, respectively. What’s going on?
Perception. Consumer perception is key, and the phony acronym “Fix Or Repair Daily” has become part of popular culture. The figures indicate that out of every 100 cars, Ford cars suffered about 124 drivetrain or reliability problems, and Honda cars had about 131. But while Honda has been consistent with their number of problems for the past few years, Ford has needed time to catch up
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