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My buddy had this 1998 F150 3 Door 4x4 in his oversized garage (along with two other daily drivers). It had been very well maintained, and preserved. He was driving it about 4-5k miles a year doing chores etc. About 3 years ago I told him, when you downsize, and are ready to let her go, give me first dibs. Patience pays off, he calls me last month and said he sold his gigantic house and acreage, and he and his wife (kids now adults and out on their own) are finally moving to a much smaller property. He told me if I took it "as is", it would be a great deal. We went through the stuff that needed to be fixed and most were things I could do myself (I may have a question or two for Fordtech1). I saved him the trouble of having to have certain things fixed that a potential buyer would bicker over, so it was win-win. I grabbed it at a really great price, and now she is mine. While everyone, including myself, wants a new truck, I think it will be fun using this for my truck chores and keeping it running great and road worthy. I told all my friends; "...I wouldn't buy any old used truck, but this one was one in million..." He is an Air Force Veteran, that explains the color scheme. It is really quite nice in today's black and white world.

There is your white space Fusion replacement. If it is on C2 as the article says then this would be built in Mexico and can share the assembly line with other C2 products. So even if they don't sell a lot of them they can easily adjust production with other C2 vehicles as needed. I think it needs more rugged sheetmetal for North America though.

It's an emoji.

I prefer to think of it like a pendulum. Sometimes it needs to swing to the left, then sometimes it needs to swing to the right. What you end up with is something somewhere in the middle. Nobody is going to be 100% happy regardless.

The look isn't exactly right - but AFAIK *this* is the next Fusion.

Retirement Incentive, New Product Promises, Medical Mariwanna Coverage, Extended FMLA annnnd Signing Bonuses!!!!! I want my singing money

https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2019/07/17/suv-exits-car-wash-drives-directly-into-river/1753949001/ HRG

My dealer had me out and I drove the Aviator Reserve, finally! Published a quick-spin review. I defiantly need MORE time with the Aviator.... either a review vehicle or mine when it comes in... here are some words i put together.. https://www.automotiveaddicts.com/68697/2020-lincoln-aviator-reserve-awd-quick-spin-test-drive

I would say it met my expectations AND exceeded them in some areas. I do like the complete package and in getting the Black Label I will be utilizing the benefits often. The overall comfort was a plus as I could easily see driving this vehicle over long distances without issue. There was some noticeable artificial engine sound coming from the dash making me think Ford/Lincoln is pumping a lot of fake engine sound into the cabin because of just how quiet it is and isolated the real engine sound is... it's hard to make a V6 sound good. Also, one thing i didn't note was the sound system... the upgraded sound system was EXCELLENT!!! Very powerful where I would have to tone down some of the bass and make some fine adjustments. Sounded great for the time I checked it out.

Thanks for the review! Even though your time was limited you seemed to be satisfied with it. Would you say it met/exceeded your expectations?

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/car-design/a28422027/ford-taurus-sho-intercoast-gtp/ I had never seen or heard of this concept before . . .

Chassisgroupleade, I haven’t seen or heard a Democratic candidate running for office. I have heard and seen socialist and communist candidates running. I read your comment that you would be happy with just a nice signing bonus for this contract. All I can say, is thank God we had real and committed members years ago who thought about doing what is best for the future not just for today. Thank you retirees who weren’t selfish and only thought about today. I was told when I first started with Ford that if you do not have at least one million dollars in assets by the time you get your 30 years in, you have squandered your money. That was before all the signing bonuses and extravagant profit sharing bonuses.All those signing bonus and profit sharing checks are nice, but what would the members have today if they would have gotten a 3% raise and Life Income Benefits increases every three years?

I am really happy with the aluminum bodys on the F-series, especially the superduty. It is much tougher than i expected. Living in the rust belt, and putting 40k miles a year on our fleet trucks, the lack of rust is by far the best benefit of the aluminum for us.

No. Remember 3 years ago when they had no capacity to spare? Close a plant now and it becomes a HUGE problem (and an expensive one at that) when the industry makes another upswing and you have to build a new plant. By all accounts they're playing it conservative with the Mexican plant capacity to have room to bring back the Focus or Fusion/Mondeo if the market dictates it. As for Oakville who knows but it seems that even without Flex they can maintain a 2 shift schedule and not be overbuilding.

