All Entries Tagged With: "f150 vs tundra"
The “F” in Ford Stands for “Fleet” – Ford Fleet Sales Lead Industry
When Ford and GM owners brag about sales figures to somehow “prove” their trucks are the best available, I say three things:
- Consumers aren’t always rational – They don’t necessarily buy the “best” car or truck on the market. There’s a lot of emotion in car purchases.
- Sales figures are influenced by a variety of factors – From incentives to geography to politics to a consumer’s previous experiences. You can’t study them in a vacuum.
- Fleet sales – Ford and GM roll massive numbers of fleet trucks into their sales figures.
I’m going to focus on #3 right now (you can read more about #1 and #2 here).
The news today is that almost one-third of Ford’s sales are to fleets, which are defined by convention as companies owning at least 15 trucks. Chrysler-Fiat? 30% GM? Just 26%.
Here are fleet sales numbers for the first quarter of 2012, courtesy of Automotive News (subs. req’d):
F-150 Reputation Resistant to Rust, Fire, and More. Why?
In the last 5 years, the Toyota Tundra has had some serious quality issues:
- Frame rust problems
- Weak tailgates
- Unintended acceleration recalls
While this list is definitely bad, can anyone honestly argue that it’s worse than the F150’s list of problems?
- 1.5 million trucks recalled for spontaneously exploding airbags
- Faulty cruise control modules that have been linked to dozens of vehicle fires
- 2+ million trucks likely to be recalled for rusting fuel tank straps
Granted, Ford has yet to recall the F-150 for rusting fuel tank straps, but all signs point to an imminent recall.
The question is: In light of all of this info, how can anyone honestly argue that Tundra’s reputation for quality or safety is any worse than the best-selling truck in the industry, the Ford F-150?
