Love letter to Ford

[Carsinmyblood]

To the EV team,
I can't see my mom, for instance, owning this car nor many of the people I know. My wife and I have been on the forum for weeks and honestly reading the problems here is a sales killer. She's in IT and data management for 30+ years and I'm a gadget freak.... We'll be fine, but we shouldn't have to intuitively know that to save a station you have to build a user profile and get out and spin 3 times with an app on your phone displaying a secret code. That's EXACTLY what it will seem like to anyone who can't spend 40 or 50 hours reading these posts or read an on-line manual for answers to nickel and dime problems. Who has time to learn how to save radio stations, de-bug PaaK, WiFi, OTA software updates, plug and unplug and plug it in again to get it to charge, or any of a dozen other unforced error frailties? Something's blinking red. Better look that up. Again. Phone/key on console, can't find key error. Look that up too.

I think you, Ford, overshot the target. That is: make the fact that it's an EV a invisibly seamless integration into our lives. Instead, we got a college-level comp sci project that, by the way, drives even if you don't get it all just right. Pity the service reps.

Henry Ford showed us 100+ years ago that KISS works. Adding bells and whistles that need to be approached like a new project at work puts a lot of burden on customers. You're assuming we all have way too much time on our hands and the patience of a saint plus some experience fixing software on a laptop. We don't all need or want another laptop hungry for updates.

Next time, KISS. Fob in pocket, drive, plug it in, drive some more..... like an ICE car without the iPad. Like my mom's car, and my current ICE in the driveway.

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[Joelalt]

I've been driving my MME since the middle of Feb. Yes I've spent many hours in MachE University, in the car in my garage (my wife of almost 49 yrs has been very patient). Yes, it's a lot to learn (still learning every day) but I've enjoyed it all. I keep telling people that I have never enjoyed driving a vehicle as much as this one.
Took our first road trip this past weekend and it was seamless.
Yes, I read this forum daily and if ALL the issues that a few are experiencing were hitting home I too would be upset. Fortunately, for me, I haven't had any of these things go wrong in my beautiful, Rapid Red, AWD, ER Premium MachE. And I do enjoy the looks, pictures being taken, comments and questions on almost a daily basis. So far I say Ford has hit a home run!

 

[shutterbug]

To the EV team,
I can't see my mom, for instance, owning this car nor many of the people I know. My wife and I have been on the forum for weeks and honestly reading the problems here is a sales killer. She's in IT and data management for 30+ years and I'm a gadget freak.... We'll be fine, but we shouldn't have to intuitively know that to save a station you have to build a user profile and get out and spin 3 times with an app on your phone displaying a secret code. That's EXACTLY what it will seem like to anyone who can't spend 40 or 50 hours reading these posts or read an on-line manual for answers to nickel and dime problems. Who has time to learn how to save radio stations, de-bug PaaK, WiFi, OTA software updates, plug and unplug and plug it in again to get it to charge, or any of a dozen other unforced error frailties? Something's blinking red. Better look that up. Again. Phone/key on console, can't find key error. Look that up too.

I think you, Ford, overshot the target. That is: make the fact that it's an EV a invisibly seamless integration into our lives. Instead, we got a college-level comp sci project that, by the way, drives even if you don't get it all just right. Pity the service reps.

Henry Ford showed us 100+ years ago that KISS works. Adding bells and whistles that need to be approached like a new project at work puts a lot of burden on customers. You're assuming we all have way too much time on our hands and the patience of a saint plus some experience fixing software on a laptop. We don't all need or want another laptop hungry for updates.

Next time, KISS. Fob in pocket, drive, plug it in, drive some more..... like an ICE car without the iPad. Like my mom's car, and my current ICE in the driveway.

Actually, you can pretty much use MME as you would any other car from the last 50 years. The issues you identified are not essential to operation of the car. You don't have to save your home charging station, you don't have to set up PAAK, You don't have to enable WiFi, and really if OTA is confusing, you can just go to the dealer to have them apply the updates. All those things simply kick it up a notch. The basic operation is easy. Push start, put the car in gear and go. Once you get home, plug in to charge, and next day do the same thing. You don't need to treat the car like Mr Peabody's science experiment.

