Ford SA's apology to its customers yesterday rings hollow and does not go nearly far enough.The company announced a "voluntary" recall of about 4,500 Kuga SUVs - nearly 50 of which have caught alight - but it was under the axe of a recall ordered by the National Consumer Commission, which we are pleased to see is finally baring its teeth to fight for the man in the street.
Ford's solution of a two-stage fix for its lemon neatly dodges a missile that it should be facing. A safety recall - which is what this is - involves a manufacturer accepting total responsibility for fixing a problem and the cost of doing so. But it can also, and in our view should, involve replacing the vehicle or offering to buy it back.
Ford was skipping yesterday like a cat on a hot Kuga bonnet. It neatly side-stepped how it would deal with owners whose cars had already burnt out, handing that problem neatly off to insurers. It didn't mention the possibility of a buy-back.
Significantly, Ford also ducked making a clear undertaking that the fixes it was implementing would solve the burning-car problem, and it would not give an undertaking that it would extend the warranty of Kuga owners, surely the most basic form of recompense.
If Ford SA thinks this is the end of the road it will soon discover that it is only the beginning.
Ford CEO Jeffrey Nemeth confirmed at yesterday's briefing that our exposé on Monday was correct and that Ford had been told of the Kuga problem by insurers and others some time ago. Nemeth said Ford had been "evaluating" the information.
This comment, along with the repetition of the standard Ford script about the "data" that inform its decisions, rings of obfuscation and suggests an excuse for delayed action.
The suggestion that the problem could be related to the South African climate is simply laughable. Effectively, Ford is saying that its cars break in the sun.
Could it get any worse for a manufacturer?
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