I wouldn't be so quick to underestimate what the so-called "legacy automakers" are and will be doing. BEVs still only account for a tiny portion of new vehicle sales right now which means there is still plenty of time for domestic and import competitors to grab pieces of the pie.
Yes, sure wait for the "legacy" manufacturers. They are sure to catch up & dominate the market.
What significant percent of the market does "legacy" manufacturers Kodak, IBM (PCs, workstation, servers) Nokia, Blackberry, Motorola, Sony (Walkman) have today?
In a couple more years, Tesla will probably surpass Ford in units shipped. Maybe GM, Nissan, BMW too.
Tesla quality and customer service have gone down hill notably in the last three years or so and there are growing numbers of very frustrated current owners ready to jump ship if things don’t improve. On top of that, eliminating the return policy, reducing used warranty, etc. aren’t moving the brand in the right direction IMO, at least not by the approaches they are taking. More and more competition is coming and unless these things change, Tesla’s future may not be as rosy as some think or hope.
About that 100 years of Ford and GM automotive expertise & quality.
I blame the management of these companies not the workers.
It is depressing how the management get billions of dollars even when
they fail but they blame every problem on the workers.
The examples below are just a few that involved vehicle fires. The
reason I only included fire examples is because of all the news media
hype about Teslas being so dangerous and panel gaps & paint..
The top Internet searches highlight a few Teslas that caught fire when
nobody was near the car. Yes, there are millions of more ICE vehicles but there have been
10s of millions pf vehicles recalled
but in reality the % of ICE that catch fire is much higher.
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General Motors plans to recall 1.4 million cars, most of which had
previously been recalled, because of a risk they might catch fire.
The recall will be the third intended to fix the problem since 2007.
1,345 of the cars caught fire AFTER they were previously fixed by dealers.
In all of the fires, oil leaked onto a hot manifold of the engine.
About 85% of the fires took place when the car was shut off and there
was no one around the car.
GM sent to owners strongly recommended "you not park your vehicle in a
garage, car port or other structure."
by Chris Isidore @CNNMoney
October 27, 2015
GM recalls 1.4 million cars for fire risk after previous fix failed
GM Recalls 2019-2020 Pickup Trucks Due to Fire Risk
Seat belt deployment can lead to burning carpet in half a 500,000 trucks
By Jeff S. Bartlett
November 21, 2019
GM Recalls 2019-2020 Pickup Trucks Due to Fire Risk
1984-1988, the GM Pontiac Fiero
To help deal with the crowded engine bay, Pontiac reduced the size of
the oil pan from four quarts to three, meaning the Fiero always ran
out of oil sooner than its owner expected. Add to this the fact that
people tried to drive it like a sports car (even though it wasn't
really one), and the Fiero was a recipe for disaster.
*** one out of every 400 Fieros on the road caught fire. ***
1970-1974 Chevy Vega
Rust was a major issue. The engine was prone to overheating, a problem
that was exasperated by its undersized radiator (which Chevy did to
save money). It also had carburetor mounting bolts that would come
loose, causing fuel to leak and catch fire. In 1972, Chevrolet
recalled 500,000 Vegas in order to fix the problem, as well as the
faulty axles and throttles.
Ford Motor Co convicted of Fraud
Court: Ford Knew Power Stroke V8 Was Defective and sold it anyway
Ford Motor Company offered the 6.0L Power Stroke V8 in the 2003-2007 Ford Super Duty and 2003-2010 Ford E-Series.
by Edward Snitkoff
October 13, 2020
6.0L Power Stroke V8 Leads To Fraud Ruling Against Ford
.....
Emails discovered showed Ford management grappling with massive warranty repair costs going back to 2006. John Koszewnik, who was the director of Ford’s North American diesel division revealed in emails that 6.0-liter diesel warranty repairs were costing Ford “as high as $5 million a month.”
Ford Cruise Control Deactivation Switch Fires
During a 10-year period that stretched from 1999 to 2009, Ford Motor
Company issued eight different recalls for a total of more than 14
million vehicles (cars, pickups, SUVs, vans) equipped with a faulty
cruise-control deactivation switch. Fires in these vehicles caused
numerous house and garage fires, and resulted in deaths in several
states. ** Owners were advised to park their vehicles outside and away
from any structure ** until repairs made.
On April 25, 1996, Ford Motor Company recalled 7.9 million vehicles
for defective ignition switches that could short circuit and start
fires in parked vehicles with the engine off because the switch
circuit was a non-fused circuit & hot or powered at all times. The
switches, which run continuously even when the vehicle is not in
operation, are prone to fail over time and cause electrical fires.
Ford Cruise Control Deactivation Switch Recalls and History
Ford Cruise Control Deactivation Switch Recalls and History - The Center for Auto Safety
Ford Recalls 874,000 F-150, Super Duty Pickup Trucks Over Fire
Concerns With the Engine Block.
