By SARAH A. WEBSTER

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Consumers might not believe it yet, but the quality of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles is about the same as that of Toyota and Nissan, according to the first- quarter 2007 model-year Global Quality Research System report by the RDA Group, a market research firm based in Bloomfield Hills.

Ford, Lincoln, Mercury brand vehicles had 1,456 problems per 1,000 vehicles, compared with Nissan, which had 1,457 and Toyota, which had 1,453. The report released Wednesday surveyed more than 30,000 new owners of 2007 model-year vehicles after three months of ownership.

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It did not track the newest 2008 vehicles, such as the Ford Edge or the new Ford Super Duty. Ford had to temporarily stop selling that pickup to fix a problem that caused flames to shoot out the exhaust system of some vehicles. Ford also delayed delivery of the Edge late last year to ensure top-level quality.

But new vehicles like the 2007 Ford Expedition and Fusion helped buoy the results.

In all, Ford Motor Co. reduced its corporate problems by 8%, better than the overall industry improvement of 2%.

“It’s a big improvement for us,” said Bennie Fowler, Ford’s vice president for global quality, in an interview with the Free Press. Fowler added that Ford’s improved quality will become an important part of Ford’s future marketing efforts.

Fowler said the report tracks closely with the widely publicized initial quality report from J.D. Power and Associates, which comes out later this year. That closely watched report has shown the gap between the best and worst automakers has narrowing significantly: Years ago, the difference in defects per 100 vehicles ranged into the hundreds, now it is in the tens or single digits.

Consumers often turn to that J.D. Power report and its rankings when deciding what products to purchase, although they also closely examine long-term quality and other factors.

While the report did not look at long-term quality, Fowler said initial quality and long-term quality tend to track together.

“It indicates what you’re going to see long-term,” Fowler said

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I hope this report is right. Ive heard mixed reviews on the quality of the Fusion lately.

Isnt the fusion being made in Mexico. maybe that is part of the problem?