Controversial new ad campaign? What you drive, drives America?

Ford Motor Company is in the business of selling cars. Just like any other company they are trying to market cars to you. Sadly, I think this approach is so 1980s. To insult your customer base for considering a foreign car.

Of course this statement is no surprise: "The $1 million campaign is being organized by the Level Field Institute, a group founded by retired Ford, GM and Chrysler workers."

Wow, concerned about getting your pensions cut?

Here's a crazy idea. Stop attacking your customer base and build good products. A good product sells itself.

Well same strategy works all over the world. Not like Asia is not about buying Asian cars or Europe not about buying European cars. I firmly believe in supporting my country, but not if it means buying a car only for patriotic reasons. GM and Ford have improved greatly; their marketing strategy is weak.

It is defintely true that a strong BIG 3 (or 2) is good for the economy and they employ far greater Americans then any other Auto Company. The only draw back is the spoiled/lazy UAW worker (not all, but most work for money not to better the company in quality) and foreign car companies don't deal with Unions. GM and Ford had to cut corners in order to create autos under over-paid UAW workers. If UAW was not such a burdon GM and Ford would have much better performing and engineered autos.

Auto industry is very competive and image is everything. US car manufacturers still have a hill to climb and so far GM is improving and hopefully Ford can follow.

Buy American.... That's rich considering Ford and GM are closing American plants and ramping up the production of the plants they have in Canada and Mexico to sell their "American" products. Hell, the Camry is more American than the Fusion.
Camry - built in the US
Fusion - built in Mexico
American car companies should really focus more on a quality product that one would want to buy and keep and not worry about the build quality of their car. Their cars feel cheap inside and the designs are SOOO boring. The Cobalt, when it was introduced, already to me looked dated and old. Looks like something from the 90's when compared to the Honda Civic. The Ford Focus, they decided to keep on building the old one with a face lift instead of bringing over the newly redesigned one that was introduced to the rest of the world about 2 yrs ago. If they would stop letting these board memebers and bean-counters run their companies and allow some designers to get their ideas to the production lines (albiet good designs Detroit...) than maybe, just maybe they can turn around their bad fortunes. Who knows though, the culture both Ford and GM have created within their companies may be too deeply intrenched to ever allow them to truely turn around.

I do understand the desperate idea of the big 3 now, the truth is that they are losing ground to the Japanese automakers big time. I am a proud American to the heart and I want to see our country prosper in all ways...BUT GM, Ford, and DC have simply made inferior products for so long.

I do agree with some of the earlier posts about the how GM, Ford and DC's products are improving in quality, but sadly enough they are behind Toyota and Honda. Now that gas prices are an issue and cashcows like SUV's and the overpriced trucks are not as hot, they are feeling the pain. So now they decide they they want to build a better car? The truth is that the perception of American cars are SUBPAR (and i am patriotic, but the truth is the truth!).<br>

I traded my '04 Chrysler Sebring for an '06 Ford Explorer a month ago. I loved the truck, it drove great, was comfortable too, but the quality of the stereo bass caused the door to rattle and vibrate. So i took it to Ford and they told me that it was the "NATURE OF THE BEAST". I was shocked, so basically they just expected me to deal with it. Since it had only been a week, I took it back. Got my trade and got an '06 Honda Accord, and here I am.

Not saying that Honda and Toyota are perfect, but they believe in the importance of quality and the Big 3 are cursed with the perception that will loom over them for decades to come. Its unfortunate. They want us to buy American, but Honda and Toyota are steadily building plants here in the US. Where Ford and GM are closing plants (not to mentioned the job loss to Americans) and having the nerve to open up facilities in Mexico!!! <br>

How hard is it for American auto companies to buy an Accord, Camry and Passat and compare and exceed there quality??????.......

Didn't the "Buy American" campaign fail in the 1970s when America discovered that the Japanese made better, cheap cars? And then again in the 1980s when the Japanese made better, cheaper cars. And again in the 1990 when they discovered that they made better cars for around the same price. And even in the 21st century when the American's made bigger, cheaper cars, but the Japanese were still much, much better?

It was believed for a long time that this was because labor is cheaper in Japan, and because they have robots, and because the Yen had its advantages, but that "Toyota kicks Chevy" fact persisted, even when the Japanese built plants in North America, using North American construction, and North American Labor. They STILL make better cars.

Maybe it's time to face facts. America does a lot of things well, but for the most part, making cars is not one of them. Granted, there are some good US-built cars out there. Some are world-class. But over-all, a GM or Ford car is not something people aspire to own. In America or abroad.

Didn't the "Buy American" campaign fail in the 1970s when America discovered that the Japanese made better, cheap cars? And then again in the 1980s when the Japanese made better, cheaper cars. And again in the 1990 when they discovered that they made better cars for around the same price. And even in the 21st century when the American's made bigger, cheaper cars, but the Japanese were still much, much better?

It was believed for a long time that this was because labor is cheaper in Japan, and because they have robots, and because the Yen had its advantages, but that "Toyota kicks Chevy" fact persisted, even when the Japanese built plants in North America, using North American construction, and North American Labor. They STILL make better cars.

Maybe it's time to face facts. America does a lot of things well, but for the most part, making cars is not one of them. Granted, there are some good US-built cars out there. Some are world-class. But over-all, a GM or Ford car is not something people aspire to own. In America or abroad.

Too bad the only ones in the endzone are Toyota, Honda and Nissan...

It's sad that they can't sell the cars based on their merits instead of trying to tug on our heartstrings and play the propaganda card. They've truly hit rock bottom.

It's funny (and sad) how the UAW think it's the American consumer's responsibility to buy American. Hard working Americans deserve the best their money can buy and if that means buying an Asian brand, that's just T.F.B. Try building a decent car and maybe we'll buy it. Oh, but that's right, you can't build a decent car because your company's union benefit and health care costs are sky-high.

These money-sucking union parasites are what's dragging the Ford and GM into their graves. They just hope to dupe us into thinking that it's us "Un-patriotic" Americans that are the problem.