Your Jan. 9 editorial on protectionism from Japanese vehicles states that, to win over drivers, American vehicle manufacturers must ”learn to make efficiently and profitably cars that offer value and appeal.”
I don`t think Ford should be included in that charge. Of the 10 top-selling vehicles in the U.S. in 1991, five were Ford products, three were Japanese and two were GM products.
It`s true that the J.D. Power research firm`s ”car sales satisfaction index” recently ranked the expensive Lexus first and our Lincoln fourth among 16 top-rated models (only four were Japanese). However, the firm`s ”truck sales satisfaction index” ranked Ford first among the seven top-rated models- all of which were American.
If the public thinks that much of Ford vehicles, why don`t your editorial writers?
Regarding efficency, we at Ford were gratified to see an outside management consulting firm rank our two plants that build Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable models (Atlanta and Chicago) the most efficient among all U.S. assembly plants, including several Japanese ones.
