New 2005 Ford Mustang Getting Ready for a Dealer Near You

Ford Ups Mustang Quality to a Completely New Level

Fords Mustang hasnt exactly been the poster child of build quality in recent years, and thats putting it kindly, which makes what is expected to be a move upward in fit and finish all the more intriguing. Will it rival European marques such as Volkswagen when final production versions arrive? That will remain to be seen, but nevertheless analysts are saying that the domestic automaker would have to get it extremely wrong in order to turn off brewing enthusiasm, which borders on Beatle-like hysteria, for the 2005 model.

Before North Americas Ford dealers take delivery of the most anticipated car the domestic automaker has brought to market in decades, the 2005 Mustangs Flat Rock, Michigan AutoAlliance International assembly plant is extremely busy making sure enough will be ready for the official launch next month.

Chief Operating Officer for Ford Motor Company, Jim Padilla, was on hand to congratulate the 3,600 AutoAlliance employees Monday, September 27, while the plant officially "opened its gate for the stampede" of new Mustangs.

"America, your car is ready," Padilla announced to the cheering assembly. "Mustang is the exclamation point of Fords product onslaught. There is no other car like it. And here at AutoAlliance, the 2005 model has found a great home. This plant, with its all-new flexible system, stands as a world-class plant in advanced automotive manufacturing systems and processes."

Orders are running sixty percent higher than expected, which of course is a problem most automakers wouldnt mind facing. Why such excitement about the new car? Not only does the 2005 Mustang look completely revised on the surface, while at the same time very similar to classic 60s pony cars that so many muscle car collectors adore, but it is also completely new under the skin.

Ford is taking the opportunity, and in it every precaution throughout the Mustangs building process, to integrate new systems that will make certain each car will be built a new level of quality and precision. Part of that process is an investment of close to $700 million to bring the Flat Rock plant up to modern engineering and advanced manufacturing tolerances.

This will include a new level of flexibility, meaning the Mustang facility will also be able to produce up to six models from two vehicle platforms when it is running at full capacity. While the automaker wont need to be producing anything else than the Mustang for the time being, as the plant may need to work multiple shifts to meet demand, AutoAlliance will have the capability to diversify when the initial sales boom settles down to a dull roar.

What does the $700 million investment include? The short of it is a new body shot with no less than 380 robots and flexible (theres that word again) tooling. Ford included a revised stamping process with 38 new die sets that will be able to stamp out 52 major structural components. The final assembly gets upgraded with programmable platforms, another term for skillets,

which incorporate an adjustable scissor lift to grip the body in order to position it optimally for improved operator ergonomics.

"The new technology in our plant means we can make a great car even greater," commented Phil Spender, AAI president. "With quality a top priority, the 2005 Mustang is built with extreme precision and attention to detail on an all-new platform."

Part of any high quality production process is the inclusion of optimal checks and balances, and to this end Ford has left no "stone" (so to speak) unturned. The automaker collects regular data on critical dimensional points of body components, for instance, such as engines, instrument panels, doors and suspension systems, which are then analyzed by engineers. Ford uses robot-mounted lasers for accurate measurements.

Being that machines are only as capable as the people who program them, Ford has invested more than $30 million into training Flat Rocks employees in advanced manufacturing

processes. A new high-tech lab is also accessible to thousands of high school students in the local community, making sure a new generation of Ford employees will be up to speed when called upon.

While the Flat Rock plant is state-of-the-art, its not the first flexible plant in Fords arsenal. Additionally, the domestic automaker has optimized Chicago Assembly, which makes the new Five Hundred/Mercury Montego sedan and Freestyle crossover, Norfolk Assembly which produces the F-150, Kansas City Assembly which also builds the F-150, and the Dearborn Truck Plant which, you guessed it, builds the F-150 as well as the new Lincoln LT, based on the F-150. Ford will revise 75 percent of its North American manufacturing facilities into flexible facilities by 2010.

The new Mustang goes on sale later this year, and is expected to do much to raise Fords new car profile and in the process help the blue oval to maintain number one brand status, now threatened by Chevrolet.