Ford have come a long way since the dreadful metal misery of the early 1990s. They did make a few good cars but mostly In those days the bean counters ran Ford, churned out poor cars and relied on their admittedly brilliant marketing department to sell it for them. That worked well until the Mk 5 Escort when people saw through it, forcing a revision within two years and a complete redevelopment within five. Within just a few short years of that the engineers were being listened to and they launched the Focus in 1998.

Modern Fords - Fiesta and Focus especially - don't top sales charts because they advertise them well. That wouldn't work anymore, we can spot a poor car at 100 paces these days and theres all sorts of alternatives on offer from Korean marques, an improving Vauxhall, French cars now with a semblence of reliability and greater access to 'premium' German brands now the British aren't being ripped off for new cars like we were 20 years ago.

Of course bean counters run the place but those bean counters now take quality of product into account. 20 years ago the bean counters allowed the groundworkers to merely make something with wheels and an engine, now they recognise said beans can be made bigger if the car is actually worth buying.

ETA: Another example is most Korean manufacturers. 10 years ago they churned out reliable but uninspiring, average guff. These days to be competative they're making good cars but obviously their list prices have inflated in due course.

Edited by jamie745 on 22/12/2012 at 15:54