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January 27, 2005
Pledge to Fight Recalls ... Oops, There Goes Another 800k Fords
On the same day Ed Garsten writes how automakers are working to curtail vehicle recalls, Ford emphasizes his point with a shout out to 792,000 truck owners. Ford's recall involves Expeditions, Navigators and Supercrew trucks that are in danger of engine fires.
Garsten writes in the Detroit News that 2004 was a record year for recalls -- over 30 million -- with each incident costing a million bucks a day.
We're sure it adds up, but we're not sure of Garsten's math. He also writes the average recall takes 250 days. If you multiply all those numbers, it comes out to $7.5 billion, and that just can't be right.
Dubious math aside, the problems include greater complexity in vehicles, more shared parts across models and brands and tighter regulations.
There's also the matter of the Internet, which allows enraged customers to mass together like Frankenstein peasants, and also enables lawyers to aggregate clients for massive lawsuits.
For example, the esteemed gents of the bar behind LemonLaw.com put out a news release announcing they've expanded into their fifth state! Residents of Massachusetts now have the same ability to file lawsuits against car companies as do those in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.
Posted by Frank at January 27, 2005 5:52 PM | Filed under Auto News
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