Ford

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Ford

Basic information
Founded	1903
Type	Public
Industry	Automotive
Official website	https://ford.com/

The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford in Detroit, Michigan. With the introduction of a moving assembly line Ford drastically reduced the cost and time of production, making cars affordable for the masses and transforming industrial production globally. It is one of the oldest and largest automobile manufactures, one of The Big Three American car manufacturers with General Motors (GM) and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler).

Consumer protection summary

Privacy

• Collects sensitive personal information from many sources, including data from the vehicle, data from the connected app, and data from purchasing the vehicle.
• Data collected includes purchase history, financial information, coarse and precise location, contact information, identifiers (like VIN, account ID), user content (like voice recordings when you use smart features), search and browsing history for advertising, usage data, sensitive information (under "Inferences"), diagnostics, and more.
• Aggregates data from external sources as well, including things you post to social media.
• Unfriendly design of the privacy policy prevents searching for terms quickly.
• There is a lack of clarity in how long data is retained.
• CCPA Metrics from 2023 show that there were 96 requests for data to be deleted, and 7 of these requests were denied.

Anti-consumer practices

Patents regarding consumer data

Ford has obtained patents for systems which could collect data on the consumer, unrelated to the primary functions of driving. One patented system can serve ads based on the driver's conversations, and another patented system about vehicle repossession enables the restriction of access to cars e.g. if their owners have missed car payments. Ford has responded to patent controversy by explaining that patents are not necessarily an indication of new product plans. The development of questionable systems should however compromise the overall trust in the company and make consumers more wary of accepting sales terms.

Engineering practices

Various Ford models' engine designs use a rubber belt rather than a metal chain to transmit power to the engine's oil pump. This belt which is submerged in the crankcase engine oil can prematurely degrade and cause a sudden loss of oil pressure. Ford has also knowingly released a flawed transmission in the Fiesta and Focus models where the transmission can fail in a variety of ways; loss of forward power from a stop, loss of power when in top gear at constant speed, sudden unintended acceleration, and loss of power when the transmission is shifting between gears. A Ford user has reported about a software update that ended up bricking their vehicle.

Ford has been known for being the maker of America's most recalled vehicles, setting the record for most recalls issued in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Ford has a large market share so a large amount of recalls is not too surprising, but it may indicate that Ford doesn't meet the production quality of other manufacturers.