Ford Motor Co. is out to prove that its vehicles are of high quality, starting with its new Fusion midsize sedan. However, the carmaker’s Ford brand dropped to 27th in J.D. Power & Associates' new-car quality survey published in June 2012 from fifth in 2010. The carmaker’s Lincoln luxury brand was still below average, ranking 18th. The brands’ slide in the ranking was primarily to complaints about their touch-screen dashboard controls. To resolve the issues in the MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch dashboard controls, the carmaker sent a software upgrade last March to around 377,000 customers. The upgrade, however, came in too late to affect the results of the J.D. Power & Associates' new-car quality survey.
The upgrade sought to make the MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch dashboard controls have faster touch responses, simpler graphics, enhanced voice recognition and improved phone controls. The 2013 Fusion, which comes with the needed upgrade, will be spearheading Ford’s quest to make its quality and technology as its main selling point. Ford chief executive Alan Mulally has made technology a vital part of his turnaround plan, with some success achieved. Ford’s fuel-efficient and turbocharged engines and features like voice-activated phones have fascinated younger buyers.
David Champion, Consumer Reports magazine’s auto testing chief, had his turn in riding a pre-production version of the Fusion. He said that the 2013 Fusion looks "fabulous" and "is fun to drive." Champion, however, said that although the software upgrade in the MyFord Touch dashboard controls is already working, it was still slow and difficult to use. Champion said Chrysler Group has introduced strong new models, including the Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicle, Dodge Durango crossover and Chrysler 300 sedan.
