llog215
-
Posts
55 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Downloads
Store
Posts posted by llog215
-
-
I'm sure Honda had to think real deep and hard if they wanted to re-engineer an Acura model off the new Civic platform since the RSX was based off the old Civic platform. Guess we figured out the answer to that one.
I saw in Canada they rebadge the current Civic as an Acura. Pretty pathetic.
What's more pathetic are the people that buy them.......
-
I wouldn't say that. When the Taurus was at it's peak it was selling something like 400-500K units a year.
The point you're forgetting is that there were two plants making strictly Tauruses, Sables, and wagons. Now you have two plants making Fusion, Milan, Zeph, 500, Montego, and Freestyle. Both plants making about 240K units annually.
-
Somehow the hoopla over the CD3 "success" seems hollow in comparison to actual past Ford "hits." So far, the Mexican Mazda seems to be a single with perhaps a steal to second. Nothing legendary or all that remarkable.
I'd have to disagree. In a short amount of time on the market, they've accounted accounted for about 20K units in the month of April. Secondly, they're moving without much in the terms of incentive. Thirdly, they only have about 50 days on hand for the Fusion and Milan and about 30 days on hand for the Zeph (industry standard is about 60-70 days on hand). Also, they're already planning updates one year after launch in terms of standard safety equipment, upgraded engines, and AWD (at least for Zeph). And lastly, how come the 300 sells 150K units annually and it's a homerun by all accounts but the Fusion is on track to meet or exceed that and it's a "single".....
-
I can't tell if this is a Honda or a Toyota!
http://www.fethard.com/photos/car_fire.jpg
Can any of you?
Link doesn't work...
-
Stratus, and Sebring will be replaced by the end of 2006 and the Caliber has replaced the Neon and is selling well. The Taurus (Fords no1 selling car) will be replaced by? The loss of Taurus sales alone will be a loss of 1% of market share.
What does that mean? Do you have any numbers that support Caliber sales? Personally, it reminds me of an Asstec....I saw two next to each other and I couldn't believe the similarities.
As stated many times before, the 500 and Fusion are positioned to make up the loss of Taurus sales and they will sell a greater retail percentage.
-
Tell it to the VIN number and the American workers who get paid to put it together. Better us getting the manufacturing jobs than them. And when Ford stops building its vehicles in Mexico, maybe they'll have a point. Until then, I don't see Ford expanding American manufacturing...but I see Toyota doing it.
Here we go again......Ford is shrinking and Toyota is growing in North America, agreed. However, Toyota only assembles about 60% of the 2 million vehicles sold in NA, compared to Ford building 83% of the 3 million vehicles Ford sold in NA. I'll let you do the math. Secondly, there is a difference in assembling and building. Ford employs significantly more people indirectly than Toyota. I'm not trying to tell you what car to purchase just don't try to make it sound like you're doing the US workers a favor by doing so.....
-
I don't know. 300,000 sales in 25 months doesn't sound like they're setting the world on fire. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad just no worthing of a lot of praise, especially considering the percentage going to fleets.
-
As is the case with Honda and Toyota, profit sharing checks to the AMERICAN employees.
What's your point?
Below is one of your previous posts:
"Second, forget about the talk about profits. If it ain't in a workers wallet, then I don't give a damn about it. The Ford profits go to the stockholders and the overpaid executives in the form of profit sharing."
My point was that when Ford makes a profit, so do ALL of their employees, not only the executives. Therefore, by buying a Ford you are supporting the workers. Ford supports a far greater percentage of this country and thier communities than Honda. Your post made it sound like by buying a Ford you weren't supporting the worker....not true.
I agree. Those CR-V's are junk!!Glad you're finally able to admit it. That's the hardest step..... :bandance:
-
All defective tranmissions are from Livonia, nothing from Batavia. I believe the supplier is Linemar. Everyone "should" be back up and running on Monday.
-
I guess the point I was making is that Honda has more jobs here in the US than they did 5 years ago and Ford has less. I would think that creating jobs in the US is pretty damn American and taking jobs OUT of our economy to another country would seem to be unAmerican. Seems like common sense to me.