Affected models include some 2015 to 2019 F-150 trucks and some 2017 to 2019 Super Duty pickup trucks.
By Emily Gillespie
December 21, 2018
Ford Recalls 874,000 F-150, Super Duty Pickup Trucks Over Fire Concerns With the Engine Block
Ford is recalling 874,000 pickup trucks in North America for fire risks
More than 500K Ford pickups recalled over post-crash interior fire risk
Ford says they are aware of at least one report of a fire in the U.S.
The front seat belt pretensioner -- a mechanism that is supposed to
deploy during a crash to tighten up any slack in the belt -- could
"generate excessive sparks," "ignite the carpet," or cause any
potential fire to "spread within the vehicle"
ByMina Kaji
13 December 2019,
More than 500K Ford pickups recalled over post-crash interior fire risk
2020 Ford F-150: Recall Alert
The Problem: There may be an improper attachment nut used to fasten
the positive battery cable to the starter motor, which may not provide
a secure connection to the starter or the required conductive
properties. This could increase the potential for incremental heat
generation during a vehicle start cycle and electrical arcing,
increasing the risk of a fire.
By Patrick Masterson
August 12, 2020
https://www.cars.com/articles/2020-ford-f-150-recall-alert-425265/
BMW Upset With ABC News for Reporting Their Cars Randomly Explode
Why is this happening?
By Eric Brandt
May 16, 2017
BMW Upset With ABC News for Reporting Their Cars Randomly Explode
As mysterious BMW fires continue, calls for investigation into possible causes grow
Critics say the government auto-safety watchdog is failing to protect consumers.
90 complaints have been filed by owners
By Kyra Phillips,Cindy Galli,Cho Park,Halley Freger, Pete Madden
5 February 2019
As mysterious BMW fires continue, calls for investigation into possible causes grow
1971-1980 Ford Pinto was included in "Worst Cars of All Time" lists by
both Forbes and Time magazines. There were many problems with the
car's design, but the biggest (and most tragic) was the placement of
the fuel tank in the back, which often caused it to explode if
involved in a rear-collision. ** Ford knew of the defect; eight of 11
cars put through their own rear-collision test burst into flames. Ford
Pinto is a case study in failure of management & business ethics -
specifically NOT HAVING ANY. **
2008 - 2017 BMW ( 15,879,491 units )
BMW - Wikipedia
BMW aficionado Bill Macko's 2008 X5 caught fire while parked in his garage in 2015, it destroyed his house.
Roughly a million vehicles of varying models dating back to 2007 have been recalled due to fire risk. The danger has been traced to fuel leaks, overheating wires, short-circuiting heaters, defective exhaust gas recirculation module (EGR coolers).
In November 2016, BMW recalled 136,000 2007–2012 model year U.S. cars for fuel pump wiring problems possibly resulting in fuel leak, fires and engine stalling or restarting issues.
In 2018, BMW recalled 106,000 diesel vehicles in South Korea with a defective exhaust gas recirculation module, which caused 39 engine fires. The recall was then expanded to 324,000 more cars in Europe. Following the recall in South Korea, the government banned cars which had not yet been inspected from driving on public roads. This affected up to 25% of the recalled cars, where the owners had been notified but the cars had not yet been inspected.
** It was reported that BMW KNEW since 2016 that more than 4% of the affected cars in South Korea had experienced failures in the EGR coolers, leading to approximately 20 owners suing the company (30 July 2019). **
BMW Sparks Airport Garage Fire That Destroys 8 Cars, Burns 10 Others
Seattle, WA, USA
By Patrick George
5/01/2013
BMW Sparks Airport Garage Fire That Destroys 8 Cars, Burns 10 Others
2001, BMW announced a recall to refit cars they said had been responsible for two static-related fires while refueling at gas station:
BMW AG said it is recalling all of its new Mini cars sold in Britain to fix a design fault that already has caused two fires — days before the relaunched classic car goes on sale across Europe. The improved grounding is to prevent static electricity from producing a spark when the fuel nozzle is inserted into the gas tank, BMW spokesman Rudolf Probst said. The company blamed static electricity for igniting fuel vapor and causing two small fires, one in a car at a dealership and the other during testing.
BMW Mini Cooper
2011, South Wales resident Karina Collins was driving her Mini Cooper on the M4 when it suddenly lost power. As she pulled over, it became clear that the Coop was on fire. She left all her belongings inside and escaped without harm. The incident was one of four known fire cases stemming from an electrical fault in the turbocharger cooling system. This prompted Mini to make a massive recall of turbocharged models produced between 2007 and 2011. However, in January 2017, a Mini Cooper caught fire in California, and then in August 2017, another burned in Missouri.
January 2012 recall of nearly 89,000 Mini Coopers that might spontaneously catch fire. The culprit is an electronic circuit board on certain turbochargers. The circuit board has the potential to malfunction and ultimately overheat, and the result is a smoldering water pump that may lead to a fire in the vehicle’s engine.
