Oh, I have an even more recent one that has yet to be seen as widespread. My dad has a 2000 F-250 Super Duty with the 6.8L V10. He has just hit 80,000 miles, and it
blew a spark plug. Literally. The #5 cylinder chucked the spark plug out of its threads (stripped out, of course), and completely destroyed the coil above. Mind you, the spark plugs have NEVER been changed, so it's not like someone changed them and didn't tighten them to spec.
From what they said, the spark plug "somehow got loose and just went back and forth, up and down, until the threads were gone."
It cost over $600 to fix it. This didn't involve removing the cylinder head or any other major components. The dealership just vacuumed out what they could, used a flexible optic probe to see if big chunks of metal had fallen in, helicoiled the spark plug bore, and called it good.
Now, as a (studying-to-be) engineer, I'd say they have a quality control problem. Even worse, the dealership said this is a "common thing" and that they wouldn't/couldn't do anything about it as far as service costs. The very dealer he had bought the truck from would/could not do anything to help, nor did they offer to. Other than a "tough $h*t" attitude, the repair and a lighter wallet is all we got.
What are we giving Ford in return? The assurance that the four members of my family will NOT buy Ford products any time soon. Hate to say it, but it's what we're doing. My dad just put his order in for a 2005 Honda Accord, as did my mom, and I can say from experience that they are fantastic cars in most every respect.
"Quality is Job #1"?
How bout STOP THE PENNY PINCHING, THE STRANGLING OF YOUR T1 SUPPLIERS, AND MAKE A DAMN VEHICLE THAT GOES 200K W/O MAJOR REPAIR?!?!?! WE WOULD ALL *LOVE* TO BUY MORE AMERICAN CARS, EVEN IF THEY COST A *LITTLE MORE*, IF THEY'D JUST LAST LONGER. I don't know if it's the engineers or the bean counters (possibly the suits), but someone's got to get the axe.
/rant OFF
FWIW, the '05 Mustangs rock.
I will remain faithful to the Mustang always.