Not if they are going to introduce to Mexico, Central and South America too...

Yes, but Transit Connect and the pick-up will leave a huge amount of excess capacity.

That's a really clean truck. Congrats!

To me the issue is the excess production capacity Ford will have with the 2 Mexican plants and the Edge/Flex plant once Fusion sedan ends. Will one of the plants be shuttered?

Huh? It’s a generic pickup emoji.

Looks like my hope for a 5.5' box SuperCab is coming together,,,,, HRG

The Mother Jones article that got the entire ball rolling is not factual. It overstated the number of Pinto fire-related deaths, and completely mischaracterized the notorious memo. The memo had NOTHING to do with the Pinto. It was simply a cost-benefit analysis of possible federal regulations that had been requested by the federal government! That is why the judge in the Grimshaw case refused to allow the plaintiffs to enter it as evidence. If I recall correctly, the fuel-tank bladder that Ford's critics repeatedly refer to was not used on any production vehicle - certainly not one within the reach of most buyers of that time. So Ford not equipping the Pinto with it was hardly egregious. The bottom line is that the Pinto was no more dangerous than other small cars of its era. A good starting point is the Rutgers Law Review article, "The Myth of the Pinto Case," from 1991. An analysis of actual accident data shows that the Pinto's record for fire-related deaths was not out of line with other small cars of that era. It's overall safety record (meaning, all types of accidents, not just those that involved fire) was actually better than average compared to other small cars.

I like the concept, though I'd like slightly more cargo area. I think that Ford could truly carve out room for their niche "Outback", but it'd have to have the goods and Ford would need to show something like Subaru's charisma and patience to drill it into the market. I won't lie, I'm a huge fan of the Flex (mine recently had a tragic transmission failure, I miss it every day) and think that Ford has room for a stylish, capacious, AWD wagon that draws just enough cues from CUVs to fit within current trends. I love real SUVs, but I'm a musician at night; I also love low lift-over and having a powerful AWD vehicle that can cope with the often slimy streets of western Washington. Hence, I loved my Flex. A vehicle like the one rendered would be a great compromise for people like myself that would own a separate, "real SUV" for actual off-road driving.

Thank you for sharing Kev-Mo sir. It's always nice to see older cars and trucks that owners take such good care of that they look and feel like new. ?

no doubt the issues arising from the pinto rear-end collisions were horrible. But the article you cite and most others are hyperbole. Go back and read it again. All the claims are referencing an acknowledged "left-wing" magazine (their words, not mine). "... according to Mother Jones.', "... the magazine said...', "...Mother Jones asserted.', etc. Be careful. Don't believe the hype. There is too much BS out there propagated by biased people or organizations. We need to focus on facts for the conversations to be relevant.

where does that article state aluminum is easier to recycle than anything (let alone steel)? It simply says aluminum recycle is good. Of course its good. So is all recycling rather than consuming additional natural resources. The point is, material of construction should not be dependent on any one issue. There is no "one size fits all", it depends on the application, the market, safety concerns, the cost of materials, etc. Any design that favors a single material of construction just for the sake of doing it isn't practical. Its a concept car. That's it.

I find the 2019 Ranger’s styling more reminiscent of that generation of F-150 than the current one.

And the green new deal has no hope of passing. Why are u guys so worried about that ? Doesn’t matter which candidates says whatever. It matters what passes congress. And besides U can choose to evolve or u can go extinct ...... ur choice

Hey go big or go home. Actually good news is my garage had not been completely rocked yet so it was pretty easy to add. I suspect at some point in the future I will probably have 2 plug in somethings with a full BEV so might as well be prepared to make it convenient. I was finally finishing my dream garage - polished floors, built in cabinets, tool wall, power storage racks, etc.

That's all it is, keep us fighting this side against that side. In the mean time the same old shit keeps going on from both sides and this country as a whole just keeps getting worse.

Nice ride! 98 was NPI heads and aluminum intakes. Not the quickest, but dead reliable if you do even a half ass job of maintaining it. There is a reason that lots of the guys I work with have tenth gens or lament giving theirs up for newer ones. I won't give mine up until the midwest salt and sand claim it.

He was a pretty awesome guy. I don't just say that because someone passed either.

Might this be the vehicle that was designed and approved in record time (for Ford)? Which in turn changed their Fusion plans?

