The quality of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles is virtually equal to that of Toyota and Nissan, according to the first quarter 2007 model-year Global Quality System report.

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand vehicles are at 1456 TGWs (things gone wrong), compared with Nissan at 1457 and Toyota at 1453 TGWs per 1,000 vehicles.

“Our latest performance continues a trend that has seen Ford Motor Company significantly improve vehicles over the last few years,” says Bennie Fowler, vice president, Ford Global Quality. “We have more work to do, but there is no question that Ford Motor Company builds world-class vehicles. We can compete with anybody.”

Ford reduced its corporate TGW rate by 8 percent, bettering the overall industry improvement of 2 percent.

The Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion swept the first two spots for TGW leadership in the highly competitive mid-size car segment, which includes the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. At 910, Milan had the lowest TGW level of any Ford product. Fusion recorded 1,066 TGW.

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