•    New third crew with 800 workers at the Dearborn Truck Plant at Ford’s Rouge Center are undergoing intensive quality training to build the new 2009 Ford F150
•    Since its launch last year, the 2009 F150 was named North American Truck of the Year and earned a quadruple 5-star crash test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
•    Ford has gained five percentage points of market share in the full-size pickup truck market in the U.S. since the launch of the 2009 F150 in October 2008

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 9, 2009 – About 800 new workers at Ford Motor Company’s Dearborn Truck Plant are undergoing intensive quality training as they prepare to build Ford’s new F150, the 2009 North American Truck of the Year.  

The crew of about 800 employees is slated to begin its full production shift on Feb. 16.

“Our unrelenting commitment to quality drives everything Ford does in the manufacturing world and beyond,” said Joe Hinrichs, group vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs.  “While instability in the external market has had an impact on our manufacturing operations, we are proud of the fact that our quality continues to improve despite changes to production and operating patterns.  As we expand our work force at Dearborn Truck, we are ensuring we don’t miss a beat when it comes to quality.”

The 2009 F150 is new inside and out and customers are taking notice.  Ford statistics show conquest sales – new F150 buyers who traded in vehicles from other brands – are up 15 percentage points in the fourth quarter versus the third quarter.  Customer loyalty has risen 3 percentage points over the same time period.  F-Series has gained five percentage points of market share since the new version launched in October.  Ford F-Series share was 35.4 percentage points from October 2008 through January 2009 compared to 30.3 percentage points during that same period a year ago.

The F150 recently was named 2009 North American Truck of the Year and earned a quadruple 5-star crash test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  The F150 accounts for the majority of the volume of Ford’s F-Series lineup, which has been America’s best-selling vehicle for 32 consecutive years.     

Moreover, while it typically takes several months to reach peak quality levels with an all-new vehicle, internal statistics show that the new F150 launched with even higher quality than the outgoing model.

....

---

To access the rest of this feature you must be a logged in Registered User Of Ford Truck Enthusiasts

Registration is free, easy and gives you access to more features.
If you are not registered, click here to register.
If you are already registered, you can login here.

If you are already logged in and are seeing this message, your web browser is blocking session cookies. Change your browser cookie settings to allow session cookies.