Having said that, it seems that Ford had expected the dealers to provide better hands on assistance, than they are capable of doing. In my case, when the salesman attempted to help me, I told him to leave me alone and proceeded to figure these things out for myself.

 

[c max]

Actually, you can pretty much use MME as you would any other car from the last 50 years. The issues you identified are not essential to operation of the car. You don't have to save your home charging station, you don't have to set up PAAK, You don't have to enable WiFi, and really if OTA is confusing, you can just go to the dealer to have them apply the updates. All those things simply kick it up a notch. The basic operation is easy. Push start, put the car in gear and go. Once you get home, plug in to charge, and next day do the same thing. You don't need to treat the car like Mr Peabody's science experiment.

Having said that, it seems that Ford had expected the dealers to provide better hands on assistance, than they are capable of doing. In my case, when the salesman attempted to help me, I told him to leave me alone and proceeded to figure these things out for myself.

I agree completely......I get in the car, push the start button and drive.....get home, if needed, plugin (I only have a 120 line right now)......I don't have PaaK and don't participate in some of the other "extras"......the only thing I find confusing to my technoignorance, is setting up the radio......I liked in the button days, get the station, push that preset button and hold until it registered......I'll figure it out one day, until then I'll just ask the car for the station I want, haha......and please don't jump on me, it's just how I do things, certainly, I am not being critical of how anyone else does things.....

 

[Scarpia]

I liked in the button days, get the station, push that preset button and hold until it registered...

That's how my radio in the MME works. You have to hold it for longer than I would have thought, but the radio does give messages: "Hold button for preset" and "Preset saved".

 

[c max]

That's how my radio in the MME works. You have to hold it for longer than I would have thought, but the radio does give messages: "Hold button for preset" and "Preset saved".

Thanks, I'll revisit my inabilities for a new try, thanks again....

 

[timbop]

To the EV team,
I can't see my mom, for instance, owning this car nor many of the people I know. My wife and I have been on the forum for weeks and honestly reading the problems here is a sales killer. She's in IT and data management for 30+ years and I'm a gadget freak.... We'll be fine, but we shouldn't have to intuitively know that to save a station you have to build a user profile and get out and spin 3 times with an app on your phone displaying a secret code. That's EXACTLY what it will seem like to anyone who can't spend 40 or 50 hours reading these posts or read an on-line manual for answers to nickel and dime problems. Who has time to learn how to save radio stations, de-bug PaaK, WiFi, OTA software updates, plug and unplug and plug it in again to get it to charge, or any of a dozen other unforced error frailties? Something's blinking red. Better look that up. Again. Phone/key on console, can't find key error. Look that up too.

I think you, Ford, overshot the target. That is: make the fact that it's an EV a invisibly seamless integration into our lives. Instead, we got a college-level comp sci project that, by the way, drives even if you don't get it all just right. Pity the service reps.

Henry Ford showed us 100+ years ago that KISS works. Adding bells and whistles that need to be approached like a new project at work puts a lot of burden on customers. You're assuming we all have way too much time on our hands and the patience of a saint plus some experience fixing software on a laptop. We don't all need or want another laptop hungry for updates.

Next time, KISS. Fob in pocket, drive, plug it in, drive some more..... like an ICE car without the iPad. Like my mom's car, and my current ICE in the driveway.

Using the Key fob and just plugging it in to charge to 100% 'right now' is exactly what a novice would do. Setting up the connected services to get the free charging and enable P&C was not obvious, but other than that it does drive like any ordinary car. You don't need to set up profiles, PaaK, or customize anything if all you're looking for is a "normal" driving experience. Just have the FOB on you, press the "start" button and put it in "drive". My last 4 cars have had the "press and hold the preset button" until it registers a radio station saved. Foot on brake before pressing start is also standard.

Much of the education we've gotten on here has to do with errors, workarounds, and other things stemming from it being a bleeding edge product.

 

[RockwallRick]

I remember the days when people tolerated crappy cell phone service! The service improved and now everybody has one!

 

[HuntingPudel]

Hah. I am going to have to get used to pushing the start button. My cars all use a physical ignition switch (push clutch in, turn key). I sometimes get weird in the Fusion since I can’t find the clutch pedal. ?

