jpd80

Cutting the F-150's tow capacity down to 5500-6000 lbs so you can design an almost entirely new lightweight truck (frame included) sounds like a big investment with a low sales return. And mid-size trucks don't provide enough real-world fuel savings to make the compromise worth while. The article is wrong, T6 is larger than the Thai Ranger it was benchmarked against the Nissan Navara/Frontier and will be a similar size with a cozy cabin. So the Global T6 will be approximately Sport Trac size. There was a suggestion for T6 use F100 for better world wide penetration.......

Hey I'm not whining, I actually thought is was 10% but didn't have a link to prove it, I'm glad you were able to supply one. So really wages, as a percentage of total car build costs is not the major factor it is made out to be.

I heard the T6 was almost the same size..................

IIRC labor accounts for approx 20-25% of toal costs of building a car contains - thanks mainly to automated processes and robot welders. I'll agree there's a difference but $5/hour is not huge, the costs are now becoming much closer and the UAW has been willing to accept quite a bit of change. It's a generational thing, this is a pretty big incremental step also breaking down barriers as well. Just because D3 and UAW are poised at this step doesn't mean no more changes the future, they don't have to happen right now.

On top of that, D3 will make one off payments to transfer all pension liabilities to UAW run VEBA. That is a huge burden removed from car makers - the real watershed in the last agreement. Do Toyota workers have a group pension plan set up or is it the individual's responsibility?

On Toyota's website they have graphs showing that their cars already achieve a CAFE of 36 mpg. If Toyota is at that level, the cost burden of meeting the 2020 levels will be far less than that of D3. Makes you wonder what the outcome of this social exercise will be.....

Is that a bucket of C4 wired up to the front of the Anglia?

Prove it, please provide a link to the data used to derive that amount. The auto makers are now distancing themselves from that original counterproductive claim.

Surely, the credit crunch has more to do with the drop in Hybrid sales than any loss of flavor.

Please don't lump me in with that assertion, I would love noithing better for a viable alternative to exist for the Falcon. If indeed FoA decides to go D3 for the next product cycle, that means our existing Sedans, half chassis pick up and Territory CUV can be transitioned to international products - meaning exports of variations to other parts of the company.

This is Obama helping California "save face", will he will want something in return? Not sure what it is - maybe a keen eyed person can tell us?

So California is basically four years earlier with regulations than the Federal timetable. What we see as impossible is doable, it just takes the will of the automakers - legislation in other words. That's a big pool of car and truck buyers - almost 50%!! No wonder auto makers are very concerned, they may have to accelerate their plans - TECHNOLOGY!!

If it was just California, it would be dismissed as out of step rat bag legislation but I take it the tighter emissions will be in a 13 state emission "confederacy", is this number likely to grow? I'm thinking if another 4 or 5 states join the list, that will be a significant percentage of the annual build. Would it not be wiser then for automakers to build all cars to the higher standard?

Oh, Oh, I just found Chrysler's new engineering Standard:

Over supply of vehicles = over supply of parts and parts suppliers, reductions are needed on both sides. while it's true that some parts suppliers will go chapter 11, I'm hopeful Ford has contingency plans in place.

GM needs to stop turning Pontiac into a clone of Chevrolet and Buick - do something different!!! Either they turn Pontiac into the North American arm of Holden and HSV or the shut the thing down. Go for broke by giving them Holden's full zeta line up so they have V6 entry starting at $22,00 and go all the way up to G8 GT and the V8 luxury Statesman and, how about some of Vauxhall's Sporty hatches.

The strangest part of the story was his panning of a 1.25 litre engine not pulling 5th up an incline. And as for the headlights being ineffective, perhaps they weren't aimed properly at the factory? He (Clarkson) expected more from the KA because it didn't look like a teapot any more? I mean really, Clarkson is bordering on toss pot journalism.

It's still more to do with F Truck sales, if they're improving then Ford will be happy.

speaking of cruise control, my first trip to the USA in 1993, I hired a Corsica with 3.0 V6 and ABS. Driving down the 5 in LA I came on traffic and touched the brakes thinking the cruise would drop off, The flaming thing kicked down to second and nearly drove the Datsun pick up in front of me. Scary cars, some of those GM......

I'm driving a brand new work supplied C1 Focus 5-door at the moment and I have to tell you, it has more room than the first model Focus, it's almost as roomy as the 2003 Mazda 6 - but not quite. I suspect your current US Focus is a half way step to this one - probably an inch wider again.

Ford has heaps of choices of they go with D3, a lot of variation is possible. Maybe a police cruiser could use the 2008 Taurus top hat with a Crown Vic styled grille. That way Ford recycles D3 architecture from last year's model and doesn't conflict the '10 Taurus.

I'm selfish and centered around export development of Falcon, Fairlane and Territory. It's probably now another $200 million Ford would rather not spend but could be strategic niche market. New 5.0 is expected to make V8 Falcon's weight close to that of FWD Taurus (and lighter than G8).

After huge downsizing, there's no guarantee that either company will have the revenue base to service their debts. Not sure about Chrysler but GM has at least $66 billion debt which will climb to near $80 billion with TARP funding !!! That makes Ford's $18 Billion debt and untapped $11 Billion line of credit look small in comparison. In my opinion, the only company suited to reconnect with Chrysler is Mitsubishi, at least they had a good working relationship and enough product lines to make it work. Unfortunately, that won't be happening anytime soon.....................

I found it to be even handed, he also spoke about why he dislikes the normal Camry. Journalists like him are getting on board with more mainstream hybrids but it's also true that for the most part, driving a hybrid is also a state of mind - high moral ground fades rational costs. while this holds sway, hybrids will stay just out of reach financially for most people but I think that's what the environmentalists and oil barons want, people to feel a self loathing desire to do better.

Seat belt reminders - we have them over here in AUS to improve crash scores. My wife placed a heavy bag on the passenger seat drove off and triggered the seat belt alarm. She didn't know what the beeping was and what she did wrong until I explained.