Surgen

Strange comment at the end of this article: http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/22073562/detail.html it mentions a new Mustang 302-R BOSS.

Blutooth streaming is OK, if you're not that concerned about audio quality or controls -- for instance if youre listening to a Podcast (or Pandora, I guess) However, connecting to Sync via a docking cable gives better audio, voice commands, and battery charging.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermosillo_St...ng_%26_Assembly Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly is an automotive factory owned by Ford Motor Company, located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico — and currently producing Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ models for the North American market.

True. It's also regional -- light colors do relatively much better in the south, than the north. Ford is only charging for 'premium' paints (Tri-coat or tinted clearcoat). The europeans tend to charge for anything metallic. Even Toyota charges for 'Blizzard Pearl'.

The savings on a platform really come in the underbody -- not having to design and tool multiple versions of these components can drive big savings. Wiring harnesses are going to be largely unique -- there are not a lot of savings in common platforms for wiring. Electronics can be somewhat common without a common platform. A control module for a 'massaging seat' or a blind-spot monitoring system can be used cross-platform. Not sure there is all that much savings with putting Falcon on Mustang on the same platform. Different top-hats, different emmissions and crash, different desire for interior space (2+2 vs. 4-door sedan) and different supplier bases. You might be able to make a business case if you made them both in the same plant.

They build a Focus in Argentina, but it is not a C1 Focus. I don't believe that their is enough demand in Sout America to tool up a CD plant for Fusion.

MKT is not yet shipping to dealers. There are a number of prototypes driving around Dearborn, however.

I suspect that Ford will continue to build Ranger's in Argentina. I don't think South Africa is part of Mercosur, so I'd be surprised for them to move production to a country where they would incur duties. No way is Ford going to import pickups from South Africa into the U.S. and incur the "chicken tax".

I've never been a fan of the blog sites -- they seem to be too focused on being 'witty and amusing' for my tastes. To have the following quotes buried in the middle of a review that makes them sound unimpressed with the car, bothers me: "Ford has benchmarked the $60,950, 350 HP Audi A6 4.2 and the $37,995 SHO exceeds expectations by being better to drive, faster, larger inside and nicer looking. Even the interior is nearly on par with that of the Audi. That's seriously impressive for a car fitted with the previously humble "Mandel Bread" badge." "Compared to contemporary full-size luxury sedans it's considerably cheaper, very good to drive and extremely fast. Like the 1999 SHO, this isn't a unique model; it's the flagship for the Mandel Bread range. It's just that now, that range is capable of competing with European luxury cars instead of mediocre domestic mid-sizes." Based on this, Ford may have developed a sedan that competes with the best of the European's -- but at 2/3 of the price.

What is the difference between a CTS, DTS, STS and SRX? (Cadillac) What is the difference between a 135i, 335i and 535i? (BMW) What is the difference between a C-550, CLK-550, CLS-550, CL-550 and E-550? (Mercedes) What is the difference between a G37, M35, EX35 and FX35? (Infiniti) Non-distinctive combinations of letters and/or numbers seems to be pretty common in the luxury space...

You must be mistaking Britain for Turkey.

Honda lost more money than Ford in the last quarter.

The IIHS did some crash tests between sub-compacts and midsize vehicles: http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr041409.html Suggest watching the video that is linked on the right. I would not want to be in the Smart Car that is hit head-on by a C-Class.

NVM

The Civic is a competitor to the Focus -- All Focus's are made in the U.S. Not all Civic's are (some are made in Canada). The Honda Fit is by far the best selling subcompact. It was outsold last month by the Ford Focus and Ford Mustang (as well as the Ford Fusion). There is no reason to believe that the Fiesta will outsell Focus or Mustang. And by the way -- there is not a single sub-compact car manufactured in the U.S. Not by ANYONE.