I donโt think it would be biased in any way to say that Ford knows how to make a good pickup truck.
Their F-150 has been the best-selling truck in the U.S. since 1976 and the best-selling overall vehicle in America since 1981.
Thatโs why it came as a surprise when Ford recently announced that it would need to recall 87,350 F-150 and Super Duty trucks due to windshields that, according to the company, "are inadequately bonded to the vehicle body structure.โ
The notice went on to explain that in the event of a crash, the windshieldโs inability to stay connected to the frame could result in a greater risk of injury. The affected vehicles were built at Ford's Dearborn and Kentucky plants between Oct. 2020 and early February of this year.
Overall, Ford has gotten off to a bumpy start in 2021. After announcing a 2020 loss of $1.2 billion due to pandemic-related sales losses, and costs associated with the Takata air bag recall and pension funding, the automaker announced that it would have to scale back F-150 production due to a semiconductor chip shortage.
The company also had to recall 90,000 trucks in Canada due to an issue with the electrical tailgate.
Then, in early February, just over 1,600 of the highly touted Bronco Sport crossovers were recalled for rear suspension components that were improperly attached to the subframe.
On the positive side, even in the midst of a pandemic, Ford sold just under 800,000 F-150s last year. Ideally, a stronger economy and a return on their electric vehicle investments should provide Fordโs sales with the shot in the arm it needs for the rest of 2021.