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what morons, that won't help them

There goes the high marks on the customer satisfaction surveys.

How will anyone be satisfied with a maleware infested Dell POS computer?

I think the buyers might be looking for them Dell's under the hood.

get a barrelful of horse shit, get a pile of cow dung free.

Apple needs to get GM and Honda shipping their cars with Mac minis in the glove box.

Ford make crap cars - Dell makes crap pcs.

A partnership made in heaven!

God help them both.

Well, I guess I won't be buying a Ford then. Not that I was thinking of doing so anyway.

And the relevance of this article to Macs is...?

"MacDailyNews - Where Dell News Come First" :D

Must be really quiet day if this kind of news get through...

Next Dell will be partnering with McDonalds - I can see it now...

Buy a big mac and get some Dell crap for FREE!

I would love to see a car designed by Apple. Now that would really be something to have in the garage!

The problem with the MDN take ans all of the comments so far is that they fail to acknowledge that Ford actually does make some decent cars these days. They're not elite/luxury cars, but they're good competent cars alright.

The new Acuras have BT standard. The BT phones work great with them. You do not even need to take the phone out of your pocket to connect to the car controls.

If Apple can get BT working with the iPod without significant Battery Consumption, it would make communiting more enjoyable when you are in a rush.

Imports and Macs are a lot alike...smartly designed, efficient, and good looking. Why do people keep buying crap like Fords, Chevys, and Dells? Especially when time and time again it's been proven that despite all the incentives and rebates, quality products will end up costing the consumer less? I despise the average American imbecile. I don't know why the US is still a superpower when so many of its citizens settle so easily for mediocrity.

When quality is job 1, er, 38... 42? 50?

Ford and a Dell, somebody really asking for a one way ticket to hell

Hywel,

Not sure I understand what you're talking about... can you elaborate?

Saturn was doing this last year. Of course getting a Dell is no real incentive, unless you was to eBay it for some (put to better use) cash.

What troubles me, is that if Ford was actually giving away a Mac Mini instead of a Dell PC, the comments in here would be the exact opposite. You'd hear things like, "What forward thinkers"... "A great computer to compliment a great car"... "Great going Ford!" and things like that. I think Ford IS dopey for giving away a Dell PC with every Ford Focus. It's probably the cheapest Dell you can get which means most users won't be able to do squat. But I still find it amusing how the biased people become about a company based on their promotion choises and nothing else.

Ford makes nothing but deathtraps and absolute crap. Their proud history includes the Pinto, Explorer, Focus and Crown Victoria. Dell is absolutely a perfect partner for Ford, as they're both the cheapest garbage you can buy in their respective lines of business.

"What troubles me, is that if Ford was actually giving away a Mac Mini instead of a Dell PC, the comments in here would be the exact opposite."

No they wouldn't...well, at least mine wouldn't be. I wouldn't be caught dead owning any Ford.

Which is ironic to say because if I actually ever did own one, I'd probably end up dying in one due to it rolling over (Explorer), or the gas tank in it exploding (Crown Victoria). Their cars are horrible piles of crap and Dell is a perfect match for them to have a promotion with.

"What troubles me, is that if Ford was actually giving away a Mac Mini instead of a Dell PC, the comments in here would be the exact opposite."

No, the reaction would be shock and dismay that Apple would associate themselves with such garbage. Note that the only automobile associations you've seen in recent years from Apple have been with the VW New Beetle/iPod promotion and the BMW/iPod promotion.

While I'll agree that VW is renowned for building deathtraps, the New Beetle is a very high quality car - and very safe. The problem with BMWs is that the infamous iDrive disaster that is now being propogated throughout the entire line runs Windows CE. Shame!


MDN magic word: national ...as in "Ford's circumspect quality is a national disaster."

They should be giving away integrated ipods.

ford could give away a 2,000 gig iPod and I still wouldn't want to buy a focus...

Horseman: just to be clear and fair, it would be a seldom event for me to ever compliment an American car company. Chrysler is the only one doing really interesting stuff but they aren't American any more.

Ford is also using Toby Kieth in their ads. He is great musician and I like his work, but I still dont buy Fords. Look at the car companies that Apple is working with. Aston Martin, BMW and their ilk. If Apple were to add Ford to that list, it would be good only for large exposure, not because Ford vehicles are usually anything to write home about quality wise. BUT, I do LOVE the look of the new Mustang, of course I do see the large flat grill coming back into style in many places.

Magic word "image" appropriaty enough

Some auto brands that Ford has an interest or a controlling stake in:

Ford
Lincoln
Mercury
Mazda
Volvo
Jaguar
Land Rover
Aston Martin

Half are crap brands, half are quality brands; you can pretty much tell by the sticker price.

Do a search at autosafety.org for each of the Ford family brand names; it's amazing how, as you go down that list (from least expensive to most expensive), the number of hits gets smaller. Ford cares most about its rich customers, and if you own an Escort or Tracer, you may as well be dead to them.

Defamer.com came up with a great name for campaigns that combine two or more bad concepts: "shitergy". That's what the Dell/Ford deal is...

