The
Automotive
Body Parts Association (ABPA) blasted Ford Motor Co.
for what
it says is "a gross misrepresentation of the truth" in a
video released
earlier this month that ABPA says attacks the aftermarket
auto parts
industry. ABPA said it would challenge the company's
"false assertions" by
undertaking additional testing of Ford components and
making its findings
public.
"Genuine Ford collision replacement parts are the same
as those used to
manufacture the vehicle," a Ford engineer says in the
video. ABPA said it
has evidence that this is false.
ABPA said that during tests conducted by ABPA engineers,
front bumper
isolators were removed from two 2005-2009 Ford Mustangs
and compared with
two Ford-branded front bumper isolator service parts
purchased from Ford
dealers. Examination revealed the Ford service parts,
which Ford says are
the same as Ford production parts, were approximately
one-fourth the weight,
ABPA claims. Production parts from the two vehicles
weighed 864 and 822
grams respectively, while two genuine Ford collision
replacement parts for
the same component were 72 percent lighter at 239 and
233 grams, ABPA said.
"On behalf of the aftermarket industry I want to thank
Ford for proving what
we have said for years, which is that replacement parts
can vary from the
original equipment parts installed in production while
still providing
comparable performance and returning vehicles to pre-
crash condition," said
ABPA Legislation and Regulation Committee Co-Chair
Eileen A. Sottile. "If
that were not the case, then why would Ford's customers
receive these
replacement parts? The huge weight discrepancies between
production and
service parts clearly underscore that the original Ford
components that come
on its vehicles and those Ford-branded parts sold for
collision repair are
not 'the same,' as they have claimed," Sottile
added.
ABPA's engineers are reviewing the recent Ford video,
undertaking additional
testing and planning to make their technical assessments
public. The ABPA
recently released video illustrating the safety and
quality of aftermarket
auto parts.