Second, forget about the talk about profits. If it ain't in a workers wallet, then I don't give a damn about it. The Ford profits go to the stockholders and the overpaid executives in the form of profit sharing. Who gives a damn whether they are American or not?
Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, and soon Kia also have more employees now than they did in the past. What's your point? Ford employs over 110,000 US people directly and countless others indirectly. More than all other foreign companies combined (not including DCX). Since auto sales are finite, it only makes sense that as foreign name plates grow, the domestics will shrink. That's simply a matter of consumers exercising their freedom of choice. Again, I'm not trying to tell you what you should drive. Just don't try to make a case for ANY foreign car company being as significant to this country as Ford or GM. If you're looking to make a patriotic purchase, Ford and GM are your best bets, regardless of how many billboards Toyota erects.
FYI - Profit sharing goes to all Ford employees, not just the "overpaid" executives.
-
I'm sure range will have a field day explaining this one :rolleyes:
Pretty much any industrialized country in the world has government sponsored healthcare and pensions. The US used to have a tax advantage by letting private companies take care of these, but now that the debt have ballooned so much over the last 20 years, it's essentially gone. So now there is no more tax advantage and no longer a competitive advantage. That's not Honda's (or Renault's, or VW's, or Hyundai's) fault.
All countries may have some sort of social safety net but not all to the same degree. I don't have the exact figures but I'd venture to guess the level of government support in Japan is much greater than the US.
-
Actually, according to CR this isn't true. A three year olf domestic has as many problems as like a 12 year old Toyota. Thats a patently terrible way of expressing what "almost as good" apparently means to some people.
That's not true. The statistic is a 3yr old domestic is equivalent to an 8yr old Toyota, according to CR. Still not good.....
-
Now which American auto company would you like me to support? The one that just moved it's CR-V production from Japan and England to Ohio, or the one that just took it's American made Taurus and replaced it with a Mexican made Fusion?
Oh, and don't start on the Ford, with Aston Martin, Volvo, and Jaguar along with the Mexican Fusion being a more American company than Honda of America, which makes the majority of it's American lineup in the Unitied States. The workers in Marysville OH won't buy it and neither will I.
I think I can hear the can of worms opening from here.....
Only 43% of Honda vehicles sold in this country are made in this country. 83% of Ford vehicles sold in the US and made in the US. So, which company would you rather support? You can't cherry pick from the lineup, you have to consider all the vehicles. Also, how many employees does Honda support compare to Ford? How much of their engineering, design, etc. done in this country? It is your right to buy whatever vehicle you like. Just don't try to make it sound like patriotic purchase, because it isn't.
-
Honestly Bec, it was a joke but I was kind of curious to see how long it would take for you to come to their defense......Less than two hours. Not bad.
-
You must not remember the engine sludge problem where Toyota blamed the customer for poor maintenance until they were forced to acknowledge the problem and fix it.
Also, Honda insisting that CR-Vs are burning due to improper maintenance by the owners......I wish I had that picture range loves to post...
-
I've yet to see one in SE Michigan or SW Ontario.
-
Mostly just a lot of whining.
If Ford has more time they will be a great success?
They don't have the luxury of time. They need results now.
And the new product they need is not in the pipeline.
Send Bill back to the Lions.
Do you realisticly think Bill Ford should be given another 10 years after looking at the results so far?
And profit is Ford Motor Companies strength? :titanic:
Fact is Ford is in serious trouble.
Bottom line is profit. The American based companies are all in trouble but out of the 2 1/2, Ford made the most moeny last year. That's all that matters. GM lost $10billion, DCX made $600million, and Ford........$2billion. All the other speculation and bitching is meaningless. Ford still has a long way to go to compete with the best in the world in terms of profitability (Nissan and Toyota) but they are making progress.
FYI - Fusion sales will exceed 11K this month. Another month over month increase.
-
Ford isn't made more competitive by dismissing the competition, which is what seems to happen here.