If Apple joined with Ford, I'd be a little worried about Apple. But even the BMW and VW connections are getting a little questionable. The Consumer Reports 2005 New Car Buying Guide basically said that BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, and VW have gone to pot with regards to reliability. Japanese makers (namely Honda and Toyota) seem to be the best fit for Apple in my book.

Ford is also buying Windows (embedded) for it's telematics. Pretty soon you will be able to get a BSOD on your in-car navigation.

To be fair to Ford, their cars are not nearly as bad as they used to be. Certainly a far cry from the days when my brother, a car and computer enthusiast, used to say that "Ford" was an acronym for "Fix Or Repair Daily".

Too bad the one that crashes the most doesn't have the airbag.

I've said it in these forums before:
I've told the Director of IT in our company (he reports to me) the surest way to get fired instantly is to buy anything from Dell.

Maybe it isn't surprising that in a quick survey of the people in the company NO ONE owns a Ford car or truck.

Enough said.

1st time poster-have to join this rant thread. first, a focus is technically an import (hermosa mexico is the only place making them). second for a piece of junk, it is on car and drivers top 10 in class for at least the last 5 years. you can call every car in it's price range a piece of junk, so why comment? i doubt the majority of focus owners would agree with the opinion of non-owners. you guys are sounding a little like pc owners taking about a mac they never used.

as far as the free dell, if i was buying a new car and the focus ended up to be my choice, i'd donate it to someone who has to use vitual pc to free up their mac from the shackles of doom.

my ipod has become the primary av component in my sc'd svt focus. this is over the 6cd indash and dvd (which puts out quite improved audio over cd) because it has "changed the way i listen to music".

agree with all the comments about ford being pretty dense as a company compared to apple. they're probably is less hope for them in the long run than apple because the management teams are pointed in opposite directions. maybe apple should make a car, since we won't recognize that industry in 10 years. the opportunity is beggin for some non-linear thinking.

i read you guys everyday. best free entertainment around. this is not a ditz, just some clarification.

idrinkkoolaideveryday,
well, as someone who is related to a Ford Focus owner... i can tell you first hand that these cars are a real piece of work. Quality was NOT job 1... or 1,000.... you mention having some awards and placing top ten in some categories..... well, http://consumeraffairs.com/news02/ford_focus.html ... i place safety above awards. So take the Ford Focus.... back to the dealer for ANOTHER recall.

The car my brother has (the Focus... first year they came out... like 99?) has been in the shop too many times to count. He rants about it on a weekly basis.... sometimes daily. He wishes he did not buy that car more then his last PC (he is getting a Mac Mini now).

The Dude abides.

I own a 1998 Ford Explorer and I haven't had any problems with it.

the Dude
not trying to sell focii here. just balancing the rants. 1999 when they first came out was 5 years ago. it did not win any awards that year (you mentioned the reason). to give credit where it is due, the improvement from that to an award winner is commendable for any car company. this is 2005 and the car you get with the dell is a 2005. so to make the argument that the problems of 5 years ago are still relevant is a stretch. if i owned the 5 year old lemon focus, i'd be asking myself why i still have it.

back on topic, i think it would a positive move to get a mini with a focus, rather than a negative as some have suggested. to the astute, the co-branding of quality and quality connects. that is probably no more than 10% of the population that would read the ford ad. those people would not buy a ford anyway. to the other 90% a dell is the same thing as a mac mini (something free-like a free mp3 player). the decision to do this promotion again (it was already done in 2004) is just some big business puke's decision and no amount of reasoning would change that

hope bmw is getting a mini w/a mini promotion going as we speak.

I got stuck with a Bored Bogus one time as a rental and turned around to return it after getting about a mile down the road. Sorry, but I just value my life too much to ride in those things.

If you're fine with that car on a day-to-day basis, then props to you. That takes balls, baby.

Can't I just get a $50 rebate instead?

My Ford was a complete and utter piece of shit. I sold it when the warantee was up and bought a Toyota. Not a single problem and it has more miles on it now than the ford did. Exactly the same experience going from my Win 2000 machine to my powerbook.

Dell/Windows PC can share a common slogan with ford :

Fix
Or
Repair
Daily

How is offering a Dell going to entice people to buy a Ford Focus?

They could give you all kinds of crap and it would not sweeten any purchase of a Ford. My 2005 F150 with 19000 miles on it has been sitting in a Ford Service department for over a month. First they replaced my cam phasers and the same day i picked it up it started thumping/knocking/ticking from the motor again. NOW they say they don't know what is wrong with it except it needs a new motor and it won't be covered under warranty due to "lack of maintenance". I think it's crazy that Ford admittedly makes a motor that dies at 19000 miles because of ONE missed oil change. I know the oil has no bearing on why this piece of poorly engineered crap is broke. Ford does not stand by it product or warranty. Look for me on several different media outlets as I intend on getting the word out that Ford refuses to document what is wrong with my vehicle but is more than happy to take $6500 from me for a new motor. DONT EVER TRUST FORD, your better off bicycling.