DoubleD

C'mon Ford, gives us a sport focused small CUV!

Apparently you know about zero regarding towing - ever see a semi-truck? I'm pretty sure that the weight of the tractor is not *quite* as much as the load of steel coils on the trailer. And you better get hold of Ford quick - how can they rate their 6-7000 lbs superduties to tow 10 or 12,000 lbs? Don't they know the vehicle must outweigh the load?!?!?

Well, Dick, I took your advice today but a really odd thing happened. After reading your blindingly insightful post, I rushed right down to the local Ford dealer and told them I wanted that new Escape - the one with 3 rows of seats (rear and middle split folding), a low load height, dual sliding doors, FWD with a (hopefully Ecoboost) 4 cylinder, priced about $25K and with MPG ratings (average) in the mid 20's, , etc. That's when the really odd thing happened - they told me that the Escape does not offer these features! How can this be, I asked!?!?! I insisted that the big Dick on the Blueovalnews forum said that the Ford Escape met all my needs, and the dealership tells me it is not so?!?!!? Obviously you need to have a talk with these folks, Dicky-boy - either those dealership types are tarnishing your good name, or maybe - just maybe - you're not quite as smart as you think you are. I'm pretty sure I know which side of that question I'd come down on....

Wow, did you figure that out all on your own, or did Daddy help you with the big words? Jeebus you are a pompous ass.

Obviously the way to make this call is to look at a vehicle sold by a niche brand, with zero marketing/advertising, and say "oh noes, that thing doesn't sell" - of course, best to do that after hyping the "new" minivan for over a year. In unrelated news, reports that Jac Nasser has been seen in the Dearborn area are complete fabrications... Could be I'm alone in this one, but as a single dad with two young kids, both of whom play hockey/baseball/lacrosse/etc, the idea of a vehicle that gets good mileage and call haul my kids and their "stuff" while also allowing me to bring home lumber and whatnot from the local Lowes Depot had great appeal. I specifcally did not buy a Mazda5 as I was waiting for the 7 seat Cmax. Ford, after saying they were going to bring it over, pulls the plug at the 11th hour. Fair enough, that's their decision though I think it is pretty dumb. Now I'll probably buy a used Econoline or something similar for home improvement and family hauling duties and just keep my other car as a daily driver. Dollars to Ford in that deal = zero.

Me. Now I guess I'll have to go with a fugly Mazda 5. Ah well, considering the uber sales success of all the hybrids on the road today (nearly 2.4% last year, and falling - woohoo!), I'm sure the folks at FoMoCo are teh smart, just like when they decided to bring over "Merkurs" and stick crappy turbo 4's in place of the European driveline.

Here's the bottom line - I don't want a hybrid, period. If I did, I'd buy one. With this decision, Ford has chosen to not offer a product for folks like me. Fair enough, I will take my business elsewhere.

Overly complicated, unknown long term maintenance, etc etc. Plus the only way they will keep pricing down is through some sort of govt tax incentive or subsidy, which I vehemently oppose on principle. Why muck up a perfectly good solution? Just for PR. I'll spend my money elsewhere.

Chalk me up as another lost sale. Had my sights set on the Cmax since I first heard of it, but I won't spend a dime on some tree hugger boondoggle. Boo on you, Ford.

Wait wait wait - I thought "Billy" was just a moron born with the right last name and a silver spoon in his mouth, and Mulally was a greedy, overpaid, evil "Big Business" CEO that was here just to shaft the workin' man!

The one I looked at was a lighter color - maybe a silver/blue? In the end, at least people are actually talking about the styling on a Ford product unlike, say, the eminently forgetable 500. Good luck with your MKT - please keep us updated!

