I have to express my dismay over reading Andy Wilson’s “My View” in the May issue (Vision Systems Design, May 2007, p. 76). The system integrator who disparaged Ford quality while praising Toyota is obviously basing his comments on perception and not data. In the latest J. D. Power initial quality survey, Ford topped Toyota in the quality rankings. And if he’s talking robustness, in case of a collision I would rather be in a Ford F-Series truck, which has a five-star safety rating, than the newly released Toyota Tundra with only four stars.
I also disagree with his overarching statement on American-made LED lights. We have used American-made LEDs in our vision systems since we started using LEDs and have not experienced any of the shoddy design he claims. I’m sure you can find poorly made products manufactured anywhere. It’s our job as engineers to find quality components to include in our products, not buy the lowest-cost junk available. Generalizations about the quality of all products from a company or a country are unfair, and often untrue, as the data on Ford Motor Company shows.
Valerie Bolhouse
Ford Motor retiree
Northville, MI, USA
