Not quite true. You have to remember that not all Fords have Mercury equivalents (Focus, F-150, etc.), and the Lincoln LS had no Ford/Mercury equivalent. Also, many Cadillacs are built in dedicated Cadillac plants.
I never said that every Ford had a Mercury counterpart read it again for comprehension this time. I said that every Mercury was built right alongside it's Ford counterpart.... i.e. Mountaineer/Explorer, Milan/Fusion
(in Mexico BTW), Montego/500
(now the Sable/Taurus again) Grand Marquis/Crown Vic... etc.
I'm afraid the data doesn't bear this out. Otherwise, how could you explain why Land Rover, whose cheapest vehicle stickers at $36M, and whose most expensive is juuuuust shy of $100M, be the worst-rated marque in the survey? And near-luxe brands like Volvo and Saab be so miserable? And how could Mercedes be so sub-par? (Keep in mind their ranking is UP from the 2004MY survey.) Too, why is Hyundai rated well? This data is not an owner "rating" of the quality of their vehicle...it is the owner's count of TGW.
Explain why the Mercury Mountaineer is consistently ranked higher than the Ford Explore or why the Cadillac Escalade is consistently ranked higher than the Chevy Tahoe???
What I was saying is that when two vehicles are built with virtually the same parts, by the same people, in the same facility, and sold under two different name plates, the more expensive brand will all most always have a better quality rating...... Is it any better, no, but people think it is, so they tend to overlook the things that they would otherwise criticize on the "cheaper" model. It's all about public perception, you think it's better so it is.
Is a Poulan saw dressed in orange a better saw because it says Husqvarna on it, no, and yet folks will bash poulan into the ground all the while telling how great their Husky 142 cuts....... perception.
![Dizzy :dizzy: :dizzy:](/styles/default/xenforo/dizzy.gif)
They expect the poulan to be junk and therefore in their minds it is, they expect the Husky to be better so in their minds it is..... when the clutch rattles on the poulan it's because it's junk, when the clutch rattles on the Husky it because "it's supposed to sound like that". It's still the same saw making the same noise it's just the owners perception of quality is different.
As for the "luxury" vehicles you mentioned.... it could just be that they are overpriced junk.
For some reason people in this country think anything foreign must automatically be better than anything made here. Like jlh26oo said he would rather have his Stihl saws manufactured in Germany..... even though the plant in good ole Verginny is kicking their arse’s in quality.
For the record Wood we're on the same team here.
![Cheers :cheers: :cheers:](/styles/toronja1/emoticones/birra.gif)