I'll have to dissent from the "looks better in person" school of thought - I recently did a little shopping and the MKT (Lincoln's assinine naming conventions aside...) looks just as ugly in person as it does in the pictures. It's the Barbara Streisand of vehicles - maybe it can sing, but how can you get past the nose? In any case, I really like the Flex - it's grown on me style-wise, though I once again hate the name. What was wrong with Fairlane? I really like the idea of one with the EB motor - my wife's '08 CTS is tempting this pickup truck driving redneck to move back to the dark side and buy a <shudder> car. Of course, the EB Flex is actually more expensive than her loaded '08 CTS, and we're having a hard time justifying paying more for a Ford station wagon than we did for a Cadillac sports sedan. Plus I've heard/read about some "issues" with the AWD system that give me pause... Still, Ford is making serious strides in the vehicle design, marketing (Mike Rowe has almost completely purged the awful "Life on the Edge" commercials from my brain), and focus. Kudos!

I just priced one, and that was my reaction as well - why would I buy a Fiesta when I could get a Focus (or even better, a Mazda 3) for the same coin? Of course, you can't get a 5 door hatch in the Focus (D.U.M.B. Ford!) but I think the point is still valid...

Back off man - he's like a Furious Chichuahua, just plain junkyard dog mean!

Doh! Of course, the windows!! Good thing a genius like you was around to clear that up for me! :kissass: We drove the Edge back to back with my wife's 2004 Durango, and the Edge was noticably louder than the 3 year old Dodge. Most of the noise seemed to be tire-related, and I suspect that the 18" wheel/tire combo was a big part of the issue. Perhaps with different tires it would have been a different story, but that was our first-person, hands-on impression. Other issues, like the mismatch of "polished" and "brushed" fake aluminum textures, were something of a turn off as well. In the end, it was nice but nothing we would drive home (and we didn't). We also drove the Lincoln version, much quieter, nicer interior design (if not execution), gaudy Lincoln "bling" design ended up killing that deal. A nice car if you don't have to look at it (IMHO). We ended up with a Cadillac CTS.

We recently test drove an Edge. Verdict was a decided "meh." Decent, but nothing to write home about. Seemed very noisy inside (that was the most noticable trait that I remember).

And here is a case study of why I am so, so glad I got smart and got out of the auto industry. Not having your paycheck depend on the "brilliance" of Ronnie Gettelfinger and his bevy of clowns is a wonderful thing... So let's say the UAW "wins" - GM's cost position is still uncompetitive, Toyota gains another 2 or 3 points of market share every year, and GM (and probably Ford as well) end up in bankruptcy court 3 or 5 years down the line. Guess what happens then?

LOL what a bunch of dumbasses. I imagine the job security at a bankrupt GM (or Ford) is going to be great! Just goes to show ya, ya can't fix stupid.

And we all know what a resounding success the AWD luxury car derived from FWD Ford underpinning was - so resounding, it may yet put Jag out of business...

Lease. The Mrs likes to change her vehicles every few years, easier on the wallet this way. My F250, OTOH, will be driven till the wheels fall off, and then I'll probably bolt new ones on it.

Now that right there is funny! :D

Actually its quiet as tomb. Not sure how it compares to a badge-engineered Fusion, however.

Not so much "hate on" as disappointment in missed opportunities. And the MK insert random letter naming convention is nearly as dumb as the "all alliteration, all the time" nonsense on the Ford side of the house.

We just picked up a new 2008 CTS for my wife, and I have to say it is a hell of a vehicle. Posted a note in the competition section. We looked at the Lincoln line-up, the Mrs even drove the MK something (the Edge, not the Fusion) as she was coming out of an SUV. Unfortunately, there's only "nice" there. As in, it's nice, but nothing to write home about (or take home, in this case). FWIW, her car is a tarted up RWD with just about everything and stickered at $45K, so I'd say there is some room at the lower end fo the scale.

Wow, what a vehicle! Excellent fit and finish, great ride and handling, solid power from the new direct injection 3.6 V6 and the styling is fantastic - muscular and sleek, and instantly recognizable as a Cadillac. We looked at a number of vehicles including the Lincoln MK(insert random letter here) and the Caddy was the best overall value. Sad to say, but none of the Lincoln products was ever really in the running - a tarted up AWD Fusion just didn't have the stones to run with a RWD sports sedan on any level - interior, styling, performance, etc. Kind of makes me sad as all I've ever owned was Ford products (Dad worked at FoMoCo for 34 years), but the product just isn't there.