DEARBORN, MI – Ford Motor Company's steady vehicle quality improvement in recent years is beginning to translate into significant savings for the company and fewer repairs.

In the past two years alone, Ford has reduced its warranty repairs costs by $1.2 billion, according to the latest company figures. These savings can be attributed to four straight years of quality improvements on Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles. Ford's initial quality is now in a virtual tie with Honda-Acura and Toyota-Lexus-Scion for the 2008 model year, according to the latest U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS) study. Findings included:

• Warranty repair rate for Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles in the United States is nearly 50 percent lower than in 2004.

• Ford F-Series Super Duty and Lincoln Mark LT rank atop their respective segments with fewest "things gone wrong" (TGW) and in customer satisfaction.

• Overall, 18 of 24 Ford domestic brand vehicles posted TGW improvements.

"The last 24 months have revealed some our best quality results," said Curt Yun, director, Global Warranty. "Our new models have been achieving continuously declining warranty repair rates and lower warranty costs, as a direct result of our overall quality improvements."

In the U.S., for example, owners of Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles have reported fewer concerns at three years in service for each of the past five years, according to the Global Quality Research System (GQRS) survey, compiled for Ford by the research firm RDA Group.