30 OTT 6

This engine as described would have saved the Five-Hundred a little bit of grief. Once again, Ford was asleep at the wheel.

The '01 Bullitt had SVT (96-98) brakes and suspension. While the 4.6L was only rated for 265 (vs. 260 in the GT), dyno testings show it has a broader torque curve and a peak horsepower closer to the pre-production rating of 275 Hp. The Bullitt's are faster and handle better than a regular '99-04 GT. I also think that the Bullitt looks much better than a typical GT because of it's lower stance and lack of useless parts like a rear spoiler and fake sidescoops. The fact that my Bullitt is a numbered car with only around 5500 made makes it a potential collectors car. Considering what it would have cost me to install the all Bullitt-spec parts onto a regular GT, the extra $5000 (Can.) I paid was not a waste of money. Ford had said at the time that they would not make another Bullitt S/E Mustang. They had copyright issues with the McQueen family for the use of the "Bullitt" name. For selfish reasons, I hope Ford never builds another Bullitt.

This just renforces my belief that the PIP (Performance Improvement Program) for the Duratec 3.0, which was discussed here a few months ago, is a waste of time and money. The new Duratec 3.5 is the same size as the 3.0L, cheaper to build, produces more power (without VCT) and now gets better fuel economy. I think Ford should be working at increasing Duratec 3.5 production instead of trying to squeeze another 15 Hp out of the old 3.0L.

I'd prefer naturally aspirated V8's myself. The direct injection and compacted graphite iron blocks sound great though. I wonder if the CGI block material will allow for wider cylinder bores without compromising durability? P.S. Blue II - Are you hinting at what's in the works?

They are already selling the diesel engines in the Range Rovers over in England. Navistar could have bought one, tear it apart and go over the engine with a fine tooth comb before their legal department even got involved. It's funny how so many people on BON think that Ford can do no wrong. We already know that Ford management in general is disfunctional. Ford has a very shady history in it's dealings with suppliers and I hope Navistar wins their case.

The Ford of Canada web-site is posting Transport Canada fuel ecomnomy ratings of 11.6 L/100 KM city and 7.0 L/100 KM Hwy. This translates roughly to 24/40 Imp. MPG. (20/33 U.S. MPG). If someone in Canada is shopping for a large car right now, with gas prices the way they are, that 40 Imp MPG on regular fuel will override a lot of previous impressions regarding the Taurus/500. I like chrome bar look Ford is using so I like the new front end. I always though the interior was nice. I hope this car does better than the 500.

I agree that the current F-150 is too big and too heavy. The F-150 is now what the regular, non-heavy duty F-250 used to be as far as capability.

I wouldn't buy one because I don't have the need for one but I do like this vehicle. Great looking interior! I don't like the name. I don't think it fits the vehicle. Flex would be a better name for Ford's future "B" vehicle. I think that the Fusion should have gotten the Fairlane name and this Flex should have been called the Fusion. Fusion, to me, fits what this vehicle is all about more than a four door mid-sized sedan.

According to the Ford Media link, it appears that the Taurus has gained 3 hp and 4 ft-lb of torque since it first premiered. Flowmaster exhaust and K&N filter perhaps?

If Mercury is going to continue to be a gussied-up Ford, it should be put out of it's missery. It may have worked in the past, but today, the Japenese and Koreans have something to say about it.

Wow, a mansion that is over twice the size of another mansion uses more energy. I would have never guessed!

To date, what are the parts or systems on the Power Stroke Diesel that have been causing the Quality Control issues since the 6.0L was introduced? Piezio Fuel Injectors, software, what else?

Ford of Canada has not offered a retail Crown Victoria for a few years. If you want a panther, it's either the Town Car or the Grand Marquis. The Grand Marquis has continued to be the only Mercury product offered in Canada for approximately five years. I miss Mercury about as much as I miss Oldsmobile and Plymouth.

While the Aston Martins are arguably the finest looking and performing automobiles in FoMoCo's inventory, I think this is a good move. In my opinion, there was a lot of overlap between Aston Martin and Jaguar as far as traditional brand identity. Jaguar should now be moved into the role of the sole premium luxury / high performance automobile brand for FoMoCo. They might even have an oportunity to save Jaguar in the process.

Have you ever seen the guys that chose Coke in the Pepsi challenge comercials? No. It's called puffery and anybody that sells anything does it.

When I review the specs for the Edge, I'm dumbfounded at how heavy the bloody thing is. The curb weight of the 5 seat Edge compares to the curb weight of 7 seat CUV's from the competition. I really can't see any advantage to buying the new Edge CUV over the traditional Explorer SUV. If anything, waiting for the new Taurus X with the same powertrain as the Edge is the better way to go. Also, I noticed from reading various test reviews that the same transaxle behaves differently in GM vehicles and Ford vehicles. And it's generally better in the GM vehicles. The differance is in the software and the impression is that Ford engineers can't get it right. The GM vehicles also have a manual shift feature on their version of the transaxle which Ford doesn't. This point is moot because it's been proven (by the car mag. tests) that today's car computers can shift the automatic transmissions better than the drivers. Besides, the manu-matics are for posers, unless the transaxle is a dual clutch direct shift unit or an automated manual.

They will race the finest looking Toyota stickers you've ever seen, just like Ford and Chevy. NAZCAR (National Association of Zero-stock Car Auto Racing) will accommadate.

A quick check shows that Mulally was CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, which is the civil airline division of Boeing Corporation. So Kiley is neither right nor wrong, but instead lacked clarity. All in all, not the big deal the usual suspects on BON make it to be.

Hey staff, quit compromising the integrity of this message board. This was a blatant change of my original post. Yes, links were added, but a link was deleted along with part of my original message. What else is being changed that "staff" don't like?

While I understand what you are saying, I believe that these restructuring costs is just time catching up with FoMoCo. All the corner cutting savings, postponed design changes, and overall product shortsightedness of yesturday are all represented in those restructuring costs today. Pay now or pay later. Ford decided to pay later, here it is - with interest. A good lesson for all business people.

I doubt that anybody was expecting differantly though. - - - - - - - - - - Retuers Link BusinessWeek Link Ford Press Release Link links added by staff - - - - - - - - - -

Smells like another "School of Free Thought" topic to me.

Yeah, School of Free Thought was yanked by all the girls who had their feelings hurt on that board.

The distance between the door and the rear wheel appears to be almost the same between the Honda Civic Coupe and the Focus Coupe mule. The Honda Civic has a thicker 'C' piller than the Focus Coupe mule, which makes it look like a shorter distance. The Focus Coupe should have better rear visibility than the Civic Coupe. The Focus has an excellent suspension, probably the best (for a small car) when tuned a la SVT. Its engines are pretty good too but could use an SVT engine. Handling and 'fun factor' are continually praised on this car by critics. In my opinion, the '05 style over just killed the Focus. The older body style could probably have been tweaked to improve the structure. Ford did it for 25 years on the Fox Mustang platform. Like mentioned earlier, another Ford half-ass job. Penny wise, pound foolish.

I think he looks like Rick Springfield. "Don't cha you know, I wish that I had Jesse's girrrl" Doo do-do Doo