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

I've had my MME for about a month now. The extent of my problems are:

1. I've gotten the "no key detected" message twice. Both of those occurred after I had been working around the car going in and out of range with my phone multiple times.
2. There is no number 2.

The car is simple imo.

 

[shutterbug]

Hah. I am going to have to get used to pushing the start button. My cars all use a physical ignition switch (push clutch in, turn key). I sometimes get weird in the Fusion since I can’t find the clutch pedal. ?

The start button had been around for more than 20 years You also had to get used to opening the car door without inserting a physical key, I assume.

 

[ARK]

I've had my MME for about a month now. The extent of my problems are:

1. I've gotten the "no key detected" message twice. Both of those occurred after I had been working around the car going in and out of range with my phone multiple times.
2. There is no number 2.

The car is simple imo.

I agree or at least it’s not really any more complicated than most modern vehicles. There are a few things OP identifies that are EV quirks, but a lot of it just has to do with the infotainment system generally on any new vehicle BEV or ICE.

 

[HuntingPudel]

The start button had been around for more than 20 years You also had to get used to opening the car door without inserting a physical key, I assume.

You can open the door without a key?!? ?J/K

That was actually pretty easy to get used to. Honestly, I still sometimes look for a non-existant clutch pedal in the Fusion.

 

[sockmeister]

To the EV team,
I can't see my mom, for instance, owning this car nor many of the people I know. My wife and I have been on the forum for weeks and honestly reading the problems here is a sales killer. She's in IT and data management for 30+ years and I'm a gadget freak.... We'll be fine, but we shouldn't have to intuitively know that to save a station you have to build a user profile and get out and spin 3 times with an app on your phone displaying a secret code. That's EXACTLY what it will seem like to anyone who can't spend 40 or 50 hours reading these posts or read an on-line manual for answers to nickel and dime problems. Who has time to learn how to save radio stations, de-bug PaaK, WiFi, OTA software updates, plug and unplug and plug it in again to get it to charge, or any of a dozen other unforced error frailties? Something's blinking red. Better look that up. Again. Phone/key on console, can't find key error. Look that up too.

I think you, Ford, overshot the target. That is: make the fact that it's an EV a invisibly seamless integration into our lives. Instead, we got a college-level comp sci project that, by the way, drives even if you don't get it all just right. Pity the service reps.

Henry Ford showed us 100+ years ago that KISS works. Adding bells and whistles that need to be approached like a new project at work puts a lot of burden on customers. You're assuming we all have way too much time on our hands and the patience of a saint plus some experience fixing software on a laptop. We don't all need or want another laptop hungry for updates.

Next time, KISS. Fob in pocket, drive, plug it in, drive some more..... like an ICE car without the iPad. Like my mom's car, and my current ICE in the driveway.

Funny, but these problems are incredibly amplified and exaggerated on the forum in terms of prevalence. We all come here to complain about our individual issues, but honestly, the car is completely problem-free for me. PAAK works flawlessly. Drive the car first before you knock it.
I think most owners would agree.

 

[Orangefirefish]

I've been driving my MME since the middle of Feb. Yes I've spent many hours in MachE University, in the car in my garage (my wife of almost 49 yrs has been very patient). Yes, it's a lot to learn (still learning every day) but I've enjoyed it all. I keep telling people that I have never enjoyed driving a vehicle as much as this one.
Took our first road trip this past weekend and it was seamless.
Yes, I read this forum daily and if ALL the issues that a few are experiencing were hitting home I too would be upset. Fortunately, for me, I haven't had any of these things go wrong in my beautiful, Rapid Red, AWD, ER Premium MachE. And I do enjoy the looks, pictures being taken, comments and questions on almost a daily basis. So far I say Ford has hit a home run!

Almost identical story as Joe here, Feb purchase, recent first road trip (write-up to come). There’s a learning curve for sure, and absolutely this car needs a little more studying up than any car I’ve owned, but it’s totally worth it (and I expected it). Once you get rolling, I think you learn how to deal with things pretty quickly. It’s absolutely fantastic for a first gen product and I think the one area Ford could really work on is communication and change management. But as an owner, absolutely not a single regret here. Well, I think maybe I should have waited for the GT but that’s a different story. ?

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