my first car was an 89 topaz (mercury version of tempo). It was as old as me and the only time it died was when the coil went. quick and easy fix. i sold it after 2 years and got a 98 sunfire. After a year i had gotten an alignment, changed the tranny, changed the starter, and the clutch was starting to go. So i went back to ford. Have had my ranger for 2 years and haven't had a problem yet. Theres my reason for driving a ford.
i know alot of people who bash ford, all i say is "you'll see", and wait until they start having problems.