You may recognize part of tonight's title from the movie, Marathon Man.

It is just charts this evening. 

I ran into a unexpected car problem that caused me to spend quite a bit of time on Thursday, Friday, and today. I took the queen out on a nice Autumn day for some test drives and tapped the rainy day fund for a new car purchase.

In case you happen to own an older Ford Escape, or a Mazda Tribute, be aware that it may have a potentially dangerous mechanical condition that you may not yet fully understand.

Ford (F) has put a literal 'band-aid' on a serious steering problem for some of the affected model years with a recall for 2001-2004 Escapes. But some of the years after that apparently have the same problem and same component based on internet owner forums I have read and videos I have seen over the weekend. Ford says they can buy the same band-aid for $90 if you are not covered by the recall but have the same problem, which apparently many do.

The recall band-aid does not fix the problem, except in a Clinton-esque definition of fixed. It just theoretically gives you enough steering control to pull the car over to the side of the road after the subframe fails, ideally without a fatal loss of steering. But after that it is not safe to drive. Ford dealers seems to agree, and will only take the car in trade for $500, and will send to off to a wholesale auction to junk it. I cannot really blame them. The car is not safe to drive according to the professional judgements I received from both Ford and independent mechanics.

When the subframe separates in order to truly fix it the car must have a repair for which a Ford dealer charges about $5,400, of which only $700 is labor from the dealer, assuming the car was not additionally damaged in the incident. Ford corporate seems to have priced the parts for this repair at about 3x a comparable market price based on a internet survey I made of other new parts providers of the same part number and similar components for similar vehicles. Nice touch.

You might be able to get this done by a local mechanic and obtain a good part yourself either new or used preferably from a Southern junkyard, for about $1700, or less if you have a full garage and can do it yourself. The subframe also cradles the engine and is not a casual repair by any means. I hear it takes 6 to 10 hours depending on your experience and available equipment.

I found out that the car was not road safe from a local mechanic who was changing the oil and happened to notice that the frame had separated and the steering control was compromised. I took it to the dealer and they confirmed that it was unsafe to drive. 

Corporate Ford responded by saying that the recall had been performed in accord with the government NHTSA and would absolutely not do anything else, at all. I like the dealership quite a bit and have bought three cars from them, but their hands are tied.

The dealer performed this recall in 2014 and at the time it was 'safe,' but no one ever mentioned that it was not really 'fixed' and would eventually fail. But I probably could make it to the side of the road, depending on circumstances. No guarantees.

I generally maintain my cars well, and drive them in some challenging situations like the bridges around NYC in heavy traffic and the BQE in rush hour.

The recommended solution for my car, which is very similar to the one in the second video, is to junk it with under 100,000 miles, or spend more than it is worth to properly repair it. It has no other known problems, a good engine and transmission, and no exterior rust except on the edge of one wheel well from a bump in a parking lot. It was one of my favorite cars and I tried to take good care of it.

A long time observer of the automotive industry called this 'the worst recall I have ever seen.'  Thank you Obama administration's Department of Transportation. Good job guys.

And so today I went out and bought one of the three medium priced car lines that my mechanic friend said are easier to repair and of better quality based on his years of experience: Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), and Subaru.

This is what happens when trust in a business-customer relationship has been abused beyond reason. As far as I am concerned you put my family at risk for a few hundred dollars. I thought we had learned the lesson here about integrity and quality. They are not peripheral to running a customer oriented business. I saw that early on in my own management experience with very large customers. But highly rewarded short term greed and foolish decisions seem to come top down from time to time, and it a brave manager indeed who will stand up for what is not only right, but common sense in the longer run if wiser heads prevail.

This has been my own personal experience and what I have learned from it. Your own may certainly be different. But it is good to be aware of these things. And the media seems to be at best asleep, cutting back severely on real reporting, or at worst very selective about what it chooses to tell us these days. 

If you are in a position to do something about it don't contact me because I happen to have a public voice or 'know someone.' Do the right thing, and treat us all equally; fix it for all your customers.

As for the government, well, I think by now we all know what the problem is there. Ignore the spin and the optics, and follow the money. 

Have a pleasant evening.