Those 2v Mods run for freakin' ever. There are 3 in my family that have 250k+...one is at 338k.

That's what we have right now swinging back n forth left to right, we need progress and to move forward. Too much time spent on petty issues not enough on the important. Too much time spent opposing the other and not enough solutions.

Don't allow the UAW sway your vote you'll just be confused, the more and more UAW unionize graduate students the more distance they put between them and the autoworkers they represent. To blame our President solely for the problems in our industry doesn't make sense the problems have been building up since the turn of the century. If anyone is to blame it's the UAW members for allowing themselves to be misrepresented by a corrupt union plain and simple. Politics in our country is like chemistry, you need the right combination in all offices. If everyone is mainly focused on the President then we have congress candidates that aren't very good slide in office without anyone noticing because all the attention is on the President. It's not about what party to vote for it should be which individuals will work with others and not spend a 4 year term opposing everything. We need progress, they can oppose all day but if they don't have any form of solution then they are useless in office no matter what party they claim. Time to start being Americans and exercising our right to vote for our selves not allow someone else tell us who we should be voting for. Don't be a puppet.

Maybe the 2023 was if they kept the current version around. But if they're introducing this new "Fusion", they don't need the old one, so they're cutting it off at 2020.

It’s not German or Asian so the buttons will be atrocious according to car rags. Domestics always get ragged about too many buttons. If it’s anyone else it’s a piece of art dash design.

Don’t underestimate the Outback. It’s reliable, fairly affordable, has good interior and cargo room, and has remained consistent in its message and execution...I.e. it’s a great product. The gravy on top is that AWD is standard and barely adds a cost penalty to a similarly sized and equipped competitor that is FWD only. If Ford made a true Outback competitor with all or most of these virtues, it could sell really well, especially if it looks good.

If anything the new Ranger won't show up till a year or so after the Bronco Launches.

I think this is what's happening... just speculation, no inside knowledge. Ford is developing two midsize CUV to replace Mondeo/Fusion and Edge. One will have more sporty look and *maybe* a lower profile, while the other will have more like SUV. Couple this with the fact that Bronco will be roughly the same size, this is Ford's plan to divide and conquer the midsize CUV/SUV market. I wouldn't fixate on the Subaru Outback part... it could look very similar to a bigger Puma: that thing basically look just like a hatchback with bigger tires and fender flairs. Imagine something similar but in the size of Mondeo/Fusion but with appropriate roof extension in the cargo area for better proportions (that was Honda Crosstour's problem... bad proportions). Mondeo "Active" ==> vs. Outback etc. - urban/more car-like Edge ==> vs. Highlander etc. - suburban/in the middle Bronco vs. 4Runner etc. - rugged/off road

Very nice! I sure do like that generation. HRG

This isn't greenlit yet, but it recently moved forward.

Why not? Each has its own niche. Ranger having conventional design of pickup, Bronco pickup having rustic style and pure offroad purpose. It is worth remembering that Ford is making a monobloc (P758) pickup too

Heck, a year ago they couldn't even spell "mid-size" pickup. Now, 2 of them? HRG

Subarus sell because they are Subarus, not because of looks or versatility. They have become ingrained in the NW and East Coast as a left-of-center carmaker and as the "non-SUV" SUV-maker. Its image and marketing which they have perfected. Another automaker won't be able to duplicate the success of Subaru just by having a like model. It takes more than that.

Ididntdoit - really are you one of those poor miss guided members that was talking all that gloom and doom shit just a few weeks ago? ('after they cut the C crew') You know all that silly shit like "I heard we are going to be down for 12 to 14 months" or "They said we got 15 weeks to get this right or KCAP, LAP, FRAP, MAP, KTP orrrr St. Louis is getting the Lincoln" or "Someone told me the C crew wasn`t getting called back after retooling" is that you Ididntdoit starting these silly shit rumors? Anyway Ididntdoit the fired for 5 years and someone's daddy thing is just a fact of business (politics) so if you can`t get used to it then you`ll have to learn to tolerate it cause that goofy politics/business is everywhere. Ididntdoit with the orders that are piling up for 611 & 625`s you might start hearing that old DI phrase "hands off your toys and grab your socks" cause there`s a lot of work to be done here at CAP.... (I had to clean it up a little )

Let's get people excited about a vehicle that won't launch for 5 years... then do the same with a variant where the original still hasn't launched.