I think you're missing the point. Too many people have this view that once you buy a Toyota or a Honda you'll never have any mechanical problems whatsoever. That is not realistic. All cars have problems, some more than others. I don't think the intention is to say Ford doesn't have issues that need to be addressed. Just that it's not only Ford and GM that have these issues. Of course, people are going to have worse experiences with GM and Ford, since they accounted for more than half of the vehicles sold in North America the past 50 years. It's interesting to me to see that as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan sell more vehicles, their quality seems to decrease. This is evident by the increased number of recalls.
-
What a heckuva post. I followed a new 7-Series "Banglisized" 7-Series BMW into school this morning- there's no nice way to say it, the damned thing is aesthetically challenged. The new S-Class Mercedes looks like the mold was left in the oven too long and melted. I could go on- but there's an opportunity here for someone if they want to head in a different direction.
I'd have to agree with you on the 7-Series and the S-Class. Both BMW and Mercedes have messed up their styling, except for the CLS. That has to be one of the nicest cars on the road.
-
I wouldn't say the fusion or 500 is a success or failure untill the taurus is dead. If I was in the market and had the choice of a 500, fusion or a taurus with cash on the hood, I would go for the better deal. For the commuting I do as long as it goes down the road and has the room I need in it i'm happy... if when the taurus dies, 500 and fusion sales don't increase then I will question there success but untill then I will hold my judgment
I wouldn't expect to see much of an increase in retail sales of Fusion or 500 due to Taurus going away. Almost 100% of Taurus sales are fleet sales. Fusion and 500 will increase their fleet sales to compensate for the loss of the Taurus.
-
My quick take on the Lincoln LS. It shouldn't have been a Lincoln. It also shouldn't have been a Ford. It should have been a Mercury. They could have reduced the complexity of the thing a bit to make it cheaper to produce and sold it as a Mercury only.
The LS was always very complex and expensive to build for where it was able to be priced in. It didn't fit the mold at Lincoln. It wasn't a soft, luxury cruiser like every other lincoln had been for the last two decades (and yes, the LSC and Mark VIII were soft luxo cruisers when compared to the BMW 3 and 5 series). Mercury had more of a sporty heritage to play to. Mercury could see a higher volume. Mercury would have matched the interior quality levels.
As for the market it was in, the base engine was always adequate. The optional engine never delivered as much as most people seemed to want from it. It didn't have the torque that it really needed. This was, in my mind, a direct result of the detuning that it received so as not to step on Jaguar's toes. They could have artificially limited the maximum horsepower figures while doing their best to maximize the torque that the engine delivered. That would have better fit the US market.
The LS was a success at launch. Everything was great on the car. All they needed to do was make continual upgrades and keep it fresh and it would have been more successful. I agree with your position in terms of not fitting the Lincoln mold. The sales guys didn't know how to sell a luxury sports sedan. I don't think it would of faired better as a Mercury.
-
You're the one that doesn't get it.
I also don't get it. Just because this is the third generation, doesn't mean we can't critique their efforts. The domestics constantly get blasted for badge engineering. Why should Honda be immune from criticism? This is a much worse than the sharing of components between the Fusion and Zephyr. At least Lincoln has changed the interior.....What a joke.
-
The '96 Taurus had nothing to do with cost pressures. It was a terrible looking car that destroyed what the '87 did. Up to that point it was the best selling car in America.
I disagree. In '96, the Camry was already beginning to threaten the Taurus. Besides the "unique" styling, the Taurus trailed the Camry in quality, comfort, and convenience features. This is due to cost cutting efforts to try to maintain a profit margin on the vehicle. The difference in cost of production could have been used to improve it in these areas and keep it competitive. Instead, it kept being decontented and relegated to fleet status.
-
It all comes down to cost. If your cost structure is significantly greater than your competitor, than you are at a serious disadvantage. Bad engineering and poor designs, in terms of badge engineering and infrequent updates, are due to cost pressures. Cost needs to be taken out somewhere and since they can't take it out of labor, due to contracts, it comes from other areas. It's one big vicious circle.......
Bye Bye Crown Viv
in Competing Products
Posted
I think a lot of it also has to do with servicing the CV. The CV has changed so little it's relatively easy to repair. The mechanics are familiar with the car and the repair parts are already present. People generally don't like change.